Help with promotion ideas

cagneuk

Here's a thought.

Have a look through your local paper for upcoming summer fetes etc. There are always loads going on, car boot fairs and the like. And when you have no work on take the van you then have an instant advert at each of these events. you'll often find the same people going to these events and it doesn't take long for people to start noticing and saying ' there's that eastmenders van again' what may just be 1 van people will soon think is a fleet.

cagneuk

how about gumtree.com advertise on there which I think is free. google sites allow free webpage creation if you just want something straightforward to begin with

vivatifosi

I am a director of my local resident's association, and we are always on the lookout for good trades people that we can recommend to residents, and with similar homes, when a problem crops up in one, you can almost guarantee it will crop up in another. Why not drive round the local housing estates and try and find out who runs the resident association? Pretty much every estate that's been built in the last 20 years will have one, though not all are as active as ours. Maybe offer to do a test job for them and see how you get on? I'm sad you're not in my area!

English_Bob

That's a fantastic idea from vivatifosi.
Along the same lines, i was going to say, find someone who has lots of links to your target market and see if they need anything doing.(eg local businesses) ... some of them may let you advertise in their premises in return for some work for them.
Or ... and this is a bit cheesy ...... get a load of pens / calendars made up with your name on them and get down your local high street and give them away. If you do it personally, then Joe Public will get to put a face to a name. Throw in some home made nibbles and you may even pull a crowd. If you get one job from this, it will probably pay for itself.
Advertising for a small business is a minefield.
What's important is to ask clients where they heard of you and keep these stats (don't just guess them). This will allow you to affectively direct your next years advertising budget.
Good Luck
Bob

Les4553

vivatifosi wrote: »

I am a director of my local resident's association, and we are always on the lookout for good trades people that we can recommend to residents, and with similar homes, when a problem crops up in one, you can almost guarantee it will crop up in another. Why not drive round the local housing estates and try and find out who runs the resident association? Pretty much every estate that's been built in the last 20 years will have one, though not all are as active as ours. Maybe offer to do a test job for them and see how you get on? I'm sad you're not in my area!

Thank you so much for this suggestion. We are definitely going to try this route and who knows we may get lucky.

Les4553

cagneuk wrote: »

Here's a thought.

Have a look through your local paper for upcoming summer fetes etc. There are always loads going on, car boot fairs and the like. And when you have no work on take the van you then have an instant advert at each of these events. you'll often find the same people going to these events and it doesn't take long for people to start noticing and saying ' there's that eastmenders van again' what may just be 1 van people will soon think is a fleet.

What a great idea! Definitely going to try this as we have some really big Car Boot Sales in our area that are held every week. We would like to put some leaflets on car windscreens at these sales but aren't sure about the rules and regulations these days. Do you know?

poet123

You could also pay a student to deliver leaflets door to door,or wear a sandwich board in a shopping centre!!