When I first got in this biz I offered 10% discounts in my advertising ,but I heard it just made my company look dishonest after people figured out that I don't charge by the hour but by the job, with exception of stump removal charged by inch diameter.
The best promotion for my company is offering tree work gift certificates to annual fund raisers for the school board, day cares, the hospitals and city festivals . The money I'm helping raise for these groups benefits everyone who works and relies in these organizations, which gets my name out there to them in a good way and then they hire me .
Buying a new vehicle from a car dealership does make the staff hire me but in the end sadly as we all know their in the business to screw you.
But I don't throw my money around , it's my hard earned money and I expect respect. One example is the $500 I give every year as a sponsor to our city's annual winter festival and have been doing that for many years now . Last year they had my company name on the billboards missed spelled as HOLMGREN TREE SERVICES. When I approached the festival's chairman and secretary about it they acted annoyed and they both bluntly said "Its not our fault the printer screwed up".
So just for that rudeness I no longer give them $500. Myself being a festival director I just let my own company sign do my advertising at my timbersport event and reduce my prize structure by $500 .
Another peeve I have is commercial jobs given to me by a manager who in return expects a sweet deal from me to do treework for him. I don't bend for that and with his nose out of joint he never speaks to me again. No skin off my back he's replaced by someone else down the road and I get a call from the agency again.
