Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: cleanability on August 24, 2006, 07:57:59 pm
-
Has anyone actually taken the YP rep's advice and increased the size of their advert and actually had lot more enquiries?
Against my better judgement I'm going with his annual advice and increasing my ad size and trying a half page advert next year.
Chris
-
I have a colour, quarter page, and its rubbish :(
I think its more important whats in it than what size or colour it is, a crap ad is a crap ad wether its a small box ad or a full page makes little difference
-
Hi Chris,
I was thinking about a yellow pages box ad last year. The rep came round and was telling me that I needed a 1/4 page to compete with other companies in my area at over £2k! I didn't bother. I didn't fancy working a month a year just to pay for the ad.
They are only after commission, the bigger ad they sell you the more they earn. They are salesmen at the end of the day and very good ones at that. They know nothing about ours or anybody elses business they sell space too. Its always go bigger!
If it works good for you, if not it'll be hard working for nothing to pay for that bigger ad.
All the best.
Jason.
-
Yeah Jason you're right. I think the same. But what the hell I'll try it just this time. Out of interest its costing me £86 a week for 10 months to have a half page ad in 2 directories which together cover South East Wales. I'm in 2 cos I live on the border between the 2 directories. Also trying ghost numbers to make me look local to everyone ;D
Chris
-
Whats a ghost number
-
Hi Chris,
Thats cheap! Think I'd consider it for that money as well. The price obviously depends on your location and number of advertisers in your category and the circulation as well. Hope it works out for you.
Also ghost numbers are well worth doing. Local numbers are always a winner.
Paul,
Ghost numbers are when you pay a telephone provider for another number usually with a different dialling code to your own for an area that you cover. Its then diverted to your number.
Kind regards,
Jason.
-
don't do it!
customers hate picking someone of a page in a directory.
save the money & spend it on local advertising, leaflets or direct marketing.
regards
steve
-
Think thats probably good advice ! Just need a winning leaflet put about 1,500 l/lets out today and not had any response yet.
I intially signed up for x2 area's of the phone book but am going to cancel the out of area one as the first is not really paying..
-
Hi Paul,
Different things work for different people in diffent areas.
There's no tried and tested guaranteed method of succeeding in this business otherwise we'd all be doing it!
We all have learnt or are learning by our mistakes. One advert or leaflet might work in one place but not another.
Many experienced cleaners on this forum and others have said they're still learning after decades in the business which isn't only about cleaning procedures bur marketing as well.
The main thing is to budget for the slow periods as well as the good and never over commit yourself to anything. Reps are quick enough to sell you advertising but of it doesn't work out then you're the one paying the installments when you cant afford to and they're away sunning themselves on a tropical beach somewhere exotic on your commission.
Kind regards,
Jason.
-
how true all that is yp for us has been crap bt book not much better
local paper has been ok :-\ we went into 8 newspapers one week got 2
calls that went nowhere :-\ very hard to know what to try next that will be great :-\
-
Terry,
I do not want to encourage you to throw good money after bad, but you have just said you went in 8 papers for one week.
There is this theory that you need to advertise in a paper over a period of time to get best results.
Problem is it costs to see if it makes a difference.
Personally I think all advertising Reps should offer a Satisfaction Guarantee
-
Terry
I pay £80 pounds to go in a free circulation Newspaper, it took a lot of time before it started to pay me back.
People want to see you in there every week otherwise they think you are fly by night and not a proper business. The amount of customers that say to me that I have seen your advert in there every week for the last few months tells it own story.
Trades People as a rule have a bad rep so anything that makes you look like an established business is no bad thing. Costs a lot but over a period of time it does pay off.
Lots of people go in the paper for one week and say they did not get a call and dump it. The types I get from the Free local papers are the Mums at Home and the retired folks that have the time to read them. These peole are creatures of habit so want to see that you are in their all the time.
Cheers
Neil
-
Hi Terry,
Ian and Neil have hit the nail on the head as far as local paper advertising is concerned. Be consistent, work out an ad and run it week after week. People like and trust companies they see in there on a regular basis. Thats what I do and its where I get nearly all my new customers from.
Kind regards,
Jason.
-
so are people that sad that they read the carpet cleaning section every week even though they don't need a carpet cleaner ::)
not only do they read the carpet section do they read the plumbing, electrician, Arial erectors, dog walkers etc etc.. just in case they need one of them in the next year or so.
all this 'advertise every week so they see your name constantly and trust you' is I think nonsense
now if you have a feature ad in the same place every week so people see it all the time then that is different, they will ring you not because they constantly see your ad so trust you, but because they need a carpet cleaner and remember that there is a carpet cleaner in the local paper every week.
Mike
-
Feature add with editorial in same place every week.
People do read the locals and remember that you were in their a few weeks back so when they need you they no where you are, thats why its worth it. week in week out.
cheers
neil
-
Niel that exactly what I'm on about, a feature ad in the same place every week is the way to advertise in papers
-
Well, I have found that a free listing in TP works rather well. Over the last two month alone I have probably 6 or so leads.
Not bad when you consider it hasn't cost me a penny.
-
TP?
-
I echo Mikes thoughts, i dont belive anyone would be sad enough to read the classified section if they didnt need you.
If any advert dosent at least pay for itself, drop it or change it, in my opinion.
-
Neil,
What size are you getting for £80
Is it a Free Paper distributed to every house, or one of these local Free Mags.
-
Ian
Free paper to 150,000 every week, Advert is the size of Credit card but thats not what sells it, they also give you an editorial in with the advert.
This can be hit or miss as to content because they can chop and change as they see fit. People cut out the editorial never the advert.
Hope this helps
Neil
-
Mines tiny in our local guardian 6cm x 3cm cost £280 per month but goes into 1 million copies brings in 10k a year so worth it.
Nick
-
nick has it sewn up in his local i think he does it constantly which is why it works but to add that i think mike halliday as hit the nail on the head people only look through the ads when they require someone but if you are not in it then they cant find you!
-
Yep over 4 years soilid 1 million copies a month my name has been banded about in the local rag(S) about 48million times, that how poeple remember me!!
Sweet 8)
-
personlly I think all advertising Reps should offer a Satisfaction Guarantee
thats exactly what ive said to them all as they all insist it works so well i said to BT other day, ok i'll dedicate a number to the ad if it dont work i dont pay ??
"sorry sir i dont have the authority to do that if i did i would"
so i said i will not go in unless you provide proof it works
"well i can send you testamonals in they post"
that was 2 weeks ago, none came, because they aint got none!!!!!
it's a complete gamble for many small co's they say it works till there blue in the face, but will not put there money were there mouth is!
ask them to back up there claims.
the best they can do is
"well lots are re-advertising so it must work"
-
Craig,
As I told you both Yellow Pages and BT are saying they are looking into that system according to the so call market research they have been carrying out.
I would have a full page under that system but every trades person in the country would want the same.
But if they are saying the average return is as high as you qoute they will want £100 a call
-
thats a point Ian, how do they know that every £1 spent gets £25 back, they never asked me when i was in, anyone on here given them ROI info?
it probaly taken from there biggest clients, national insurance companies etc.
-
Hi Nick,
Your figures dont add up !
£280.00 x 12 = £3,360.00 and you take £10,000.00 per year from it which equals £6,640.00 - Costs like your van, insurance, chemicals, i would doubt if you make a profit from it, Are you not just working very hard to pay your advertising bill ?
-
Had YP and Yell for two years and never got a single call
Gerry
-
Neil,
Congrats on your negotiating skills .
Agree to a Credit Card advert and get an Advitorial in return Every Week.
I could do it as a one off with luck but not every week.
Every advertiser would want it ?
-
Ian
They do it as a sales point, nothing to do with me.
Its ok ;)
It goes in a specialist section with editorials along with the advert.
Sorry if does not make sense , just got in from the pub.
Cheers
Neil
-
Hi Nick,
Your figures dont add up !
£280.00 x 12 = £3,360.00 and you take £10,000.00 per year from it which equals £6,640.00 - Costs like your van, insurance, chemicals, i would doubt if you make a profit from it, Are you not just working very hard to pay your advertising bill ?
Of course i make a profit from it!! 7k profit outgoings are tiny, areas are local, clients become clients for life recieve news letters refferel forms etc that 7k profit soon doubles if you know what you are doing and this is just one form of advertising i do, if it was the only then probably yes its not worth it!
Im sure as you become more established in this business you will learn more about marketing,its taken me over 4 years to build up a decent database of commercial and domestic clients.
NIck
-
paul i think nick makes a hell of a lot more than this he is saying he earns that from that particular ad . i know he gets work elsewhere. if one advertises in several places and earn a profit of of £6k from each source !!!? it soon adds up
-
with regards to one paper in september we have been in this for one year,
this is the one that pulls some work in,not as much as it should,6o,oo
copys a week,we do others but just started them with no response :-\
we have done some 8 papers about 200,ooo copys with little calls :-\
we still do wc bit want to make the cc the main of our work its much nicer to do this kind of work I enjoy it,I do prom work with the wc so I will stay in this kind of work it pays,I want the carpet side to build so we can ditch the wc work total ;D I have done loads of marketing for this,but I do think we are as a country not spending :-\ thus being very quiet on the cc
-
Terry,
Whcih part of Essex are you operating in?
Cheers
Doug
-
hi m8 in from thurrock to romford hornchurch all surrounding areas quite
a vast coverage,bt book yp romford Ilford papers, your advice would be most welcome,we are not a million miles away from you but not incontention by any means ;D
-
Hi Nick, I wasnt having a go at you it just seemed a lot of money to spend on advertising for the return, you sound like you have built up a great business anyway !!
Do you have a referals letter or offer money off if the pass somebody on, this is something i am just looking at and would be intrested in learning how you do it.
Cheers Paul
-
yes i do PAul and yes it works i send a thankyou letter to my previous clean with a self addressed envelope and 4 refferell slips in it oferring 10% of what ever jobs i get from them, once that client send me names and addresses i send the refferels a intrductory letter offering my services!!
Simple but it works ;D
Nick
-
I have been in Yellow pages for 20 years. I went from a quarter page colour in 2004 to a half page colour in 2005.
I still only got 18K retun so I have gone back to a quarter page and spent a grand in the Thomson directory instead.
-
Heve you had an business from the thomson tho ?
-
thom say they are better becuase they are local :-\ we do not know if we should try :-\ bt yp crap :P
-
Terry,
I have always found YP to be better than Thompsons.
Cheers
Doug
-
Terry,
I have always found YP to be better than Thompsons.
Cheers
Doug
Doug
Why do you have so many web sites?
Don't you get confused knowing which ones you haven't checked?
Also if custys think you do all that and have loads of sites they may think your a jack of all trades and master of none.
Please enlighten us on this advertising concept of yours? :)
-
i get plenty of calls from yellow pages / last year a£1300 at in thomson got 4 calls >:(