Marketing is for every business. And the process doesn’t require a college MBA.
The concept of marketing can mean nearly anything a business owner–of any size company–can do or use to promote their business name, services and products. And any business owner–no matter the education level–can put into practice a strategy to market his business.
Springtime in the Midwest is “go” time for many outdoor contractors–landscapers, builders, roofers, exterminators, etc. These types of contractors work mainly when the weather doesn’t prohibit work and, therefore, have to “make hay” while they can. This means putting together a strategy to capture as much business as possible before the off-season.
There are many avenues for advertising and numerous ways to pass your business name along through promotional marketing. But, there are two essential visual marketing pieces contractors must use.
The Essentials
Vehicle wraps are, statistically, the most cost effective way to advertise. This is based on the cost of the vehicle graphics per how many people see your advertisement, or CPM (cost per thousand impressions).
More people will see a wrapped company truck driving down the road than will see a TV ad or read a newspaper ad for that same company. In fact, the numbers are not even close.
And when a vehicle wrap is properly designed, containing all the essential information and eye-catching graphics, the wrap can be easily as creative and visually effective as a TV commercial. Really, a well-designed car wrap can create more buzz and overall name recognition than a low budget local television ad.
A marketer’s dream is to find a way to reach more people and spend less doing it. Vehicle graphics are the stuff dreams are made of.
Yard Signs are another very powerful tool in capturing the eyes of your audience. When on the job, and for weeks after, any contractor doing any type of work at a property should place a company yard sign on location.
Yard signs are another visual marketing tool that has great CPM and great word-of-mouth potential. The power of having your business name present in the cluster of a residential neighborhood is priceless.
Think about a lawn maintenance business that signs up a homeowner for weekly lawn mowing. Each time the crew is mowing that lawn, they need to place a yard sign in the lawn. Now, as neighbors drive past that house, they see the name of a lawn maintenance company that is doing work in their neighborhood. Plus, the original customer is an implied referral. Let the sign do the initial sales call.
A common tactic of a company to get more use out of a sign is to give the homeowner a discounted rate if he agrees to leave the sign in his yard through the season. But, considering a sign will cost $3.00-$5.00, depending on how many you purchase at once, the small investment can easily be recouped in the profit of the work done for the customer. An additional benefit of a yard sign is that they are reusable. So, there is no need to order signs again next season.
The use of job signs is a marketing must for contractors.
These options are two of the most basic and simple ways to implement a marketing strategy. Considering these can be taken care of with a simple phone call to a sign shop, the effort will be easily justified.
Contractors can’t afford to dismiss yard signs and vehicle wraps as the foundation of name recognition in their community.
