Let's talk billboards!

[ekm]

Hi all!

Employment issues aside (other thread), I've enjoyed because of my extra time availability a bit of an uplift in my side hustle work which is making me a good income and is better than it has been. It's not enough yet, but it's been considering quite good and I am eyeing up the possibility that it could actually be viable to replace my existing employment if I could build it a little bit.

I have posted similar questions before, and built a new clearer website as a result, and whilst it could be bettered I am sure, I am glad I did this. What I want to ask about here is more localised advertising.

I recently got a gym membership and on my way I pass a very prominent billboard overlooking an almost always gridlocked junction and it got me thinking, as the board clearly got my attention - is billboard marketing effective? Does it work for smaller rather than larger businesses? And what sort of money does it cost, is it limited purely to larger budgets?

I did a bit of research and actually found suggestions to the contrary, including on here which suggest it can actually be very effective, so I'm tempted to pitch it to those who control the purse strings.

My business is vehicle tuning, making them go faster, perform better (technical work) and where possible use less fuel (mostly through driver education than technical) - or as some people would say - remapping. It's something I did as a hobby, then did for another company before setting on my own as a side hustle as my IT career took over. I am well equipped, have the gear, an office so a physical presence and workshop, though I generally use the office for privacy doing IT stuff during the week and tuning at weekends.

However I don't have an IT gig at the moment (not sure if I want to go back) so am free to expand. My target audience, beleive it or not is not boy racers, or the heavy modified car scene - my ideal target is actually something a bit more low key - people who are not car enthusiasts who perhaps dont know they can benefit from a performance boost but would appreciate it all the same who are within reach of our local area (say 25 miles)

The reason I have this rather 'odd' target audience is whilst they represent a smaller proportion of my customer base, we do get people (often middle aged) who turn up and just want 'overtaking to be a bit easier' and beleive it or not, these are our best customers - their cars are often well maintained, not abused, and they are without wanting to sound judgemental very accepting of the pricing we have. Whereas the hardcore car scene is very 'race to the bottom' and everyone 'knows a guy with a laptop who will do better for 50 quid'.

So I want to appeal to people who perhaps would like a bit more power, but also aren't horsepower freaks - just people who already like their car but would like to 'overclock' it a bit, and not necessarily to an obscene degree.

I do think this market exists - its probably smaller than the car scene, but it does exist and I wouldn't be looking for an exponential gain in customerbase, but it would be good to top it up. The reason I think we're not getting more enquiries from this demographic is simply because my local advertising is almost nil and people often say they don't know we existed.

What are peoples thoughts on billboards in this kind of scenario? It's not something I'd have normally considered as I mentally file it under 'only for big businesses' but would a very localised campaign yield results for a small business do you think?

cheers!

 

[NickGrogan]

Biggest problem with billboards is getting people to remember to contact you. You see it, think its great, get home and cant remember the name.

Solve that and it can work well. Personally I'd target smaller boards near dealer showrooms. They're already thinking about the car, maybe taking for service for something, so its a logical connection. If you can get one visible from the showroom/service area or directly in front of the exit you'll be sorted.

Hard to find, but you said you dont need millions of customers so one or two could pay off big time.

I know some very good graphic designers (worked for Honda, Audi - that kind of good) if you want an intro.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'd have thought, given your target audience that there are more focused niche media.

As a broad rule , billboards are for brand awareness rather than information or direct enquiries

 

[NickGrogan]

I'd have thought, given your target audience that there are more focused niche media.

As a broad rule , billboards are for brand awareness rather than information or direct enquiries

I'd agree, unless you get ultra-specific locations.

A recruitment company I worked with did billboards in the tube station nearest to a competitor's office, partly to steal staff, partly for branding. They assumed there were ads at other stations but never checked.

 

[fisicx]

@ekm I own a 1973 TR6 and are part of the whole classic car world. There are hundreds of clubs, groups, organisations, websites, magazines, forums, suppliers, restorers, autojumbles, car shows and everything else. It's a 6 billion per year industry.

Tap into this and there will be a ready supply of customers. Many modern classics are chipped so you shouldn't have a problem finding work.

 

[ekm]

Thanks for the responses - I am not *dead set* on billboards, it's more something that jumped out at me as I was musing small business marketing, I am not full of marketing ideas, but thanks for the input.

It looks like billboarding has it's place but might be some other avenues to consider. If I were doing this ten years ago, I'd probably be looking at internet forums and groups (like briskoda for instance) and seeing if they do online banners or inset adverts but I didn't look too deep into it as internet forums (no disrespect to this one!) seems to have died in comparison to facebook groups (which I think is a step backwards but thats another debate)

 

[fisicx]

Have you been to pistonheads?

Pretty much every marque has a forum or community.

 

[WaveJumper]

Billboards depending on location can be very expensive. I would first look at targeting your local market ie flyers to all the local workshops letting them know the services you offer. The second as mentioned above "car groups" having attended car events helping out my son over many years at venues like Santa Pod, Silverstone etc etc there was always a Auto tuner around with a queue of customers waiting to have their cars tuned up, you could almost set up a stand at Santa Pod every weekend check their website out

 

[ekm]

Thabks everyone for the input so far, I am mulling it over. Billboards might *not* be the answer, but some of the suggestions particularly pistonheads and similar forums might point in a useful direction.

The only thing is, I think, and its years since i used pistonheads - it probably is a bit already car enthusiasty so people probably will have a preferred tuner even if it raises awareness.

It's a bit difficult, it seems almost self-endangering but my ideal market is a type of customer we get frequently, so they do exist, but not 'the type you would expect' given it's a performance company, so we're talking people who have downsized the family car from a 2.0 to a 1.6 diesel for isntance and wish it drove like the 2.0 they've just got rid of. We get a surprising amount of this, they tend to be good customers yet I dont think they'd hang out too much on specifically automotive enthusiast community groups.

I haven't ruled out having a trial though - I know when I had some mechanical issues with my own car I joined an owners group just to google to see how common the issue was (save me some diagnosis time!) so you might find tis type of customer there.

Definitely food for thought, still considering. Are there any other obvious marketing strategies beyond fliers (which are probably almost nill effecrtiveness?) billboards and forums I might have overlooked?

My aim isnt to be mega busy, jobs when we get them are quite profitable, I'm already at the critical mass point where the natural flow of enquiries from recommendations brings in enough to pay the bills and get something out of it, I would just like to nudge it a bit because it woukdnt take too much to almost replace the job I've recently lost.

cheers!

 

[rach_anastasia]

Really interesting insights from the responses in here. I always assumed print media and its iterations were dead.

 

[fisicx]

Car shows, auto jumbles, local fete and similar can always be a good source of leads. I’m assuming here most of your customers will be local.

Have you got the van wrapped? Do you go shopping in the van and park it up so people can see.

There’s a bloke who does windscreen repairs in the carpark. He is always busy.

 

[JeffPWFB]

Have you had any success with email marketing, ekm?

 

[FreddyG]

is billboard marketing effective? Does it work for smaller rather than larger businesses? And what sort of money does it cost, is it limited purely to larger budgets?

No, no, yes.

I too pass a billboard regularly and I cannot remember one thing that board has had on it - ever!

All a billboard can do is reinforce a message that someone is already fully aware of. They see it for two seconds (tops!) and then look away.

I would stick to a decent website and a good local reputation. You might also try talking to local independent one-man garages. You know the sort - Stig-with-a-Spanner. They're usually semi-retired workshop foremen who can do the mechanical stuff, but lack the know-how and the software for engine mapping.

Ask around - there are tons of them out there! Put together a nice little gatefold brochure of what you can and cannot do for Mrs Goat-Posture's Volvo Diesel estate (more MPG is very popular!) and for Mr Goat-Posture's E-Class, more power and stay within the law and emissions levels - and so on!

 

[Paul Carmen]

Billboards are a waste of time, people will see them driving and unless it's super memorable, will never take down or remember the details. They are really for brand awareness and as part of much larger campaigns.

Your audience and likelihood to capture sales will be split into a few areas, that need further research to ascertain size and success rate. These are in no particular order: -

1. Facebook car groups
2. Online car forums
3. Google searches

The tendency for car groups/forums ; e.g. Bimmerforums, Pistonheads etc is for people to ask other/posters for recommendations. Facebook groups are similar, but tend to be much more based on recent activity. If you're starting out this is difficult, but you can still establish a presence on these sites.

Your more likely to get success from online searches, by having a good website and Google Business Profile that covers the things people look for, and focuses on the car brands/models that people will likely want performance upgrades for.

You will need to do, or get someone to help you with, keyword and customer research. It may be that you need to do some targeted and measurable local search based PPC/local service ads, or Facebook marketing to establish what works.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Roadsigns (not specifically billboards) can be a very effective for of marketing.

I know someone who regulars posts signs for their events. They asked visitors how they found out about the event (prebooked visitors/list of options) and roadsigns were bar far the most popular response!

 

[ekm]

Thanks everyone, didn't realise we had more posts so sorry if it's a bit belated.

It looks like we have a majority consensus for the big style billboards then - brand awareness, not useless, just perhaps not appropriate for my scale of operation,

I haven't tried email marketing, just because I hate spam myself and wouldn't want to agitate people (presuming thats what we have in mind).

What I have done is re-activated my google and facebook advertising accounts - I haven't launched anything yet as I want to think carefully about it, but these are perhaps the 'easier' (if not easy) ways to try and direct some traffic to the website.

Roadsigns are an interesting option too - I'd need, at the risk of looking a bit dim a bit more context on this - are you referring to circus style posters people put up on lamp-posts, or paying to put them up on the side of fences etc as some businesses do?

Then there's obviously the posters in the pub loo haha, I didn't even think of that until the other day when I came face to face with someones tyre advert. Which is fair enough, I had to notice it as for a few seconds it was literally all I could see.

 

[fisicx]

What’s wrong with going out and meeting people?

Most car clubs have local meets and there are any number of local car events. We often have guest speakers at our monthly club night who generally get new business.

 

[Mark T Jones]

AIDA

Think about the final A - action

I've seen the name, I'm interested, I want to get in touch. What happens

Billboard - I'm driving. Is your brand sufficiently strong that I'll remember it when I get home?

Or, is it just around the corner, where they can follow your arrow around the corner to pop in?

Toilets - similar (but not driving) but perhaps I can photo or QR it

Car groups / forums - they are already heading towards the buying mindset, you just need to capture them from the other ads

Etc etc...

 

[JeffPWFB]

Thanks everyone, didn't realise we had more posts so sorry if it's a bit belated.

It looks like we have a majority consensus for the big style billboards then - brand awareness, not useless, just perhaps not appropriate for my scale of operation,

I haven't tried email marketing, just because I hate spam myself and wouldn't want to agitate people (presuming thats what we have in mind).

What I have done is re-activated my google and facebook advertising accounts - I haven't launched anything yet as I want to think carefully about it, but these are perhaps the 'easier' (if not easy) ways to try and direct some traffic to the website.

Roadsigns are an interesting option too - I'd need, at the risk of looking a bit dim a bit more context on this - are you referring to circus style posters people put up on lamp-posts, or paying to put them up on the side of fences etc as some businesses do?

Then there's obviously the posters in the pub loo haha, I didn't even think of that until the other day when I came face to face with someones tyre advert. Which is fair enough, I had to notice it as for a few seconds it was literally all I could see.

 

[JeffPWFB]

I haven't tried email marketing, just because I hate spam myself and wouldn't want to agitate people (presuming thats what we have in mind).

No; that's the last thing I had in mind. There's a big difference between scatter-gunning emails in the hope that one or two recipients care what you have to say and emailing helpful information to current or former customers whom you know are at least on the same page as your business.

I get several emails a day from businesses, which I will look at even though I have no current intention to buy from them. That's because I've come to trust them, they're emailing me about something I'm generally interested in and they provide useful information.

Those businesses are building a relationship with me through their emails, which gradually establishes them in my subconsciousness as the go-to people should I need the type of product or service they provide.

As well as this, email is free, it will be seen - even if the recipient decides not to click on it - and it remains YOUR platform. Unlike social media platforms, It can't be prejudiced because Facebook, Google or X has changed its algorithm or because someone decides to report you for something you said there nine years ago. People have had lucrative businesses virtually shut down overnight because they were at the mercy of the Overlords of Silicon Valley.

As long as you keep your email list backed-up somewhere, on the other hand, your line of communication with your customers is intact. Email might seem unsexy but it remains extremely powerful as a marketing tool when aimed at carefully targeted audiences.

But I wish you well with whatever route you take and I hope it works out for you.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Have you been to pistonheads?

Pretty much every marque has a forum or community.

I got suspended from there for accusing another member of merchant banking He was a barclays banker

 

[Deleted member 367548]

So billboards ca be expensive. They are difficult to track and can be untargetted. All statements that in a broad approach are accurate.

However...

Digital billboards now can be a lot cheaper and can be bought more tactically then previous OOH campaigns, so don't discount them. You may even be able to add a QR code or other mechanic with an offer or free something to encourage interaction.

That being said if your budgets are small, I would have probably used paid social. You can target locations, your a target ages you can target on interests. Again with the way apple and others have moved on security, you won't be able to fully see their impact but at least you know the right eyeballs are seeing the messages.