Marketing/Flyers

squisher

squisher

THE CALM ONE!!!!
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
23,897
Location
Vernon, B.C.
Anyone here use flyers at all for marketing? I'm trying to brainstorm some ideas to put something together that could be posted on billboards whatnot or also presented to a homeowner/potential client.

I'm considering grabbing the bull by the horns this year and approaching homes with dead/dying trees and leaving them a brochure/flyer type thing. I'm not into bugging people but I want to be a little more agressive to help ensure my companies survival through the 'economic crisis'.

Any and all thoughts about this are welcome. Just kicking around some idears is all.

8)
 
I do it all the time; I have both brochures and large postcards that I mail to a prospective looking home.

Better return than the YP.
 
My buddy Mike uses fliers a lot to generate work when nothing is happening otherwise. It seems to work for him, he can usually get a job or two out of an afternoon hanging 100 fliers on doors. It's definitely a tactic that appeals to bargain hunters. You won't get a lot of top quality clients, but you can stay busy.
 
I have thought about going around to houses with dead trees just like you said. The more I thought about it when someone needs a tree care company they go online, phone book, or ask a friend. I have never seen a tree care company pass out flyers around here. I have seen alot of companies put those little signs in peoples yards though... I think they work pretty well.

Just my 2 cents...

Nick
 
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  • #5
Cool some good feedback so far. Yah here too I've never seen anyone use this tactic so I may just try out a 100 or so and see what it gets me. I work fair enough that the bargain hunters should be happy anyways :D.

Of course as I type this it's in the process of snowing another 4 to 6 inches. I'm just thinking about getting a jumpstart on the homeowner season around here.
 
I know Kinkos has some good deals on bulk mailings. You can put together a little postcard kind of thing, like Sherrill always sends out, purchase a mailing list, and Kinkos will make everything and mail it out at a price per piece.

I've been looking into it, and It's about 600 bucks to mail out about 2000 or so pieces (total costs I figured). Not too bad...

When I was in Kentucky, people were all about those road/ yard signs. They were everywhere, and I noticed hardly anyone does them around here. I may give them a try too.
 
Yard signs are bomber; especially right after a big ugly removal.
 
Wagnaw said:
I know Kinkos has some good deals on bulk mailings. You can put together a little postcard kind of thing, like Sherrill always sends out, purchase a mailing list, and Kinkos will make everything and mail it out at a price per piece.

I've been looking into it, and It's about 600 bucks to mail out about 2000 or so pieces (total costs I figured). Not too bad...

When I was in Kentucky, people were all about those road/ yard signs. They were everywhere, and I noticed hardly anyone does them around here. I may give them a try too.
Click to expand...

The little yard signs are about $8 a peice here... I think its a no-brainer.8)


Nick
 
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  • #9
6 bills is way more then I was thinking of spending though. Here I could do blanket mailings as well, but you're gonna get alot of wastage that way imo. My uncle(employee) kind of got me thinking about this as he's always out and about and asked me to put together something that he could drop off at places he sees that needs work. I think it could work well, he's a real personable character.
 
squisher said:
6 bills is way more then I was thinking of spending though. Here I could do blanket mailings as well, but you're gonna get alot of wastage that way imo. My uncle(employee) kind of got me thinking about this as he's always out and about and asked me to put together something that he could drop off at places he sees that needs work. I think it could work well, he's a real personable character.
Click to expand...

I think the best thing to do is to aways pass out buis. cards and to talk to people. Like when your at the gas station, the guy who is at the pump next to you, go over and introduce your self and try to start your conversation...

Just my 2 pennies...

nick
 
In this area there are a lot of tall stumps. I have thought about taking a picture of one and creating a flier that says, "Tanager Tree Service, we won't take you half the way there."
 
Yard signs work good, I put them around high traffic entrances in neighborhoods I want to do some more work in. Works everytime.
 
flyers get about a 1 to 100 return,
and are a time burner to put out in style,
i like to tuck them behind the flags of the rural mailboxes so i dont have to get out of the vehicle, but this is illegal, (know your postmasters)so i look for the newspaper box on the same pole, not illegal, or i may leave them stapled to the post,
they can be a time burner,
we also have a card that says who we are and that we noticed......blah blah blah,
a few returns from it,
i like the newspaper ad periodically in the front page, seasonal projects catch attention of home owners, we did 2 about last chance to prune fruit trees at $110 each and it brought in a lil to 2 g in work
 
I have used yard signs and had minimal return then I had one of my guys hand deliver to the mailboxes, 500 printed fliers I printed myself at home, ZERO response. I now rely on word of mouth and it works pretty well, I havent found a proactive method of advertising that works for my business, yet.
 
My best flier return is on bulletin boards. That and business cards they can take from the fliers. People here are always looking at the community bulletin boards.. They have them at stores, gas stations and other businesses in and around town and communities. The mailings never landed much. Just more junk mail to people in my eyes and theirs I imagine.
 
I always view it as how many leads will this campaign get me? Then from the leads, how many can be converted into sales.

One thought is outsourced marketing for small business.
www.leadoptimize.com
 
Squish, we have targeted that market here and had a little response. Some of our palms have lethal yellowing and if we see one, we take down the address and mail them some info on the subject and encourage them to take them down.

This next week, I have an ad in 3 small papers (all of ours are small) offering 10% off tree services through March. We did this a while ago, offering 15% off and got some work out of it.

We are really feeling this down market and doing whatever it takes to stay afloat.
 
vharrison said:
Squish, we have targeted that market here and had a little response. Some of our palms have lethal yellowing and if we see one, we take down the address and mail them some info on the subject and encourage them to take them down.

.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing when DED was running wild here. Everywhere we spotted a big elm, we'd drop off a nice little package explaining about the disease and that it was cheaper to remove the tree, while it was still fresh instead of waiting till it got all dried out and dangerous.
Brought in a LOT of work until the last elm was gone:cry:
 
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  • #21
WOM is all I've got going right now, and it's good. But I want more!!!:D

Great info and perspectives everyone. Thanks for the feedback.
 
The best flyer seems like it would be one that shows a tree crashed through a house, maybe with some mention of potential injury or worse. An included newspaper story about such an incident would help drive the fact home. One of the most motivating factors amongst humans is fear.

Sit back and be ready for nervous phone calls.
 
Sure.. we'll protect them from the most dangerous vegetation on the planet... trees.
 
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