How long did it take for your advertising to kick in?

[likeitorlumpit]

Thats a tricky question.

Depends on how good the advertising is.

I suspect you've put an ad in the local paper and had no replies- that would be standard.

Get proactive - keep plugging until it pays off. Theres so many ways to advertise yourself thesedays. Also nothing wrong with contacting your local paper to do a piece on your company for free especially if you've got a USP.

[Alycidon]

I have tried most things over the last three years.

 

The one that works for me is the local magazine/handbook. I use one covering about a 25 miles radius of me which is a free delivery, I recently added a second mag covering another area but to date that has not yielded the results expected but we have only done the one add in there.

 

Other than that my website, recommendation and links from my stove suppliers web sites.

 

If I had to drop one then it would be the magazine.

 

A

[nick channer]

i spent £2500 for 16 weeks in 11 diff local papers mainly for the logs but also had tree work ad in aswell... first week which was 2nd week in sept we did 16 loads losg of which 9 were new customers and every week since i've had around 6 or 7 new ones.. so as long as ad pays for itself this yr hopefuly customers will come back next yr.... also had dozens tree jobs from same ads one of which we did on friday for £1200 so to me its worked well.. although i advertise in half those papers every weeek all yr round for trees anyway..

paying £150 month to be on first line google in 5 diff areas which is best thing i've done..

2nd weeek in building contractor googles tree surgeon in our area and got job to clear site £3500 in day and half with 3 men.... [lot of machines also helped] so that worked pretty much straight away..

[Mike Hill]

Pretty much straight away.

 

Depends on how you spend and where you spend it.

[YoGi_93]

So by the sound of it I need to stick to local cheap advertising and get some leaflets done! No shame in sticking leaflets through doors then?

[Guss109]

I advertise in in local magazines and they work well for what it costs also have a website and have just made up a Facebook page so will see how that works. I think you can have all the fancy advertising you like but it's important to be honest and turn up tidy when you meet customers as you never get a second chance to make a first impression

[Billy]

i spent £2500 for 16 weeks in 11 diff local papers mainly for the logs but also had tree work ad in aswell... first week which was 2nd week in sept we did 16 loads losg of which 9 were new customers and every week since i've had around 6 or 7 new ones.. so as long as ad pays for itself this yr hopefuly customers will come back next yr.... also had dozens tree jobs from same ads one of which we did on friday for £1200 so to me its worked well.. although i advertise in half those papers every weeek all yr round for trees anyway..

paying £150 month to be on first line google in 5 diff areas which is best thing i've done..

2nd weeek in building contractor googles tree surgeon in our area and got job to clear site £3500 in day and half with 3 men.... [lot of machines also helped] so that worked pretty much straight away..

 

With google was the £150 a month on Adwords pay per click or for SEO? If its Adwords do you do it yourself or get YELL or similar to do I?

 

Going back to the thread, I mainly rely on parish mags and a local small glossy magazine that covers the whole area with a massive circulation. The ones which are generally well established and expensive to buy into. I've tried a few cheaper ones that look good enough and had nothing, quite disappointing, and makes no sense to me

[Brick100]

Advertising does work, but only in a small way, local ads just keeps your name in the back of people's minds so they know we're to find you in time of need.

 

Personal I think neat / clean sign written vehicles work well, make sure you stand out. Small signs left at tidy completed jobs works, which should be complemented by hand delivered fliers posted in the area that you are working in.

 

At some point it will all fall in to place, but don't stop trying or get complacent.

 

Good luck.

[nick channer]

With google was the £150 a month on Adwords pay per click or for SEO? If its Adwords do you do it yourself or get YELL or similar to do I?

 

Going back to the thread, I mainly rely on parish mags and a local small glossy magazine that covers the whole area with a massive circulation. The ones which are generally well established and expensive to buy into. I've tried a few cheaper ones that look good enough and had nothing, quite disappointing, and makes no sense to me

have no idea tbh.. it moves around apparantly so one week its on first line then another its down a few... had 2 months trial before i signed and it worked thats all i can tell u

[Marko]

Repeatedly spending hundreds without any tangible return is just crazy unless you feel that seeding some form of brand recognition is worth the cost.

 

I would ask...

What do YOU do with any leaflets that come through your door? Why would you think your leaflet would be treated any differently?

 

How do you find a local service provider? If you were new to the area, how would you get a couple of quotes from tradesmen?

 

As you already have a website you can easily assess the impact of any campaign by assessing the changes in traffic, the sources of the traffic and of course the one that matters, the change in volume of business done.

 

In my book business comes from

1) Repeat business

2) word of mouth

3) Internet search (geo based)

4) Local publications (Parish magazines, Village websites etc)

 

1 & 2 are self explanatory and 3 is easily addressed. It is such a specific trade there is no good reason at all why a search for "tree stump removal Warwickshire" should not have you on the front page of google. No need for adwords just a bit of fine tuning.