advertizing dollars

[mattduncan]

what does everyone think about the best bang for your advertizing bucks esspscialy in the first couple of years of bussiness?

[trappnman]

Thats a real good question matt- I can answer from a printers/ad salesmans point of view- most ads are worthless!

Thats is- it doesn't matter how cheap the ad is- the bottom line is does it reach customers and does it add $$ to your business. Yellow page ads can generate business- but are very expensive. Ads in local papers are cheap -but do they bring in business?

The little I advertise- I find my best bang is local shoppers- They reach specific areas- are very reasonable- and get read.

Let your advertizing grow with the business.

[mattduncan]

i've had a yellow pages ad for about 7 months and total of 3 calls it cost almost $600 and will run till june i'm not sure weather to give it another year or get rid of it and spend the money elsewhere.

[James White]

Your first 3 years to 5 years of being in the business,will make or break you.Advertsing in the yellow pages works to a point ,However ,after a recent survey and study I have done with Many part time and full time ADC trappers,tells me that advertising in the yellow pages works,But ,It depends on the yellow page compnay and were you fall in a category at.If you fall into a category were the yellow page directory puts you in with all the other pest control companies,you are waisting your time with putting in an expensive add,Really a basic "Bold" heading of your compnay name is all you need.

The best ways to get yourself noticed is to get some professional looking cards made up,I use magnetic biz cards.Go to all the Animal shelters in your area you wish to serve,Talk with them and tell them your services,Speak proudly of yourself but dont go over board,Also stop by your local and state police headquarters and do the same,Then to Vet offices,and local feed stores.That is the easiest and cheapest way to get your name out there and you will get most of your business from them,and always check with them every three months to see how things are going,Always try to keep your face and name of biz out there to them.

My main form of advertising now that has paid for itself years and years already,Is that I run a half page add in the Homes and Land Magazine.These are the bi weekly to monthly homes for sale magazines in your service area......You will see that once you are in there,Your name and company are in front of hundreds and in my case thousands of real estate brokers/agents,also property management companies...And that right there is were the money is.

One thing to remember,If you start doing these things I have mentioned you will increase your call volume for every nuisance animal,bird etc, out there,So you have to be prepared,You will have to have enough knowledge and equipment to handle the calls as they come in.Just a few cage traps will not cut it.

ADC work,Is comprised of many ,many things,You have to be able to be ready to explore new things,ADc work is nothing like trapping in general,you will face so many different problems,that you will have to think quick ,of what tools to use and how to solve the problem in a professional way.

I quess that is enough on this one for now.....lol


Buzzard ,Chime in here..

[mattduncan]

thanks for the info james ithink we have a couple of the magizenes your talking about in my areas my add is the way your talkin about lumped in with other pest control companys it's only 2x2.5 inches all i could afford but it dont seem to be workin

[17kiss]

Matt I aint in ADC but I have had a roofing business for 11 years now. i tried lettering on vehicles and equipment, and I maean alot. To me worthless, if they want to know who you are will ask customer. I have had very limited success in local papers. but for the money , cant complain. About $350 a year and ususally get you 2-5 jobs. Which one will pay for all that advertising and then some. tried direct mailers . Expensive and not very good results. Best bang for the buck seems to be yellow pages. work with the art people and do something that makes your ad stand out a little. I ran an ad this year saying will amtch or beat 99% of competitors prices. worked for me. Still have plenty of work during what is usually my slow time. One thing to remeber when running an ad this way. Some will call you last and you alredy know what your pricae has to be. others will just call you thinking you have a good price because of ad. Just do what you do well and stick with it and you will get a large amount of work from referals. Definitely follow up on callbacks. that can make or break your business. Good luck . it is a long road but well worth it. Jim Oh yea , look in some of your neighboring counties books to see who has least amount of people advertising in your field,. a little travel sometimes keeps the bread and butter on the table.

[DVD]

Matt,
I am starting my second year of part time ADC. I have tracked all of my customers with how they got my number. I would have to say that the yellow pages work for me. A lot of them got my name from the phone book. Referals from a pest control company was the number 1 reason for getting my number. I also know that the pest control company uses the yellow pages. I also know that if I need something and I don't have a recommendation from someone, I look in the yellow pages. I tried the local shopper papers but only got 1 call from that ad. I think you need to try several options and monitor what works. For this next year I have taken a bigger display in the yellow pages because I know that is working for me in my area.

DVD

[Toptrapper1]

My company is in its 10 year and going strong. I would say the best thing I ever did was take a chance and get a full color ad in the pest control section. It put me in the front of the section and has increased my call volume by 125%. That being said it is expensive. I use to have a small 2 in ad in the section and was overlooked as James staed earlier but since going color it has made a big change. I no longer advertize in things like newspapers, magazines ect. Think about it unless the coon is running laps in the attic when the customer is reading the paper you will not get called. For the most part we are in a emergency type service. When you need aplumber or contractor you open the yellow pages. Word of mouth will get you calls but in my opinion it is a slow process that can be moved along with a yellow page ad. Just know wht your buying and keep that in mind when pricing.

[Edge]

I have been self employed for over 20 yrs now,I've tried it all,yellow pgs,print,lettering,etc.
By far the best bang for the buck(for me)is business cards.THEN,get them in position to be seen;ie,a lot of old farms and homesteads are being bought by flatlanders,there is not one real estate agent in a 100 mile radius that does not have my cards available to him.Most of these new owners are nice people,they just dont know how to deal with a basement or garage full of coon(or dont want to.)Thats where I come in.
And when the next "farmette"gets sold,whos buying it?Prolly friends of the first buyer.
I have basic but professional lettering on my Suburban,which has got me a few jobs(lettering and design was like 89$with installation)so at least paid for itself.
I checked into magnetic cards(ouch)$80/100!?And then my computer girl pointed out I could use my regular cards and put them on adhesive backed business card magnets($11/50)much more to my cheap-ass liking.

Edge

[mattduncan]

great info guys thanks a bundle

[lynxcat]

I've been trapping since the 70's....and doing the full time ADC for about a year now. I missed the deadline for the yellow pages and have had to rely on card/flyer placement. I hit ALL the veterinarians...animal shelters,police dept's, Livestock yards,livestock/farm supply stores,fire departments,city offices,city dog catchers, state/local police dispatchers AND rental/property mgmt firms, local fish hatcheries, golf courses to name a a few. I do work for the fish/game for about 6mo out of the year doing depredation work and usually find it hard to fit it all in!!! Almost didnt even advertise in the yellow pages. I also have magnetic signs for my truck....have to remove them in some "sensitive" area's. Do good work ... pass out cards and you wont believe the refferals you can get.
later
lynx