Online Local Advertising?

bobbyg

i have started a small Bobcat Service biz this year and have a few ? about advertising etc

i just signed up for Yahoo's $9.99/month plan...

i looked into GOOGLE, YAHOO, LOCAL.COM...on local.com for $39.99/month it says it will list on all the above plus swithchboard.com and a few others?..

is anyone using these services?...im not sure which to use, if i should just get basic or pay extra and get listed higher on the search list...

just trying to get some info from you other contractors about this advertising / marketing

realpurty2

One thing that would make it alot easier to give you suggestions is to know your target market. Are you trying to focus on residential customers in within a certain mile radius or region only? Commercial only? Both?

How internet friendly are the type of customers you want to reach in the area you want to reach?

Those things will affect the suggestions we could offer.

__________________
Woman in a Man's World.

bobbyg

real, the target is both residential and commercial (smaller contractors who don't own a machine)...so far 75% of my biz has been residential

the residential target is the DIY'er that is looking for extra help from a Bobcat ...here in the Greater Boston area the target is very internet savvy...the target is not super super rich but definately upper middle class...

APC

realpurty2,

What form of local advertising for the east side of Nashville do you recommend for residential? I know of local papers such as the Tennessean, Brentwood Journal, etc.

Thanks

MattCoops

bobbyg, what about the Herald?

when we were up there the herald brought us a ton of phone calls

at the beginning of summer it was like 40 bucks for a 3 day ad

I don't think online is going to bring you much

I'd make a nice mailer and mail/fax to a bunch of contractors

but for right now
the big pusher in boston is snow removal
get a marketing strategy together now
it will pay off in a month

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

bobbyg

Matt, so had luck w/ the Herald?...what section, just the reg classifieds?...for $40 for 3 days, sounds decent, i figured it was more

I'm open to any form of advertising...since i started my biz this fall, I have only used Craigslist.org...and I got about 15-20 and many more phone calls and emails jobs from it this fall...so with the decent success on craigslist, online i was looking at at least getting listed on google and yahoo

MattCoops

craigslist worked great for us when we were in boston
but down here in charlotte, less people know about craigslist
here in charlotte, we have Angie's List, which is similar to craigslist, sort of

The Herald worked great for us. We were in Lowell Sun too.
The key is consistency.
We were in classifieds section. And when we got real busy we'd take out a 1/4 page ad in sports section.

The best rule of thumb is advertise like hell when you're busy. Even though you got so much work coming in, you don't think you need to push marketing. But you'll regret if you don't, and then have to dump more in ads when you're slow, and funds are low.

Advertise more when busy, and suffer less from slow times.

Right now, i think it be real wise to type up a nice professional flyer and mail out or fax to contractors. It's better to call contractors and tell them a little bout your company and what you do (sell yourself), and if they want to hear more, tell them you can mail them some more info. Have a script in hand, and make it brief, exciting, and to the point.

Do you have a website?
It's a good advertising tool.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more