Advertising

[sparklingclean 14]

Quick poll here. What methods of advertising do you folks use and why?

Does anyone have any experience with service magic and if so what are their thoughts / sucesses.

[CCPC 26]

Check this out...http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204&highlight=advertising+works

[Henry B. 4]

There are many different types of advertising formats you can use.. HOW you use them is what matters the most!

You can spend 500 bucks a month on newspapers but if your add doesn't get noticed it won't to you any good at all.

You can build a website for 1,000 but if it's not listed right you won't get any hits.

You can make a cheap one for 300 and get flooded with traffic if it's done right.

Give me a call if you have any questions.

301-353-9234

[Adrian 155]

I am new member to this site as of today (04-13-05). The person who referred me to this site said that through service magic he has not advertised in three years and the fee is worth it. I started my business 11 months ago green as can be ( although i'm getting better) and am starting to feel the effects of not enough business to make the rent. Some months have been better than others so far. I have been advertisng

in the local yellow pages and the american classifieds$$$$$. I have seriously considered using service magic because from what I understand it is a 1 time fee ($99.00)and they send the leads to you for however many counties you desire. So , feeling like I am on my last breath and dollar I am considering using them . After becomeing a member of this forum today (the 13th of all days) I feel an extra supply of oxygen for my bones and maybe a little less worrying. I hope this helps a bit. and good luck with your business

[ROBGIO 14]

Hi ya'll ! I'm new to this forum and would like to share my experience with Service Magic. I must warn you, my experience with them is in a different field: House Cleaning (Janitorial).

Yes, that is correct- there is an annual fee of $99, PLUS there is a fee for each lead that you ACCEPT. As I understand that ACCEPTANCE fee ($$) varies according to each industry.

The one good thing about my business is that I pay that fee but I have a repetitive customer (weekly/bi-weekly) due to the business that I'm in. I know it would be different in this field (PW) cuz you'd pay for the lead and if the client is satisfied you will be called monthly or seasonally, etc.

Now keep in mind: you must select, not the counties/cities that you operate in but instead you need to supply them with a list of ZIP CODES that you service.

Also, you are not the only contractor who is receiving the lead. Depending on how many other contractors are subscribed to them in the same area; there will be 3 or more contractors getting the same lead for the same job.

So sometimes is a matter of who retrieves the lead and contacts the customer first but MOST IMPORTANTLY who sells their service best to the client.

That's why it's important to keep up with technology to retrieve the lead by computer (best) while on the road, cell phone (not as much info for us to make accurate decisions).

If you are NOT chosen by the client, you STILL pay for accepting the lead eventhough the client might have decided to go with someone else.

As I understand, they try to supply the client with a few/more choices (contractors) so they can better compare.

I hope this has been helpful...and I know this is just general info and not specific to this industry.

Overall the response that I've gotten thru Service Magic has been helpful to my business.

SORRY IT WAS SO LONG.

Rob

Arlington, VA

[CLASSICPW 14]

I've been through quite a few different advertising in the few(3yrs) I've been in biz. The problem for this question is that advertising varies immensly from state to state, even county to county. In my area I use the yellow pages($300/yr) that I get a few jobs from, when I first started I used the Pennysaver, which got me alot of work, now it's overwhelmed with pressurewashers, that was $36 a week per area. In the fall of 2004 I went with VALPAK which was 50,000 homes/month for 3 months @ $4600. I made good money, but later learned that a good majority of their clients were apartments...........furious. My new ad is called RSVP and has so far been phenominal.

[PressurePros 249]

So far some good information here. I think the most important thing in the beginning is to get your name out there. Local papers, Val Pak, Phone book at first. Then target marketing for your neighborhood with magnets. People love magnets. Someone on here (maybe Roger and Celeste?) went around with door hangers that explained if a person wanted a free estimate for washing they should stick an enclosed dot onto the door hanger and put it back on their door. I thought that was an excellent idea.

[PLD 14]

I am new member to this site as of today (04-13-05). The person who referred me to this site said that through service magic he has not advertised in three years and the fee is worth it.

I just started with SM, I'll let you know how it works. IMHO, the $99 fee and the associated "free website" are junk, but I wasn't able to negotiate out of it. Their projections for my area (~300k people) are 8-11 ref's month. FWIW, It was only 32/mo for the 13 county metro area (~4mm people)

The "service directory" in my local paper has been best so far with 3-5 quotes and 2-3 jobs per week.

The local (2 county) phone book nets me about 1 quote per week. At $450/yr it's worth what I paid for it, but it's not a landslide of business by any means. On the good side, it has netted me one apt complex that has kept me busy for a month and allowed me to hire my first employee. That job is now drawing to a close, and I'm afraid I may not have enough work for my employee.

Flyers are good for about 1:100 ratio, but expensive time wise. I just found out that the same local paper (30k circ) I use will stuff inserts (you print) for

$0.04/house min 3000. That's a lot cheaper than mailing them and if the ratios are anywhere near 1:100 it's be a very cost effective tool for me.

I also use a local magazine that's like a bound money mailer. It uses full or 1/2 page ads, 32 pages, more upscale than MM. It only yielded 2 calls/week last year so it was too expensive per acq, but I've changed the ad and re-run this month to test. I'll follow up on this one.

[Crownroyal 14]

Home and garden shows paid off for me you get the attention of the customer and if they fill out a form more than likely they will sell. You just have to know what your doing.

Plus Pictures sell sell sell. ugly algae eating roof pictures and clean safe roof pictures sells me tons of buisness. good luck. just food for thought. Also the people going to these shows care about their homes and you meet tons of people to be connected with.....reality work (STAGING), brick people, contractors, other restoration companies, ect. I made out great from the last two shows.