Advertising That Works

Nathan

What forms of advertising are working for you?

savant

In ten years, I've tried everything. but what really works for me is to find one influential client who knows many people who are your target client base. This person is usually in the creative sector, and gregarious. You treat them like gold, and they'll help their friends, everybody needs a good contractor... and they know one.

Nathan

Very true!

I've found that the advertising that works in some areas doesn't work for other areas. For example I had a lot of luck with Valpak and my local newspaper in Florida... but 50% of the community was retired so that makes a big difference.

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Nathan

savant

Valpak, that's (I think) what we call a pennysaver up here. I get my key clients from advertising, but it's a lot of advertising dollars to get them. Yes, it is interesting how newspaper actually performs so well for our industry! Many advertising experts deprecate newspaper advertising, saying "People buy papers for the news, and toss it. Magazines are bought with intent to read thoroughly." I don't know about that assumption.

savant

I think advertising is exactly like that game "minesweeper" You don't always know where to try clicking, but when you hit the right spot, everything opens up. When you hit the right client, your market base opens up. The more you play(analysis), the better you get.

Nathan

What really shocked me is that the best newspaper in our area was a "shopper newspaper". To me it just looked like junk. 90% of the paper was ads and the other 10% was really bad news that took very little effort to produce. My thought was that no one would want to read that thing but it ended up that the only people who did were people looking to buy something so that makes it a win!

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Nathan

Drywall1

Visibility has worked well for me. Lettered trucks trailers and such. All word of mouth. We will see how the web site works...dont know yet.

Nate

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Rockin the Midwest from the time I could walk.

savant

I don't get clients form my website, but it's important as a tool to let them get to know my company. It's more of a deal helper than a lead generator. I get dozens of hits from unique IPs each day (in addition to the constant flood of crawler traffic) but, it's clearly from the interesting info on my site, rather than people searching for contractors. This is a very LOCAL business in my region. People want to see you, and meet F2F.(and make certain they're not calling a guy from 60 miles away.)

ghost

T-shirts worked well for me every body needs to wear a shirt.There not really that expensive. Its a walking billboard.

drywalldaddy

tshirts are great, we have given them out to everyone we know. our best advertising - our customers.

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Snowden Enterprises

JCardoza

Advertising? What’s that?? LOL I like word of mouth and a good reputation best. We do have shirts though and one van with lettering

evolve991

Word of mouth. ADs just bring all the numbskulls you want to avoid.

jakester

A combination of all work for us, website, t-shirts for the guys everyone looks the same and very professional, truck lettering, I also go to a couple of paint and drywall suppliers, I provide them with a bussiness card holder and put my cards in there works good for me but most of all I think it's all about networking talking to other contractors, builders and selling yourself to them that you are unique in the way you tape or finish.

cooper

Depending on your target market, that is definitely the truth.

joepro0000

Guerilla Marketing! Put up posters and stickers, and signs everywhere, and people will see them!

wnybassman

LOL, I'm glad others have had that experience to. We have never really secured good jobs from ads, mostly all word of mouth for us. We do have a lettered trailer an a few signs for out in front of our jobs, and just recently we got our first t-shirts and sweatshirts made up. They are certainly cheap enough, can't even go to WalMart and buy a plain t-shirt for the price we got the screen printed ones for.

joepro0000

Where did you get them made?

wnybassman

I think the question was directed to me?

Anyway, we had our stuff made at T-Shirts Etc. in Batavia, NY. $7.50 for t-shirts up to XL, $13.50 for crew neck sweatshirts up to XL and $23.00 for heavy hoodies. Those prices included everything, shirts and printing. Check with your local screen printer!

Dan Keese

Here is an article I found to be helpful. Mostly about being persistant - Important in these tough times.

"Perseverance, deliberate strategies and plenty of communication are the closest friends of the subcontractor sales representative."

http://www.pmmag.com/Archives/215062...100000f932a8c0____

R.E. Plaster

We are a pretty new company so I use a little of everything, but I will say that my first year in buisness I got eighty percent of our work through the internet including our biggest job so far which was a 400k job that lasted for about 4 months the others jobs were word of mouth, but our trailors are lettered and all our guys were our t-shirts. Drywallers don't always invoke the best responce from people so we work hard to maintain a professional decore on our jobs