Thoughts On This Marketing Idea.....

CF Construction

....as I've indicated in some previous posts, I'm pretty new to the construction industry. I have a little over a year and a half under my belt and within than I've learned a bunch, but I know there's tons I still have to learn. My responsibilties in the company range in variety; one of which being in charge of marketing, or at least in some way I brought that task to myself. I've done a few things thus far that has proven to be good so far (I feel proud because I never went to school for marketing, but I own a few books on the subject as well as managing a construction company). In the past week I had that proverbial light bulb go on with a new marketing idea, but I don't know if it's a very good one, or if it will seem as if though we're "desperate".


This is my idea:



As I've indicated, we're doing some advertising in a few magazines that cater to affluent individuals which is our targeted clients. Last Friday I went to a Barnes and Nobles to buy a few magazines that I like and came across a few others that caught my interest, as far as advertising in their publication as well. This one magazine, "Ocean Drive Magazine", stood out the most. Not only because it's an ideal fit, as far as who their demo-graphic is, but it's also ours as well. What caught my attention (which was the first time I ever noticed this) was that in the final pages of the magazine (about 15-20 pages in total) they have a list of upscale restaurants, hotels, spas, clubs, etc. In addition to that, they also list realtors who are selling high-end homes and condos. Immediately I decidedbuy this magazine because of that. My idea is, perhaps getting in communication with these "listings" (i.e. e-mails, phone calls, mailing a "packaged brochure") and getting our name out thereo these people. Perhaps, at this moment in time they might not be in the need of any type of commercial remodeling service(s), or any construction service in general, but at least they can have our info in their files for when the time comes about that they want to do remodelings/construction to their facility. My question is, by doing this, would it make us seem desperate? Especially since we don't know anyone from these places and out of the blue they get an informational "form of communication" from us.


Thankfully, we're doing pretty good in these times and just this past weekend we signed on a couple of contracts to take on some residential remodeling projects. In my opinion though, this doesn't mean we should stay content and not continue in pursuing additional projects (of course as far as we can handle all of them without compromising our reputation).


So is this a good idea, or will it seem as if though we're desperate for business?

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

CF Construction

....any feedback/suggestions?

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

pcplumber

Are you saying you want to contact the advertisers in the magazine?

Contractors do this every day. It is a great way, to connect with aggressive contractors, like yourself.

It can be time consuming, to get addresses, and numbers out of magazines. Most likely, you will have to call each one. You will get many voice mails. You need to put this information into a database that can personalize the letters and print labels. You should mail to these vendors, at least, every 6 months. Maybe, every three months.

CF Construction

Yes, that's pretty much the jist of it. Get ahold of all these advertisers in this magazine, which as I indicated, range from high-end property realtors, to high end hotels, restaurants, etc. including contact info of luxury condominiums. I know this is a very huge task in the sense that it's time consuming and that I have to know how to approach each prospect.


With this type of approach, if you were a targeted prospect and you recieved a piece of marketing from our company, would you see this as an act of desperation, or will it actually catch your attention? Granted, it all depends on the material we mail out to these prospects, which is being worked on at the moment. We'll basically send out a brochure/booklet, almost the same size of a normal sheet of paper (similar to the booklets you recieve at a bank when you open an account), with information in regards to our company and services and of course, some of our projects, which will showcase our detailed finishes and hopefully will catch a prospects attention.

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

pcplumber

The only thing you need to do is burn your company name into everybody you can by sending mailings to the same people over and over. For you, quality pictures may be critical. This is just plain marketing and is in no way, desperation.

For a small mailing list, I print my own brochures, with an ink jet printer.
I don't care for tri-fold brochures, because you are forced to put small pictures, on every page. You may consider 8 x 10 two-sided, or four-page full color brochure, showing your work. You can buy the plastic covers with binding clips at any stationary store.

For these types of accounts, you must send something every few months. There is nothing better than delivering the material, yourself, and meeting these potential customers. Send pens, pencils, calendars, rulers, note pads, calculators, and business cards, every few months.

It depends on how much business you want. We spare no expense. Yesterday, we just received our order, of 200,000 advertising packets that we will hand-deliver. I figure we have a responsibity to make sure or employees have a good life-style, without having to worry about being laid off.

Keep it simple, at first. Don't go dumping more than $1,000 into designing and printing a brochure, including the mailing. As soon as you do the first mailing, you may realize something needs to be changed, and you will be stuck. Test the water very slowly.

I use Microsoft Publisher for designing my ads. I am not trying to sell high-end remodels, so my ads are not high-quality. You can go to the File Swap section, and I posted several copies, of our flyers that can be modified ,with MS Publisher, and I posted a Customer List Database, that will be perfect for you, or go to www.bestlineplumbing.com, and all the links for these items, are on the bottom of the page.

CF Construction

We're actually spending a little over $2,000 to have our "marketing/welcome package" done which consist of a brochure/binder (sort of looks like the big booklets you get from the bank when opening an account. Also has a small trifold brochure, business cards as well as a few extra flyers. The reason for the flyers is just in case they might have a resident (if the targeted prospect works in a condominium building) that's in the process of doing a remodeling, they can give them the flyer and use us, or at least consider us for their needs. So it's basically having that targeted prosect spread our name out for the simple fact that we've provided the "resources", in this case the flyers, to do so. The same applies for realtors. Maybe they just closed out on a deal and the buyer might not be ready to do any type of construction/remodeling to their property, but it's definately in the plans for the future, this flyer could be given to that buyer from the realtor to use us, or once again consider us for their project.


The marketing campaign I'm trying to run won't be as extensive as yours (you indicated you printed out 200,000 brochures). We're not trying to target everyone in particular. Our targeted audience are homeowners who have a home that's valued no less than $500,000 and individuals who work for high-end commercial places. This doesn't mean we don't do projects for the "Average Joe". As long as they're willing to pay the proposed price we submit to them, we're not biased.


However, personally speaking (obviously this is perfectly working for you), I think it's and it'll be overkill by sending out calendars, notepads, pencils, etc. especiallyto our targeted audience. A clean, concise presentation will be much more appreciated with this audience than "goodies". Again, this works perfectly well for you, but in our situation I don't think it would be the best way to approach these prospects.



Do you have any suggestions, or can you point me to the right direction where I can go to get a clear idea as to how a "marketing letter" should look like? This way I know what fundamentals I should have included in ours.

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

Max Nomad

"Sales" and "Marketing"... there's a difference.

If you're interested in writing some sales letters to accompany the packages you're sending out, here's an article that talks about the key points you need to hit:

http://www.writeexpress.com/sales-letter.html

and they also sell a package containing 3001 Business and Sales letters:

http://www.writeexpress.com/sales-letters.html

Packages like this are always a handy starting point. Of course, tailor it to fit your market.

Hope this helps. Good luck..

__________________
Majestic-Tile, a division of Majestic Home Improvement, LLC.
http://www.majestic-tile.com/
My Publishing Company and Graphic Design Portfolio:
http://www.bgpublishing.com/

CF Construction

I actually have sales experience. A little over a year and a half ago or so, before working in the construction industry I was a Sales Associate for a big corporation. I also sold commodities as well. So the knowledge of sales is one I am all to familiar with.


The letters I'm trying to sell are solely for marketing purposes. I'm not trying to write one where it "sells" a product because honestly we aren't a vendor/retailer/distributor of any particular product. I simply want to state who we are and what we do, sort of an "introduction" letter that you'll recieve after signing up to something (i.e. insurance, credit cards, etc.).

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

JumboJack

You have been in construction for a year and a half then "POOF" you're a GC?..

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in texas with framing and cornish people will do it for 3.00 a foot. What do yall think about that? Just laber

CF Construction

LOL


No, not me. I work for a GC. At the moment I'm taking an online course in Project Management and perhaps within 2-3 years or so I might go for my GC license, but at the moment I'm not a GC nor do I come off thinking I'm one. I've learned a substantial amount within my short time in the industry, but I know, based on what I see on a daily basis, that I have many more things to learn and experience about this industry.

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

JumboJack

You have GC listed as your trade.

__________________
in texas with framing and cornish people will do it for 3.00 a foot. What do yall think about that? Just laber

CF Construction

The reason for that is because my username is part of our company's name which happens to be a General Contractor company

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

fez-head

Are you looking for something simple like this?

Dear Sir or Madame,

Please allow me a moment of your time to introduce myself and our company as the newest members of the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association and also as a potential vendor of services to you. My name is Jesse Ray Kirchhoff - President and Founder of Handyman Solutions. We have been in business for just over ten years, are centrally located in Jefferson City, MO and service all of Mid-Missouri within a 65 mile radius.

Handyman Solutions has built an Outstanding Reputation based on Common Sense and Great Value as well as Prompt and Dependable Service. You may rest assured that your clients will be treated with the utmost courtesy and respect while projects are completed in a Timely Fashion by Friendly, Well-mannered, Uniformed and Skilled Technicians.

At Handyman Solutions we provide 24 Hour Emergency Service as well as a complete range of Interior & Exterior Maintenance, Repair & Installation Services. Our service technicians are equipped not only with all the tools to do the job, but also technology that allows the technician to check our database before going to the project or while already on site. Each service van is equipped with a mobile laptop computer, wireless internet, GPS location, printer, digital camera, and cell phone - as well as the latest online scheduling, invoicing and information programs provided by myonlinetoolbox.com.

Handyman Solutions ensures a steady supply of repeat clients by providing a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. After the completion of our services should you find a workmanship problem, adjustment issue or any thing you’re not satisfied with, contact us immediately. We will promptly respond to the issue and do our best to make the situation right with you.

Due to busy schedules most of our clientele prefer to contact our office through e-mail (instead of by telephone) sending the list of repairs and even pictures of problem areas to the office. I have found this to be an outstanding use of technology and it has worked extremely well for everyone involved. It is also a wonderful way to help keep overhead costs down and ensure that all decision makers are kept in the loop.

I would like to offer our Professional Handyman Services to you on an “as needed basis”. Although I am sure that your current provider is doing an adequate job - the fit that I see with your company is that we can be utilized as a backup or emergency service which is always on call and always available whenever needed.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our company to serve your needs. I am confident that if given the opportunity we can “Make Your Life a Lot Less Complicated”.
Most Respectfully,

Jesse Ray Kirchhoff
President/ Founder - Handyman Solutions
“Making Your Life a Lot Less Complicated”
www.midmohandyman.com
email@midmohandyman.com

PS
I have taken the liberty to enclose two business cards, a list of most requested services, W-9 form, and an example of our commercial auto, workman’s comp. and general liability insurance coverage. Of course updated insurance certificates are always available and may be faxed over by contacting Handyman Solutions - or by calling our insurance provider directly - ***XX *********XX at 573-***-***X.

CF Construction

This is perfect. Basically, this is the type of letter I'm looking to write.

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami

fez-head

Good!

You may also find this useful http://docs.google.com/previewtempla...pI051qjS96jxXg and this http://docs.google.com/templates

pcplumber

This was really nice for you to write this letter.


Most people hate to read. There are many words that can be removed to make the letter quidcker and easier to read. Every point is great.

The only thing I would never put in a letter is the part about making your life easier. The customer should be able to see this in the letter.

I don't care for 'Dear Sir/Madam'. I like 'Dear Customer' better. This also implies that this IS your customer.

Use less words and add more services with a bulleted list.

Just my opinion. Otherwise, the letter if terrific.

In the letter, you tell the customer you are busy and talk about ways to contact.

This is the only thing I would write in the sales letter.

You put the business cards in with the letter so don't waste the readers mental energy.

I would leave the email statement out of the body of the letter
You need to tell thecustomer what you can do for him before he loses interest. Most things are taken for granted, such as the tools. Send a color brochure with pictures.


HANDYMAN SOLUTIONS, INC.
"WE MAKE CLIENTS HAPPY"

Dear Customer:

Please allow me a moment of your time to introduce myself; Ray Kirchhoff, President and Founder of Handyman Solutions. Handyman Solutions, established in 1848, is licensed, insured, and provides the following services:


Interior & exterior maintenance
Plumbing
Electical repairs
Roof repairs
Rain Gutters
24 Hour Emergency Service
100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Handyman Solutions has an outstanding reputation, based on dependable service, and great value. I will assure you, your clients will be treated with courtesy andjobs will be completed, on-time, by well-mannered, uniformed, and skilled technicians.


You may contact me at (800) 555-5555, or ***-***x

Thank you so much, for taking the time, to consider our company, to serve your needs. I am confident, you will be 100% satisfied.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Jesse Ray Kirchhoff
President

12345 Main street, Spokanne, Washington 79786
www.handymansoultions.com email handyman@yahoo.com




www.midmohandyman.com
email@midmohandyman.com

PS
I have taken the liberty to enclose two business cards, a list of most requested services, W-9 form, and an example of our commercial auto, workman’s comp. and general liability insurance coverage. Of course updated insurance certificates are always available and may be faxed over by contacting Handyman Solutions - or by calling our insurance provider directly - ***XX *********XX at 573-***-***X

fez-head

Thank you for your opinions and they will be considered.

PMI

I agree with Max's comments that Sales and Marketing are completely two different issues. In layman terms, marketing focuses in on what makes a customer-prospect come to your door (including existing customers) while sales focuses on how to close a deal once the person is at the door. Phil

__________________
Phil Tonks
For all your Remodeling & Home Improvement needs in South Florida visit www.pmi1call.com

CF Construction

I'm aware that sales and marketing are two different things, this is why I responded with the following:

__________________
CF Construction and Remodeling, Inc.
"Your Vision Is Our Commitment"
General Contractor In Miami