what advertisment works best for u

[Ground Works]

Hey gusy I am goign to keep this up best I can I would like to watch and see what advertisment works best for everyone and there areas......

So please u knew guys with new business including myself post with your outcoem on your advertisemnts of what works best for u flyers, business cards, post cards, Newspapers ads, and anything else that works best for u as we gwet into the season

Thanks
Lin

[Ground Works]

Texas16

So u say putting flyers on the doors works well for u ???

Lin

[tulsa lawn guy]

Re: Texas16

Originally posted by Ground Werks
So u say putting flyers on the doors works well for u ???

This may work for some people, but I've not had too much success with it. Think about it... most people in the nicer neighborhoods simply enter their house through the garage. I did this last year and would drive by three or four days later and see my fliers still on the door! Their either still on the door or they've blown away...

What a waste!

[CleanEdge]

Word of mouth seems to be the best. It can be slightly slow moving though. I am going to try flyers; I am going to have em printed in color on a nice medium weight matter paper. Then go on a saturday and knock on doors and try and convince a few people! I would really like to get 50 additional lawns for this next season, but.... Yeah right!!! I would be surprised if I got more then 5 lawns for all my flyers. I already have a good bit of lawns in the neighborhoods I wish to target though so maybe that will help!! Won't count on it though

[Ground Works]

Cleanedge
U are actually goiong to go Knock and talk to the ppl??? let me know how that works for u I am willing to bet that that is probably the best way to do it if u are motvated enought to hit alot of doors I would be real interested in the out come
let me know

Lin

[MEvans857]

Of course word of mouth works best but that's for after your name is out there and your established! You have to start somewhere. Usually flyers will work but the respone is going to vary depending on the amount you put out, where you put them, and the time you put them out. 1 idea to throw out is postcard mailings.

Reasons:
1. The extreme upper class type subdivisions, 300,000 and up you will get a much better response from this (at least I have) than with flyers. Flyiers while are one of the biggest and cheepest ways to get your names out there it is considered tacky to most of these people.
2. It makes your and your company look much more professional.
3. It is really not that expensive compared to the return you will see.
4. Cheeper then sending out letters, much cheeper as a matter of fact!!
5. If you have a kinko's close by then your in business!

Ex.
You want 1000 post cards. 4 cards on 1 sheet of paper = 250 sheets @ .20 per sheet, ONLY $50.
Postage x 1000 @ .23 = $230

$280 TOTAL to reach 1000 High end upper class homes. Not bad at all!

and/or

1000 b/w flyers for 83.60 (for me), still a great price and they still get there use, but as they say there's a proper time and place for everything.

Don't take me wrong flyers are still important and I still use them for EVERYTHING else just because of the cost comparison between the 2, I just judge which neighborhoods need to get which type of advertisment.

Lots of luck

[lilyrose]

Ground Werks

I am having GREAT success with flyers and door to door in a middle class neighborhood. I was cancassing the heck out of 400K home in FL, 1-3% response. Then I went to 100K neighborhood 10% response. Tommorrow I am going to drop more flyers in this neighboerhood. I only hit 50 out of about 800 homes.

Some of the lawns are super easy. Just mow and edge the driveway, No sidewalks or beds to edge. In and out for $1/minute. Of course a min gate drop fee will not work. SOme only want front lawn cut. And believe me the grass is really growing long in some houses. I hit the ones that look like they need maintenence.

I made $50 in 45 min at one house. Mow,Trim,Blow+fert. Not bad for me.

[alpine692003]

asdf

I've noticed that my 1" display ad in 3 different cities works best for me.

I've received phone calls for estimates of 2 different big jobs, but I've bidded one of them too high and one about the right price and got lowballed.

I have 500 door hangers left from the previous 1000, I think I'll be hanging those on the doors in about 1 month along with my newspaper advertisement.. My newspaper ad comes out every Sunday ...

[Phillip Baker]

I like the newspaper

My newspaper add is the best generator of phone calls by far for me, In the begining of spring it will ring non stop all day long! we also put out door hangers and flyers but we no longer hit every neibor hood, we try and stay close to any areas we have established. also if i p/u a new lawn in an area that is totally new we blanket 4 strts in all directions of that new yard, aproxx 100 houses and usually i'll get two more yards from that. We tipically put out 2000 door hangers a yr, that might generate 30 jobs, at a cost of 102.00 dollars for the 2000, with nice print of all my services and my Logo. Out of that 30 jobs we may choose to only keep 15 or so for various reasons, slow pays ,no pays or whatever, if this helps you decide, I still think the newspaper is the best avenue for advertising, but we will always put out the door hangers.

[alpine692003]

Yes, I must agree .. When you guys post ads in the newspaper, make sure it's 1" or more or else dont waste your money!

I put a 3liner ad in my local newspapers, 0 calls for 2 months ..
I then decided to change my ways of advertising, upgraded to 1" display ads and received 2 phone calls for big jobs, but overbidded due to my stupidity, 1 phone call for a retaining wall job.

I have 500 door hangers left, but I dont think I'll be doing door hangers anymore, unless soemthing changes..

[PilotSC]

I am putting out 10,000 door hangers over two weekends starting February 28 and 29 and finishing the next two weekends. The door hangers will be normal size, but the bottom will be perforated and on that will be our name, numbers, and all the services we do provide PLUS we will install little 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch magnets on the card so they can tear it off and put it on their fridge. They might not need me now, but they may need me down the road and I will be readily availabe every day on their fridge.

I also do a home shopper magazine that goes out to about 15,000 homes with the company on the front cover for about 1200.00 bucks. We are also in the YP's for irrigation and outdoor lighting.

I had an ad go out in January that I paid 995 dollars for and picked up 4 lawn accounts for fertilizing and mowing and servicing their irrigation. Also picked up a 3000.00 landscaping job, and when we are done with that he wants us to do about 5000 more in landscaping and about 4000 in irrigation work, so that was huge. Also am working on 3 irrigation bids that the leads came from that ad. I didn't really want to do that ad in January but it was a package deal, and now I get another ad that goes out March 7. So hopefully that coupled with door hangers, and another ad in a home shopper magazine will get me some big business.

Also from that ad I was invited to participate in a new home showcase mall. It is a building that was an old furniture store and has about 40,000 square feet in it. There will be a real estate office in it, a title company, and a loan company. BUT the best part is that there will be about 50 different contractors in it also with their booths. Each company has exclusivity in their own field. I will have exclusivity for irrigation installation, landscaping, and lawn maintenance. I will also be in charge of designing the front entryway with signs on it advertising our company "designed and installed by...". The real estate agents will handle the customers that walk through and I have the option of manning the booth. I will probably pay a local college student to handle manning it and man it on the weekends and evenings. The cost, $695.00 per month, but I can park my covered trailers behind the property, and I am getting my suppliers to kick something in if they would like me to display their product, let RainBird and Toro pay to have their product out there.

Also we will put on small seminars during the season on weekends for homeowners on subjects like small irrigation repairs, fertilizer advice, etc.

I haven't commited to this completely yet, but unless someone really gives me a good reason not to I am going for it. So, all in all, I am a big believer in advertising and doing it professionally, plus it is not always about getting customers from your ads now, it is about getting your name out there so that people know who you are and remember you.

Let me know what you think...

PilotSC

BTW, I am located in Missouri, and the home showcase mall is in a perfect location next to interstates and major thorough fares...

[CleanEdge]

So uh, most people don't talk to the person while handing out flyers? I have always been taught that, the best way to get customers is for them to see you, and then try to talk em into it. With my other service business, I recieved 30 jobs from 250 flyers this way. SO, if people are talking about 1% response from just putting them on the doors and leaving, then maybe I have a better chance of getting as many lawns as I need.
hmm
I am kind of thinking Saturday would be the best day to do that, since most of the men will be home who actually know what there talking about! Almost anytime a woman answers the door, she says, "let me talk to my husband about it". The men never have to talk to there wives about it.

[Ground Works]

Great ideas

Thanks for the great ideas I am goign to try and do flyers for a little of everythign then goign to door hangers then hit them with the post cards and also I have newspaper ads in

thanks
Lin

[Bikehigh]

How many use t-shirts or other shirts

with your name and phone number on it, and how do you think this pays off for you if you do?

[J&F Lawn Care]

If you see someone in the street walking or in their yard, stop and talk to them. Often they will at least let you bid on their yard, or they might know of someone else that is looking for a lawn company.

I would also like to know if anyone has had any luck with shirts. We were thinking of ordering some for the upcoming season.