How would you spend my marketing budget?

[Jim Goodall]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to do some marketing for my computer support business Crimson IT which provides computer support to domestic and SME's in and around the Birmingham area.

I have around £500 net to spend, and was thinking of investing this in Yellow Pages or Thompson Local, and or Touch Local.

Any thoughts / advise on best use of this budget?

Many thanks

Jim

 

[adam391]

Hi Jim,

To market to SME's in your local area networking events may work quite well, then once you have a few customers word of mouth will bring in more. I have not tried yellow pages myself but I have not heard positive responses on here about the return you get from your listing.

 

[RadiusBPO]

Maybe Facebook. I've seen some good things done with local mobile phone repair and I see no reason why it wouldn't work for computers.

Most domestic households have PCs, most have Facebook, most have no idea how to fix a computer or even maintain one. Of course an ok domestic PC is only £300 now so perhaps they are more throw away items now?

 

[Normansmith]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to do some marketing for my computer support business Crimson IT which provides computer support to domestic and SME's in and around the Birmingham area.

I have around £500 net to spend, and was thinking of investing this in Yellow Pages or Thompson Local, and or Touch Local.

Any thoughts / advise on best use of this budget?
Many thanks

Jim

That's the three places i WOULD NOT spend my budget on
First and no cost, i have searched "computer support Birmingham", there are several with "places" listings and your not to be seen near the first few pages so i would correct that.

There are local monthly magazines, delivered by the Royal Mail to various areas, usually in the 50-60,000 distribution, with ads from £30.

Gumtree,Craigslist, Vivastreet etc online classifieds FREE.

Then maybe test the water of PPC, or Adbrite and Facebook. But keep a close eye on it and set your daily budget and adjust or pause depending on results.

Try Facebook and Twitter for a business page if you don't have one, give's some social proof for the business.

Good Luck.

 

[BlueMouseDesigns]

Personally I would stay clear of yellow pages !! Had some not so fantastic results from there!

I would suggest get a flyer designed and printed and get it distributed around, If you need hep *cough cough*

Twitter of course is free so give that a try. I was going to have a look into facebook, it's on the expensive side but heard the results can be amazing !!

Maybe even sign up to some local meeting etc etc , workshops

 

[ScottBaxter]

I would stay clear of all the yellow pages and so on.

I'd look at internet marketing (SEO)- getting you to the top of Google for searches like ' it support Birmingham', 'computer repair Birmingham' In the mean time I'd look at doing some PPC.

Most people now with computers and a business would just 'google' something rather than look through phone books.

Hope it helps.

Scott

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Direct mail or telemarketing.

Steve

 

[Jim Goodall]

Thanks for the ideas folks - some really good ones there!

Think I need to find a network group in Birmingham!

 

[john resident]

Hi Jim,

I would:

1. Get some flyers printed, create an offer (maybe free PC review worth £30 or something) and visit as many business centres as
possible leaving them in the pigeonholes of all the businesses in there. Do it every month for 3 months and measure calls.

2. Get a free £50/£70 voucher for google - setup a PPC account and try it out for targeted keywords to your website

3. Go to a local BNI meeting a couple of times


cheers
John

 

[TangerineDream]

Hi Jim,

I would:

1. Get some flyers printed, create an offer (maybe free PC review worth £30 or something) and visit as many business centres as
possible leaving them in the pigeonholes of all the businesses in there. Do it every month for 3 months and measure calls.

2. Get a free £50/£70 voucher for google - setup a PPC account and try it out for targeted keywords to your website

3. Go to a local BNI meeting a couple of times


cheers
John

I love number 1 and 2

Now you might think as I am a telemarketing company that I would suggest telemarketing but the ROI will be low and not give you what you want.

I would get some info printed some simple offers and then get out on the streets visiting as many local business as you can. While you are doing this gather their email addresses and ask if you can send them emails of interest or other deals. This way you can start building a really target permission based email marketing list that you can keep mailing to. Email is really cost effective too.

Number 2 is a no brainer. I had 2 of these sitting on my desk till morning but they expired yesterday. ( I must remember to offer them out on this forum next time I get some in the post.) Perhaps there is some else out there that can assist by passing on a voucher they do not need / want.

 

[Danny Blair]

I agree with NormanSmith (NS). Sound advice in a digital age. You should get your location based settings sorted for Google search first. Set up a Google email account and then search "Google Places", login and fill in the details. Look at all the local free options next and then the local networking groups. The Chamber of Commerce is the best for networking - but it might be pricey compared to the alternatives. PPC advertising could work but it can run away with the money - it depend on the search terms you use to be found under.

Leaflet drops around the local business parks is a good option too. Local printers are desperate for work so you should get a good design and print deal, and some online offers are incredible cheap. Just make sure any print material is well written and accurate. Do the usual stuff and with introductory offers - sign-up now for a free audit or discount, but make sure the offer time limited. This sort of thing...Sign up now and we'll give you a 10% discount on all quoted work done in the next 12 months...

Good Luck.

 

[PureIT]

great post - we're looking at marketing at the moment. Be good to know what works for other IT companies

 

[Jim Goodall]

Thanks folks - really appreciate you giving me your thoughts!

I have already started down the Google route - my place ranks 3rd for Computer Support Weoley Castle (my local area), and I'm working on Birmingham (any places SEO tips gratefully accepted!)

I'd really like to get involved with some networking - I emailed the local BNI director a couple of days back, but as yet haven't had a response.

I've spoken to the Birmingham Chamber of commerce just after Christmas, but they suggested I wait awhile to get established before joining them.

May start another thread asking for networking recommendations - I know I google for them, but I'd much rather go with a recommendation than a cold fish!

Cheers

Jim