advertising

[Lockpick Dan]

I think it's more like "To compete you have to advertise here, therefore we can charge you more."

[guard70]

I have a paid dearly to learn a few lessons in advertising over the years. Firstly, I've tried newspapers, restaurant placemats, small directories, yellow pages, business cards, realitors, property managment companies, and faxes.

By far yellow pages makes the phone ring. You do however need to go big. I pay about 750 dollars a month and it consistently brings in about 10 dollars for every dollar spent. Every agent I talk to swears that it is 26 dollars for every dollar spent. I wish. A 10: 1 ratio is about right.

Business cards 3 to every customer to bring in the repeat business and one that's magnetic backed; they tend to stick around longer. Business cards do work.

Faxes work to because the price is right. Get a local city fax directory , photocopy your yellowpage ad and ad a monthly special at the lower part of the page. You could target a couple hundred business faxes in one day, something normally will shake loose. Think about it, free printing and free distribution. How could you go wrong.

Every other avenue I pursued would have had a better affect if I just burnt the money and saved the time.

[Romstar]

I know of a dozen businesses that I would never do work for if I ever tried that fax trick.

Most people take a very dim view of something unexpected coming out of their fax, especially when it is an advertisment. It's so bad in some places that it is even against the law.

I've heard of this method working and then I have heard of it backfiring. So I don't know for anyone else, but it won't be used at my business.

Romstar

[guard70]

Romstar,

You bring up a valid concern as it relates to faxing. Check your local legislation to running afoul of the law. If you do decide to try this medium of advertising here is a few tips.

1. Do not inundate these businesses with weekly or monthly faxes. I cycle through the fax list 3 times a year. It means 1 fax every four months.

2.Offer something special. I'm using their paper, toner , and time, so the special added is significant and a product targeted to those businesses. I will give a very large discount for high security locks. You get your foot in the door, any subsequent rekeying or extra keys are generally yours, and you are the go to guy for any other products or services they need.

3. In the fax, give an email address they can contact to be taken of your fax list. If you are contacted, take them off your list. Make sure you keep the fax list updated.

[1st solution locksmiths]

When i started i paid for a Freephone and then changed it to an 0845
mainly due to the idiots calling (can i speak to the director please)

with the 0845 the phone still rings the same as 0800 but your not being charged for the call's you recieve.

Please don't do what a lad by me done. he put an 0870 in the yellow pages and all his other advertising and he totally killed his business.

[toomush2drink]

Ive signed up to the telephone preference service on my business line and reduced the sales calls considerably. I know its working as the thompson rep asked me about it after i contacted them, it turns out they check before calling people. Now if a big business knows they can be sued for ignoring it it shouldnt take long for the smaller companies to get the point.

[Varjeal]

I agree with Romstar on this one, and maybe it's just a Canadian issue, but I HATE getting solicitation over my fax line.

Yellow pages seem to be the way to go for the majority of us. For the second year in a row I'll be renting some space at a local home & garden show, and these are excellent ways to get yourself in front of people. Also, check out local flea markets, etc...as they can be another good source (as long as you can leave someone in the booth while you're running around), and some can be very inexpensive as they're usually just a day or two.

I have heard of some semi-permanent setups where people lease space at flea markets every weekend to cut keys, and sell associated "impulse" items and promote their business. Another good option if viable in your area.

[BUNGYSTRAP]

I recently done a simple lock exchange for a customer who had heard of my services word of mouth. They hadn't been able to operate their front door for a couple of months and were reluctant to call out a locksmith. When questioned why it had taken so long it was partly because of recent TV horror shows like "roque trader" and partly because the YP ads all looked too commercial. Almost all of my trade to date has been word of mouth. I have tried flyers posted and received zero for 1000 leaflets. Business cards in strategic places work and for every customer I generally leave 3 or 4 cards as they tend to hand them on. YP and Thomson are slow to show profit. Have I missed a resource or are these the only way ahead?

[Varjeal]

Personal "hand-shake and here's a card with a brief letter explaining what I offer" visits are definitely a good way to go. They may not pay off immediately (but again they might) but most definitely will in the future. Target places such as shopping malls, convenience stores, and anyplace that has a large parking lot. Gas stations and restraunts are another good source for "quickie" openings.