Signs or Paint on my Aluminum Chipper Body???

[MasterBlaster]

Post a pic, Virginia!

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Visual aid... large web address up high. visible over traffic, and in parking lots. Market Presence. I have a much smaller market, however, I may have a similar service area size, and I get people mentioning having seen my trucks. Catch their eye with a wrap and your logo, and pertinent details.

Old paint job. This is 6 y.o.. Very minimal peeling, on a bad paint job. 1990 truck/ box. ex-asplundh. A lot of the little bubbles pulled off with the vinyl lettering's adhesive transfer paper. Not an issue with your aluminum.


A large TreeCareLA.com on your feed tray, again for making bad traffic into more advertising.


Buy a cheap stencil kit. Mock up your letters and numbers. Put on truck. See how far it's readable.

 

[brendonv]

After the bad luck with your last paint job I wouldn't even consider it.

Vinyl anyways. Cheap, easy, and good looking.

I've contemplated removing mine. Never had a job as a result of the signs. Maybe the chrome and aluminum blinds their eyes instead. Although they aren't flashing and huge anyways. All wom and repeats mostly.

My best and weirdest job acquisition was a guy found my card on the sidewalk. He called talking thru a voice box and sounded like a robot. Thought it was a friend playing a joke. Turned out he lost his voice as result of cancet. Boy did I feel stupid.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Never had a job as a result of the signs

How do you know this?

Your signage is too small, IMO.

 

[sotc]

I've had plenty of calls from signs. Part of marketing is image branding, the more they see your logo, the more familiar they are with it when they are looking for your service.
Weird job, I once did a $4k job from a pen the guy got at a hospital I a nearby city.

 

[stig]

Same here.
We often get asked by someone passing by if we can drop by their house on the way home and give them an estimate on a job.
On big, visually good looking jobs I'm always conscious about placing the trucks so the signs will be seen.

 

[brendonv]

How do you know this?

Your signage is too small, IMO.

Hmm i ask each customer where the lead came from.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Cool. Good research! I'm amazed at how many don't ask their customers that question. Good on you!

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Hmm i ask each customer where the lead came from.

Does that not reinforce the idea that your are too much of the "anonymous tree guy", Unless you're plenty booked up.

"Another anonymous tree guy" is what I say to myself when I see iron going down the road with no useful signage, or no signage at all.

You're Legit, Brendon. Some guys dodge the law by not advertising as being for hire, and only traceable if someone examined the license plates.



I just got a banner that I can hang at the end of country driveways, etc. Too often, in my own neck of the woods, people's houses are set back from being seen.

Since people drive to/ from their base of operations with their gear, to me, the signs on the rigs does the best to advertise to the closest customers, saving travel time, if you're based out of a place with a good local market. I am seen a lot going up and down our 2 lane county road on our 8 mile peninsula. As Willie said, branding your name into people's head, giving your company name recognition value to consumers.

 

[brendonv]

Tis true. Although I dont particularly have trouble keeping busy said small signs. They are there more or less to appease the regs, have some sort of credability. Although the way i roll, and what i roll with imo seems credible enough. I really cant handle nor want to run around giving bids from people who "saw my sign". Busy enough word of mouth, and with my current reputation. I guess id have big signs if i was worried about work or had six families to feed, but the big tacky signs around here are the guys working for nothing/ looking for work. Hanging signs on tele poles, sticking them at intersections. Not saying thats true across the board, but im not that guy right now.

 

[Al Smith]

For what it's worth about the only way to get paint to stick on aluminum is to use zinc chromate primer .

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Just to be sure you picked it up as I meant it, you got Legit with a capital L.

 

[sotc]

Tis true. Although I dont particularly have trouble keeping busy said small signs. They are there more or less to appease the regs, have some sort of credability. Although the way i roll, and what i roll with imo seems credible enough. I really cant handle nor want to run around giving bids from people who "saw my sign". Busy enough word of mouth, and with my current reputation. I guess id have big signs if i was worried about work or had six families to feed, but the big tacky signs around here are the guys working for nothing/ looking for work. Hanging signs on tele poles, sticking them at intersections. Not saying thats true across the board, but im not that guy right now.

We all have our own plans and ideas. Makes the world go 'round

 

[MasterBlaster]

For what it's worth about the only way to get paint to stick on aluminum is to use zinc chromate primer .

That's how I painted A-7's. We called it Alodine?

 

[Al Smith]

I'm not certain if zinc chromate comes under the same guidelines as red lead or not .The last I ever painted I used "triple etch",first then what they called yellow chromate .Rust-Oleum makes some kind of primer for aluminum but I've never used it .

 

[MasterBlaster]

It would turn the shiny metal brown so the primer could stick better.