This is the first sequel to the post “Twenty Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Company”. This post further explains the first five points: business cards, job signs, door hangars, vehicle signs, and communicating with your customers.
Business cards are a must for your business. You can make them yourself using Avery’s free DesignPro or have them printed locally or by using a company on the net. I have used web based VistaPrint several times. They are fast and offer a very nice on-line tool to design your cards.
Create a logo for your company. Start making your company a brand name. If you don’t have one already, create a company logo, as well as a tag line or slogan. Something like, “Framing Express – The fastest way to get out of the rain.” The logo might be an umbrella made out of two by fours. Always work towards making your company a brand name, the one that pops into a person’s mind when your field of expertise is mentioned.
Items to include on your card are your company name, company slogan, a short summary of what your company does, your name, title, your website, phone number and email. I always emphasize my website and my email, because this is where I want them to go. Phone calls can use a lot of your time.
Use the reverse side of your card. There are two sides to a card, so why not use them. You can put your Mission Statement on the reverse side, or you can print out some of your products or specialties. Avery sells business cards sheets with micro perforations and two-sided printing. These work very well and you can make changes or more copies whenever you want.
2. Make job signs
When you design your job sign, make sure that it is attractive and unique. Ours is approximately 30” x 40” and sits in an ornamental iron frame. The sturdy metal coated plywood sign was printed on both sides and slid in and out of the frame for easy transport. Look around your town and get some ideas from your competitors. I wouldn’t advise using a flimsy “stick in the ground” paper sign like one a sponsor might make for you for free. Your image may come off as “I’m cheap”. You want a sign that says “I’m expensive, and well worth your money”.
Include a place in your contract for the customer to initial saying that it is OK to place a job sign in their yard. Place your sign in the yard on the first day of the job. And don’t remove it till the job is over. A sign will last for years if you design it correctly, and is one of the least expensive ways to advertise your company.
The sign should clearly show your company name, what you do, your company phone number and web site. (80% of buyers are checking you out on the net before calling).
3. Make door hangars
This is a cheap way to get more business in the neighborhood you are already working in. The time to start advertising in a neighborhood is just before you start a job there. Make a door hangar or flyer that says that you will be working in their neighborhood soon. You can mention that there will be an increase in traffic and maybe noise, and that you will do your best to keep any inconvenience to them to a minimum.
Then the subtle contact information. If they need to contact you for any reason, please call you at 555-555-5555 or contact you at your email address. For added measure, print your website address and list what your company does. If you have magnetic business cards, throw one of these in. If not, be sure to include your business card. And while you’re at it, why not ask for a referral if they know someone who could use your services. (If you have a referral program, tell them the details).
You have just packed a ton of good advertising into a door hangar, ostensibly asking them to pardon your mess. Expect a very good pay-off from this.
4. Display signs on your vehicles
Your trucks and cars are cheap moving billboards. For some reason, everyone reads signs. So take advantage. Make you information concise and legible from a distance.
I have two company vehicles. Many times I have heard the comment that my trucks are all over town. People look at vehicles, and they read signs, and they form an opinion about the company represented. Keep you vehicles clean and neat. If you have a company color, it will help if your vehicles pick up one of the company colors. The signs need to match your job signs. They need to have the same colors and logos. Use the same fonts, colors, images and slogans on everything, from job signs to stationery to business cards. This way, even if someone just catches a glimpse of your sign, they know who it is, and once again, they are reminded about you and your services.
Make the signs legible. Don’t get a fancy font that people have to puzzle over. Because they won’t. They’ll just dismiss it and move on. Make the font large enough so that you can see it from a distance. Make a test sign if you have to. It is possible to have too much information on a sign, making it ineffective. Keep it simple. Less is better.
You can letter your vehicles with vinyl letters or you can make a simple magnetic sign for a very low price. Each has its own impression. Lettering a vehicle makes it look very professional and permanent. If you don’t like to put vinyl lettering on your vehicle, or if you use your vehicle for multiple purposes, then a magnetic sign works very well. Just be sure to put signs on you trucks and cars.
5. Email or write your customer list
Stay in touch with your customers. I’m always amazed how quickly people forget about my company or forget what services we offer. Communication will make you the contractor of choice.
Once I built a really nice bathroom for a client. As usual, we got to know each other very well over the two months we worked there. At least I thought we did. I was called back to a service call about a year later, and was surprised to find that they had remodeled their kitchen since I was there last. I asked them about the new remodel, and they said that they didn’t know we did kitchens too. The lesson here is to never assume. I lost a job just because I didn’t stay in touch. If I had stayed in touch with them, and told of our many projects, they would have known that we did kitchens and a lot of other things. I assumed they knew all about our company and everything we do.
Send out regular emails and newsletters. Call them on a regular basis. Call them on a special occasion. Send them a card just to say Hi! You will be surprised at the results. When our newsletter went out, it never failed to generate some business. Stay in touch.
Next post is [6-10] The Details – Twenty Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Company
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www.RemodelerBiz.com is published by Randall S Soules, a 37 year construction veteran. The intent of this web site is to help builders, remodelers and those in the trades, create a rewarding career and lifestyle. At Remodeler Biz you’ll find helpful articles on niches, marketing, graphic standards and the design-then-build field.
