The way customers find trades and services has changed with the ever increasing useage of the Internet - and in particular - Google.
Traditional advertising mediums like phone books and classified advertising are now just small pieces of the advertising puzzle.
But where does that leave tradies?
The Internet is now the central hub of small business marketing, but promoting your services in today's market shouldn't be restricted to one medium.
So in this article, I will outline different advertising options and the benefits of each one.
Word of mouth
Hands down, word of mouth is the most positive way your business can be promoted.
Trust is a big factor when customers choose a small business, and a personal recommendation is a giant step forward in gaining that trust.
Word of mouth is a long term thing, and relies on providing your customers with great service - every time.
Treat every job and every customer as an important part of your business marketing and growth.
And remember - one bad wrap can undo ten good ones!
The phone book
The Yellow Pages still has a place in advertising trades and services, but its usage is in decline.
There is a fundamental in small business advertising and it is particularly relevant to Yellow Pages at the moment - if it works for you - keep doing it!
Most of our customers still have a presence in the Yellow Pages, but are reducing their investment, and using the money saved in online advertising.
Newspaper classifieds
The effectiveness of classified advertising is also in decline, but can still work for trades and services - depending on the local market.
With so many people getting their news and information online, it's uncertain how long newspapers will remain viable, so it's best not to treat classifieds as a long term option.
Doing a leaflet drop around your service area is still a great way of kick-starting a business.
If it generates a few jobs, then repeat business and word of mouth can start.
You can get a leaflet produced quite cheaply at your local printer and maybe get the kids to drop them around your local area for some pocket money.
And I'm a big fan of the good old fridge magnet for tradesmen.
Every customer - new or old - should get a fridge magnet before you leave the site - it is a great way of getting repeat work.
The Internet
The usage of the Internet is ever increasing, and having some sort of online presence is now crucial for small business - whether it is for generating new customers, or a way that enables existing customers to find you.
There are several categories under the online banner, so let's explore each one.
Websites
It's fair to say that every small business should have a website.
A quality website gives your business credibility and makes you look professional. And there is a growing number of people who will not deal with businesses if they don't have a decent website.
If you need a website to generate new work, then it's critical that your website gets found on search engines.
It's no good having a fabulous website if you're on page 5 - no one will see it.
There is an art in getting your website to rank well and you need to make sure that whoever creates your website incorporates SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
And if you take one thing away from this article, please let it be this. Do not try and put together a website yourself!
Even the simplest of DIY websites takes time and technical know-how to put together - and it's almost guaranteed that it won't rank well in search engines.
Our best customers are those who have tried putting a website together themselves, only to give up in frustration, and a cheap looking website with "under construction" plastered across every page!
The difficult part is finding the right professional to create a website for you. If you don't choose a website design business that specialises in the type of website you need, it could cost you a fortune and it might not be effective.
Here are a few questions you should ask a prospective web business before you commit:
Do they specialise in small business websites?
Do they incorporate SEO - or is this extra. If so, how much?
How long have they been in business?
Can they show examples of websites similar to your business?
Can they show successful examples of Google rankings?
Social media
All the recent buzz is about social media and for some businesses, it has been incredibly successful.
But the key is - it has to be the right business!
It's more suited to retail than services, and even then, the product has to be interesting, so it gets people talking.
Let's look at an example.
A travel agent has discounted ski trips to New Zealand available for a limited time. It is the perfect thing to promote on their facebook page and they could even do a facebook ad campaign for an extremely targeted demographic. It would work because a ski trip to New Zealand is fun and people will talk about it.
The same excitement can't be generated if you're a plumber promoting a special offer for cleaning grease traps!
So for the service industry and particularly tradies, dip your toe in the water by all means, but best not to rely on social media.
Online directories
You're probably familiar with online directories - they include Yellow Pages Online, True Local, Hot Frog and many more.
Online directories have always been worthwhile registering with, especially if they are free and if the listing includes a back link to your website.
But most directories are charging for listings now and you need to weigh up the benefits before you part with your advertising dollar.
Directories list highly in search rankings because of their size, but listings click back to the directory website.
And once in the directory, the customer then has access to all of the other businesses in your local area.
And seasoned Internet users often bypass directories, because they lack information.
Customers want to check out a business before they call them, and typically want more information than just contact details.
Ontime Plumber
Ontimeplumber.com.au is one in a series of industry specific websites and is all about plumbers and plumbing.
It has consumer information and resources in the 'front end', but it also contains web pages written and designed for plumbers, utilising very targeted search terms.
Because of the size and targeted subject matter (plumbers and plumbing), the web pages within Ontime Plumber rank highly - and look like just a normal website listing.
A potential customer clicks on the listing and it goes straight to a self contained web page, with company information, services they provide, contact details and an email response form.
The customer has no access to the rest of the website, so it is as though it is the plumber's own personal website.
And the search terms are exclusive. Once a search term is taken, which is typically a suburb or region, no other business can have that search term on the website.
It is ideal for businesses with existing websites as it provides high search rankings using very targeted and specific search terms.
And it is perfect for businesses without an existing website. Plumbers can even have a 4 page website under the ontimeplumber.com.au domain, which virtually eliminates the need for a stand alone business website.
The pages are affordable, effective and tick every box in the online marketing world.
So there you have it!
A cross section of marketing options for your plumbing business.
Conclusion
As you can see there are far more ways to advertise your business than ever before.
Clearly, marketing your business on the Internet is the future and should be central to your advertising.
But don't ignore traditional advertising methods - as I said before, if it works for you - keep doing it!
The most important thing you can do for the future growth of your business is to monitor enquiries.
Whenever possible, find out how new customers are finding you and then put a greater emphasis on that particular form of advertising.
Pick the right marketing tools and you can grow your business and probably save some advertising dollars along the way!
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