High volume audience, with low volume advertising?

[Silverlight]

I've recently started my own company as a sole trader installing satellite TV, after tiring of working in the sub-contract industry for sky as I have done for a number of years, where the ethos is very much on quantity over quality.

I've done a low volume, leafleting campaign, but the total of 5000 flyers has netted me very few jobs, and the majority of the trickle of work I am recieving is coming from free listings.
The leaflets were mainly a test bed to guage response, and given the response, I need a different angle.

What I was thinking of was a traffic light poster, since I often see the small/medium boards strapped to lamposts and traffic lights at major road junctions, and given the absence of anything else to look at, you tend to look at them.

I'm trying to think of other low volume high audience ways of advertising.
Any clues?

Thanks in advance.

[BusinessIdeas]

You mean you want low cost advertising I suspect, rather then low volume?

[Silverlight]

You mean you want low cost advertising I suspect, rather then low volume?
No, I meant small volume, like billboards, etc.. as opposed to leafleating where 1000s of indivisual pieces of literature have to be delivered.

[BusinessIdeas]

I see now, sorry for being blond, its a late night for me :)

[XanderMarketing]

No, I meant small volume, like billboards, etc.. as opposed to leafleating where 1000s of indivisual pieces of literature have to be delivered.

Hi,

We can do things like billboards and 'out of home' advertising. Let me know if you'd like more information. It's actually cheaper than you may think.

Also - have you considered doing things on the internet - website, optimising that, Google AdWords etc? That would solve your problem of not handing out 1000s of leaflets.

There are local newspapers and magazines as well - you don't have to strictly do an advert - you could do things like advertorials where you provide advice on your services.

Alex

[LowcostPR]

I am sceptical about the billboard idea. This is mostly because they are covered with the ads that say "make billions in your spare time" or something like that. You will be clumped with this group as a potential scam-artist and could potentially damage your reputation.

Following on from what Alex from Xander has said, I rarely recommend using advertorials. The simple reason is they have the same problem as "infomercials" where you are trying to look like you are merely being informative, but the vast majority of your audience are aware that you have paid for the right to say whatever you want to and it is clearly an advert. Or worse; an advert masquerading as information.

TBH, if you are going to go down the Editorial route, I would recommend going the whole hog and getting some proper Editorial done. That way, you are getting the "third party endorsement" from the Editor.

However I would second the idea about using AdWords to focus on getting the best words in your local area.

[AerialSolutions]

Hi Silverlight - Where are you based? Do you only do domestic customers? Or can you do commercial? If you've got £400 spare you could join CAI if you're not already. Its also worth investing in the Digital Tick..

[LowcostPR]

BTW, when I say "billboard", I mean the ones on the back of signposts on roundabouts and junctions.

Other, more reputable locations would be far more efficient.

[XanderMarketing]

BTW, when I say "billboard", I mean the ones on the back of signposts on roundabouts and junctions.

Other, more reputable locations would be far more efficient.

I agree - the types of posters on a back of a signpost are usually 'get rich quick' type schemes!

I'm talking about train stations, bus shelters etc...

[Soul_Survivor]

It seems to me you want to sell yourself on service, hence the whole reason for getting away from sub contracting.

The type of advertising you're looking at stinks of low service and cheap price, in my opinion, not he sort of thing you want to be associated with.

Try lots of different advertising methods out, from advertorials in newspapers and magazines to getting down the the local golf / social club where you'll find the Saga generation who will be gagging for the extra customer service. In my experience (15 years of media owner/sales) not that many people know the difference between real editorial and an advertorial, particularly when you target the older generation.

I'd suggest you best method of getting good business is word of mouth so you need to be networking so people can spread the word.

[Silverlight]

I see now, sorry for being blond, its a late night for me :)
Don't worry, probably should have been in bed myself ;)
Hi Silverlight - Where are you based? Do you only do domestic customers? Or can you do commercial? If you've got £400 spare you could join CAI if you're not already. Its also worth investing in the Digital Tick..
Not so sure about the tick just yet, but the CAI is definitely on the cards in the near future. Based in Essex.
Kudos on your site btw, very professional looking.

Thanks for everyone else's input as well, all good points to consider. No doubt I'll be back shortly for more.

[ethical PR]

Hi Silverlight

Just to add to the debate. Not only do ads strapped to lampposts etc look tacky but council's are tightening up and have been known to sue those who deface their property by putting up posters/billboards. I worked for a London authority who had a team who removed the ads on a daily basis and also prosecuted offenders.

I would also suggest you have a look at your direct mail campaign again, it might not be the methodology you used but how you designed the flyer and your copy that was responsible for the poor response.

I would say have a look at a mixture of tactics PPC, website, direct mail, perhaps offering a competition through your local paper or glossy mag, ads in school magazines offering a percentage to their PTA can work well too.

[AerialSolutions]

"Kudos on your site btw, very professional looking."

Cripes - what did you look at??? We havent got a site (yet!)

[KidsBeeHappy]

I have Sky, and my house is in an area which several of the contractors deemed to be "dodgy". I had 3 contractors refuse to install because they couldn't get a signal. All my neighbours have Sky.

Everyone on our estate who had sky installed by contractors had a mare of a time.
Everyone on our estate that had sky installed by the local sky employed engineer have all had perfect first time installations.

Even if my satellite dish blew off the wall, covered by sky insurance, i would never get sky to come and fix it. I would go an knock on the door of the local engineer and because he won't take cash, buy his wife flowers, chocolates & wine.

My point, very longwinded, granted, is that many people only have a poor experience of dealing with Sky. And that after that initial 12 months would love to use a local engineer. But the thing is that they're not going to use you just because they get a flyer or see a poster, theyre only going to use you when they've got a problem that they need fixing.

And it would be well worth looking at the from the old fashioned marketing angle. Make sure that your van's all written up with a local number on it, make sure that you've got smart looking cards in the all the newsagents and local shop windows (people really do use these!!).

Make sure you're well known locally, that people know what you do, perhaps a noticeable jacket for example that you basically wear all the time, particularly every time you go to the bank. In every town there is a core "mafia" of well respected people, most of them just normal people, not necessarily important people, you get in with them, they recommend you, and it almost becomes an endorsement.

Flyers will get binned eventually, they're either too big to keep or get shoved in a drawer, give people something that they'll keep with your contact details on. It may also be worth a bit of doorstepping, particularly if you've got a new build estate that's over a year old.

Flog the sky free sat card, this saves folk money and gets them off the sky contracts, which many many people are currently doing to save a few quid each month. They may be concerned that they've not support/maintenance for the dish, so you can then sell your services.

Also, where are you and your locality in the digital switch over? That's got to be the biggest marketing opportunity possible.

As this is an online forum, a lot of the advice you get will suit online business, i'd definitely go back to basics on this one.

Hope that helps. Sorry for such a long reply.

[Silverlight]

Hi Silverlight
Just to add to the debate. Not only do ads strapped to lampposts etc look tacky but council's are tightening up and have been known to sue those who deface their property by putting up posters/billboards. I worked for a London authority who had a team who removed the ads on a daily basis and also prosecuted offenders.

That was a concern I must admit, thanks for your input.

Cripes - what did you look at??? We havent got a site (yet!)
Oh? I punched in Aerial Solutions in google, and got aerialsolutionslimited.co.uk I presumed it was you.

Hope that helps. Sorry for such a long reply.
Don't apologise, all input is welcome, detailed input more so! Most of your points I've acted on already, so we're on the same page.
My van is quite neat, and signed well, I often wear logo'd clothing, though not outside of work I admit.
In consideration of local, whilst local trade is good, I'm ideally looking to cover as much ground as possible, which was why I wanted to reach a broader audience than just the local area.

[AerialSolutions]

40% of our customers come from local trade directories that get delivered to homes via Royal Mail in North Yorkshire. We advertise as a local business with a local telephone number which helps as customers know theyre not dealing with a national company.

[Silverlight]

Currently I'm the only Company that does satelite in my small town in Essex, so that puts me ahead of the competition considering there is none, and being that my town is comprised of just over 10,000 people, that's a sorely limited market.

But yeh, I do see what you're saying with local work as I've had a few local Sky installs recently, which with two PVR3s and six TVLinks for one job, made the difference to my week, and I only had to drive five minutes to get there.

[AerialSolutions]

Have you joined the Sky Buddy Scheme available from Alltrade Aerial & Satellite Ltd? We've just joined.. makes a change to say 'yes' to a new sky customer!

[Gavin Harris]

Just to add to the debate. Not only do ads strapped to lampposts etc look tacky but council's are tightening up and have been known to sue those who deface their property by putting up posters/billboards. I worked for a London authority who had a team who removed the ads on a daily basis and also prosecuted offenders.

Also, what happens if there's an accident at the traffic lights because someone was reading your sign and was distracted...

[fisicx]

Who delivered the leaflets? Did your distrubutors only deliver to those houses without a satellite dish? What service were you selling on the leaflet, did you promote the cost saving and advantages of the sky-free card, are you selling the idea of whole house satellite coverage? Your flyer needs to sell what people want rather than just what you offer.

Go shopping in the van. Drive to the inlaws in the van. Go down the pub in your jacket. Remember it takes up to 7 impressions before the marketing message sinks home so a single flyer isn't enough.

[RLD Plastering and Tiling Services]

sorry to hi=jack this post but what is a sky free card and can it save money instead of using sky direct and if so where do you get one from

[Silverlight]

Have you joined the Sky Buddy Scheme available from Alltrade Aerial & Satellite Ltd? We've just joined.. makes a change to say 'yes' to a new sky customer!
I didn't know Alltrade did it, but I've been signed on with DAS who do the same thing for a while. Might sign for Alltrade as well, can't hurt. Cheers!
Also, what happens if there's an accident at the traffic lights because someone was reading your sign and was distracted...
Then it's driving without due care and attention; if they can advertise 'adult' dating services with the appropriate imagery at the roadside, and plaster a dirty great set of tits on billboards for bra comapanies, someone elses lack of concentration wouldn't be my main concern. Thanks for the thought though!
Who delivered the leaflets? Did your distrubutors only deliver to those houses without a satellite dish? What service were you selling on the leaflet, did you promote the cost saving and advantages of the sky-free card, are you selling the idea of whole house satellite coverage? Your flyer needs to sell what people want rather than just what you offer.

Go shopping in the van. Drive to the inlaws in the van. Go down the pub in your jacket. Remember it takes up to 7 impressions before the marketing message sinks home so a single flyer isn't enough.
I delivered them personally as I'm on a limited budget to say the least.
I put out 1000 each in what I considered 5 different demographics to see which responded best.

I wouldn't want to promote Freesat From Sky, as it's to my detriment when I install Freesat itself and my profit margin on Freesat is higher, plus I don't like the service much anyway. I've heard tales of people signing up, getting the 'free' 4 month trial, and getting stitched up with a 12 month contract.

I will probably give flyers another wizz at some point in the future, since I can as of friday print a website address, and offer a much wider variety of information and services there than I can fit on the back of a flyer, but for the meantime, I'm looking at alternatives with advertising.

I do go everyhwhere in my van, as it's the only transport I have at the moment ;)

[Silverlight]

sorry to hi=jack this post but what is a sky free card and can it save money instead of using sky direct and if so where do you get one from
Put "freesat from sky" in to google.

[AerialSolutions]

Freesat has nothing to do with Sky!!
Freesat is a UK digital satellite TV service from the BBC/ITV, launched in May 2008. Freesat has no monthly subscription, just a one-off payment for the digital box, satellite dish and installation. It even comes with subscription-free, high-definition TV programmes. Because Freesat is broadcast via satellite, it’s available to almost every household in the UK.
So there you have it. Tons of customers out there dont want the tie to Sky but do want HD tv. Also good for areas that cant get freeview.

[Alcsl]

What about approaching your local drive-through car washes? You know, the ones that have the chaps there who'll handwash your car for a tenner.

There's a couple around our way that have sold advertising space (on the walls where the cars sit whilst they are washed) to local companies. It's a captive audience, whenever i get my car washed at these places i'm just sitting there in the car, as you do, looking around the place whilst the guys clean it, I always spot the adverts on the walls there.

Wouldn't be too much either i suspect?

Al

[Silverlight]

Freesat has nothing to do with Sky!!

Nope, but Sky being Sky can't have anything threatening thier dominion, so Freesat from Sky happened.
What about approaching your local drive-through car washes? You know, the ones that have the chaps there who'll handwash your car for a tenner.

There's a couple around our way that have sold advertising space (on the walls where the cars sit whilst they are washed) to local companies. It's a captive audience, whenever i get my car washed at these places i'm just sitting there in the car, as you do, looking around the place whilst the guys clean it, I always spot the adverts on the walls there.

Wouldn't be too much either i suspect?

Al
That's actually a really good idea, and is definitely in the vein of the original question.
Cheers fella!