How Should I Market a Vehicle Recovery Service?

[smithsrecovery]

As you may or may not know I have recently started a vehicle recovery and breakdown company after being fairly ill in my last job and I need your help each and every one of you nice people..

How can i get my name out there? I have my website and am talking to people every day with business cards and so on ... but I need to be growing more.

I have started a petition in the industry too to allow us to have flashing red lights when we are stopped at the roadside to get my name out there in the industry.

Regards
Andre

 

[ethical PR]

Have you developed a marketing plan to identify the best ways to reach your audience ? If not this should be your starting point.

 

[smithsrecovery]

My planning for anything is appalling .. So much so i got really ill and within 24 hours i had quit and bought recovery truck...I am very impulsive and dont really plan.. I was going to get some branded air freshners so the number would always be in the car... but thats it

 

[weblisterltd.com]

You really need to plan things, impulsive doesn't really work in business, set yourself some realistic achievable goals and think where you can really gain work or leads, if you really want to advertise you will normally find you have to pay for it

 

[LowPrices.uk]

Don't breakdown recovery services get most of their business from the breakdown recovery services like Green Flag etc. If so, why not create a presentation pack and send it to them. You just need to make them aware of your service.

 

[businessfunding]

My planning for anything is appalling .. So much so i got really ill and within 24 hours i had quit and bought recovery truck...I am very impulsive and dont really plan.. I was going to get some branded air freshners so the number would always be in the car... but thats it

That is promotional activity not a marketing plan.

Your honesty is enlightening, but I'm afraid as Ethical said, you really do need a plan - perhaps starting out by identifying exactly who your target customer is.

As an aside, I recently financed a recovery truck for someone who worked exclusively for their local council (it was a small home-based business)

 

[smithsrecovery]

Greenflag and AA need you to have all sorts of accreditations and a truck normally no more than 3 years old... neither of which i currently have as you then need premise and an O license and a transport manager = cost.

I don't see the point of coming on a place like this and bigging myself up.. i'm here cap in hand for help and make no bones about it .

Council work around here is contracted out to the police recovery agent and there is no room to break in there.

 

[businessfunding]

Why did you buy a truck? Who were you envisaging using your services? what is your experience? Who are your contacts?

Try to dig out the positives, there is really no value in telling us who won't use you unless there is an outcome.

 

[ethical PR]

Here you go - follow these steps to form your marketing plan

What objectives do you have for marketing your business over the coming year?
Who are you target customers?
What experience do you have in the sector? What contacts do you have? What knowledge do you have about how to secure customers?
Why should your potential customers buy from you rather than your competitors - this will help you differeniate yourself from your competitors and clearly articulate why people should buy from you - it's called your brand or positioning.
What communications channels do your customers use?
What activities can you carry out to reach your customers through these channels?
What budget and resources do you have to put any plan into action?
How will you measure your success?

 

[businessfunding]

Just do what she ^^^ says

 

[Dan Izzard]

As @ethical PR lists above, a solid marketing plan will help you to focus on what strengths you have and which areas you should focus on.

My first instinct with your area of business would be to take a look at the Google results on a mobile. These should be tailored to your location and should give you an indication of the different types of competition. Likely to be PPC followed by Premium directory listings, then perhaps review sites.

That if course is just one small area to look into!

 

[smithsrecovery]

Well if you googe Norfolk Recovery you will note both my largest competitor (though i am not their competitor due to size comparison) and you will also note the only PPC result is indeed me

 

[smithsrecovery]

And i have spent a fair amount of time submitting my details to as many free directories as possible.

 

[ethical PR]

How much business have you generated through either of these methods?

 

[smithsrecovery]

Gumtree has paid dividends and even factoring in the time to do the gumtree ads and cost of the jobs i have made a small amount of money from it.

 

[ethical PR]

I would suggest you concentrate on putting together a marketing plan based on the criteria I outlined above . It shouldn't take you more than two days including research.

And you could do this over the course of this week.

 

[Matthew1983]

build a website, optimize it for local SEO, join the local business networks.. Website discovery is huge these days for businesses like yours

 

[Chris Ashdown]

What impression does your van and driver make, are you a Eddie Stobbart or a breakers yard, it does make a difference if you look professional then you get more jobs

Have you triad the auction houses who sell cars, many must need to go by truck same with bangers for scrapping they need to be moved and mostly not licensed or mot'd.

Check out local garages even if they have their own breakdown van they may have two jobs needed at the same time

Can you associate yourself with someone who does have all the licences

Can you tow a car plus a caravan if so contact local caravan sites so they remember you if a customers car breaks down miles from home at the end of their holiday

Check out roadside cafe they might have customers who have broken down

Have a flyer made up with mileage rates so people know what it will cost

 

[smithsrecovery]

Hi,

Small update since the start. I have been working with someone from this forum who has helped me with some telemarketing to build commercial relations with local garages. I have also got a new storage unit and have joined the Road Rescue Recovery Association and as of tomorrow I am an affiliate of the Institute of the Motoring industry.

My trucks are more on Par with the Eddie than the scrappy. All my trucks are clean and sign written as well as having a deep clean once a week and a tidy up daily. I am always in uniform which is clean and smart at all times.

Regards

 

[14Steve14]

Local garages are one way to go. Rather than phoning them, take you and the truck to them, and spend a bit of time with them explaining what you can do to improve their business. Leave them something to stick on the wall with your details on it. They will remember a nice clean sign written breakdown vehicle, and may give you some work. Do the same with any trailer or caravan places in the area. If you can do commercials, do the same with owner/drivers.

There must also be local directories and magazines that are delivered to many house in your area. Offer home start or recovery to there local garage for repairs. I can think of many small ideas of what you could be doing. You should be doing the same. Saying that you should have thought of them already.

 

[GaryA2B]

Just a thought but have you looked into providing recovery for ongoing roadworks. I'm sure most people have seen the "free recovery await rescue" whilst travelling through roadworks. May be a good starting contract.

 

[garyk]

Well you have two things you can target:

People in your vicintiy
People who drive older cars (that are more prone to breaking down)

So start looking on facebook for groups of people that say for example belong to the mk2 escort club, classic cars etc etc and are in a 30 mile radius of your position and advertise on fb will be cheap and targeted.

 

[beasty]

Rename your business

The closest breakdown service, so the next time i break down and cannot remember the number for the RAC OR AA I RING directories and just say give me the closest breakdown service..
BOOM BUSY

 

[smithsrecovery]

I can call a garage to arrange a meeting in 30 seconds but takes me at least 15 minutes to drive to one... And they are always too busy when you get there.

My SEO is starting to improve for things like breakdown Norfolk...

 

[PaulP]

I am looking to strt offering recovery and transportation.

Could someone please send me a copy of what paperwork should be filled in?

I have GIT insurance, PL insurance etc. I'm just not 100% on the paperwork side.

Thanks in advance.

PaulP

 

[Kat Haylock]

@PaulP

Please start a new thread to ask your question - you'll get a better response and it stops ancient threads from being dragged up over and over again.

Thanks!