$750 - $1000 marketing budget (I'm desperate here)

[nibblesandbits]

So I'm thinking about going all out and really giving this business one big last try before I think about doing something else.

I've been in business for a year now and I haven't really advertised near enough, and I'm almost still in the same place (well if I'm not lying to myself, i AM in the same place) I was when I started. Sure, I have a few customers, a HUGE 8x4 sign pointing toward a main road right before a light where people have to slow down in front in my office. and sure I have my business plastered on the back glass of my '07 Cobalt with my phone and web site...

business cards - check
brochures - check (one for computer repair / maintenance services and one for web design services)
personalized black polos with logo - check

But I haven't tackled radio / newspapers / tv or anything else. Where should I spend this $1,000 to ALMOST (nothing is failproof) guarantee I'll get a return? How far should I spread this $1000 time-wise? 1 month? 2 months? 3 months? 6 months? I'm just trying to go at this full blast (as I should have done on day 1) I've read some self-help books and let my dad criticize me and it's opened my eyes that I need to get off my ass and MAKE business work. I know I have the knowledge and the skill set. I just need a little push from all you guys that have been EXACTLY where I stand.

Thanks everyone!

 

[angry_geek]

Well, $1,000.00 won't get you in the door with TV advertising, so that's out right there. Radio ads will eat up all of that within 2 months depending on what market you're in. I would put an ad in the local newspaper and another one in the business edition if they have one. You should also check to see if there is a networking group in your area. Rotary is a good, and see about BNI. http://www.bni.com/ or another similar group. These groups have kept me afloat in the slow times and landed some very large contracts for me.

 

[jj2000]

Well, $1,000.00 won't get you in the door with TV advertising, so that's out right there. Radio ads will eat up all of that within 2 months depending on what market you're in. I would put an ad in the local newspaper and another one in the business edition if they have one. You should also check to see if there is a networking group in your area. Rotary is a good, and see about BNI. http://www.bni.com/ or another similar group. These groups have kept me afloat in the slow times and landed some very large contracts for me.

Agreed with the above also consider local radio phone-in shows as a cheap/free way of getting your business name out there,we did that for a while and it got me a temp slot on the local radio which helped a lot,also your local yellow book and any other local directories are a useful place to advertise.

 

[Y.F.N.C.G.]

Have you tried hanging fliers with tears-offs at local coffee shops/library/grocery store/anywhere that has room?

Do you have an ad in the yellow pages?

How's your website? Are you ranking well for "computer repair <your area>"?

Don't forget Craig's List. It's free and, although sometimes the people using it are shady, it's a great marketing resource when times are tough!

These are all fairly easy and cheap things to do that have seemed to garner good results for others.

 

[jbutler9]

Today I received my Door Hangers from printingisourbusiness.com and I have to say that I am rather impresses. I spent $200 on 750 door hangers I have included a copy of what I had printed.

for $200 bones I think it was a good deal. I will be only going to the rich parts of town to distribute so I hope that is better for me. that is alot of walking.

look here for the image: Joseph's Live Page

 

[nj_computer_repair]

Before you spend any money, can you post a link to your website so we can see?

 

[MaxMon]

Nothing shows where you are located. I can imagine large metro areas "could" be hard to market. But here are some options with nominal financial costs. Break your area into a small neighborhood for marketing. For example, I am preparing some presentations/seminars for our community library. Other places are YMCAs, churches, and community centers. This will get some public face time and build their trust in ones knowledge and business. Offer some fliers that have discounts on them, go door to door, offer trading services, and contact your city chamber, local SCORE rep, and business development center.

Hang in there its the darkest just before dawn.

MaxM
MaxM Technolgy

 

[usacvlr]

Great big phone book ad

So I'm thinking about going all out and really giving this business one big last try before I think about doing something else.

I've been in business for a year now and I haven't really advertised near enough, and I'm almost still in the same place (well if I'm not lying to myself, i AM in the same place) I was when I started. Sure, I have a few customers, a HUGE 8x4 sign pointing toward a main road right before a light where people have to slow down in front in my office. and sure I have my business plastered on the back glass of my '07 Cobalt with my phone and web site...

business cards - check
brochures - check (one for computer repair / maintenance services and one for web design services)
personalized black polos with logo - check

But I haven't tackled radio / newspapers / tv or anything else. Where should I spend this $1,000 to ALMOST (nothing is failproof) guarantee I'll get a return? How far should I spread this $1000 time-wise? 1 month? 2 months? 3 months? 6 months? I'm just trying to go at this full blast (as I should have done on day 1) I've read some self-help books and let my dad criticize me and it's opened my eyes that I need to get off my ass and MAKE business work. I know I have the knowledge and the skill set. I just need a little push from all you guys that have been EXACTLY where I stand.

Thanks everyone!

 

[supertech365]

Pray first. Then if I had a do or die budget of a grand, I would want to keep my name out "there" as long as possible. News paper is a good shot. Its affordable and you could be seen longer. Not the classifieds, but something about the size of a 4" x 4" or better. Put your photo in there with your ad. In three months, change your wording and photo. My servicing hours increased by at least three times as much from one month to the next once I added my photo to my advert. People like to put a face to a name. That's why tv ads are so successful. Billy Mays can sell water to a fish, because his face is everywhere. No one cares what he's saying. And put yourself where people are, so you can work your mouth piece. Take every chance you can to sell your services. And pray again.

 

[windowsrenew]

marketing advice

It really depends on the size of your service area and your marketing message.

As a general rule of thumb, newspaper advertising takes a solid 2 months of weekly ads to get any use out of. There is a magic rule of 7 in marketing (you can google it for more info) that basically states the average prospect needs to be come in contact with your company 7 times before he/she will buy from you.

If you live in a small town and buy a few radio ads, there are ways to leverage your buying power to get you free interviews on air which are priceless. We used to publish free reports and then convince our local radio station to have us on as a guest providing tips to their listeners. The air-time was free and exploded our sales.

We also implemented some creative partnering campaigns with local companies you wouldn't think of partnering with but found a unique tie-in with their client-base and pulled in a slew of new appointments. You can also approach local businesses that you think could offer something of value to your clients, partner with them, put together a packaged service with their free product tied in, and then convince them to split your radio advertising budget. This can be very profitable. It offers value to your potential clients and doubles your marketing exposure.

Regardless of what you end up spending your money on, your marketing message is key. I would be careful about putting out an ad or message that is raw and untested. You're taking a risk with that. The ad needs to be simple and focused. It must offer very specific value to your prospect, give specific details that set your company a part from your competitors, and take away all the risk by giving you credibility with testimonials and money-back guarantees. You can advertise flat-rate pricing to eliminate fear of hourly fees, offer a "get out of computer trouble" free service to new clients, publish a free report offering useful tips to supercharge computers, and call clients who you serviced about 5 months ago and schedule an upcoming 'tune up'.

You should also look at your in-home service calls for opportunities to fuel upgrades, word of mouth, and generating repeat business. You would be surprised with how much extra income you can profit when on-site if you implement the right strategy. The easiest, most inexpensive way of increasing sales is to polish and maximize profits from your existing clients.

We recently published a free report called:
"19-STEP SECRET FOR MAKING INSTANT MONEY FIXING HOME-USER COMPUTERS"

It provides useful strategies of going onsite and maximizing profits.

You can download it at:
http://www.windowsrenew.com/freereport.htm

I hope this helps!

 

[geeksmobileusa]

I would say

Spend it all to rank for 'your city' computer repair, on google/yahoo.

You're guaranteed some business. for $1000 you can get bids from Elance and get it in writing that you don't have to pay until you rank in the top 10 for 3-4 keywords.

Do 'your city' computer repair
and 'your city' computer service
also 'your city' laptop repair

 

[nibblesandbits]

Well, $1,000.00 won't get you in the door with TV advertising, so that's out right there. Radio ads will eat up all of that within 2 months depending on what market you're in. I would put an ad in the local newspaper and another one in the business edition if they have one. You should also check to see if there is a networking group in your area. Rotary is a good, and see about BNI. http://www.bni.com/ or another similar group. These groups have kept me afloat in the slow times and landed some very large contracts for me.

I have a competitor pretty close who is using radio A LOT. I almost think he'd have to know someone at the station that's giving him a deal or free advertising (perhaps they are bartering) I just know that EVERY hour you will hear their commercial on a local radio station. No way any of us could afford that in the computer repair business... uh... right?

I'm going to do as you suggested and get my ad back in the local papers. I found out you can get in a few local small towns (that have no computer repair) for about $15 / month. Not bad for 4 issues.

BNI - I have been to it, I do agree that it works, my main problem is I went as a substitute for a friend of mine EVERY WEEK and made the offer to design our local chapter a web site and they were all for it. Then I buy a new car and tell them I'd like to get the money for the work instead of joining with it and they turn their back to that idea after making it seem they were all for it during the meeting that day. Oh well - I have no use for my local chapter anymore.

Rotary - I've heard of, but not have been introduced. Do you mind explaining what it is because I have no idea.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Have you tried hanging fliers with tears-offs at local coffee shops/library/grocery store/anywhere that has room?

Do you have an ad in the yellow pages?

How's your website? Are you ranking well for "computer repair <your area>"?

Don't forget Craig's List. It's free and, although sometimes the people using it are shady, it's a great marketing resource when times are tough!

These are all fairly easy and cheap things to do that have seemed to garner good results for others.

Fliers - I did that when I first when I went into business. Did nothing for me, may be because I didn't do it long enough or even go back and check that they were still there a week later.

Yellow Pages - I don't really want to spend 1/2 my budget in a phone book that I've seen firsthand MY family throw away when it comes. Everyone I know (I'm not exaggerating) even my grandfather uses switchboard.com or an online service.

Local listings on google - "computer repair jane lew" WITHOUT quotes put me second in local listings and third in organic listings.

Craig's list - there is no local section that's within a 45 minute drive so that kinda sucks. I have put an ad on it before, will try it again though.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Today I received my Door Hangers from printingisourbusiness.com and I have to say that I am rather impresses. I spent $200 on 750 door hangers I have included a copy of what I had printed.

for $200 bones I think it was a good deal. I will be only going to the rich parts of town to distribute so I hope that is better for me. that is alot of walking.

look here for the image: Joseph's Live Page

Love the idea of door hangers. Do you know if there is an Avery Template? I'd much rather print any marketing materials like business cards, brochures, fliers, and other things of the sort myself because I lease a printer for over $200 / month and I think I should get use out of it. lol

BTW - I looked at your design and like the idea, I may use the design and just make some modifications, if that is okay with you? If not, that's fine I'll get my creative juices flowing. haha

 

[nibblesandbits]

Before you spend any money, can you post a link to your website so we can see?

Thanks for your reply, my web site is http://www.jteknet.net or http://www.pcrepairwv.com (both are the same)

I'm going to be redesigning it because between your forum members and I - I HATE my site. haha I'm always so busy working on other people's problems and sites that I haven't made my own very good. I haven't actually gotten business from my web site but one time - I'd say probably because the lack of design quality and ease of navigation.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Nothing shows where you are located. I can imagine large metro areas "could" be hard to market. But here are some options with nominal financial costs. Break your area into a small neighborhood for marketing. For example, I am preparing some presentations/seminars for our community library. Other places are YMCAs, churches, and community centers. This will get some public face time and build their trust in ones knowledge and business. Offer some fliers that have discounts on them, go door to door, offer trading services, and contact your city chamber, local SCORE rep, and business development center.

Hang in there its the darkest just before dawn.

MaxM
MaxM Technolgy

Imagine the smallest town you know. Now add two people to that town and you have arrived at mine. I'm currently serving clients Clarksburg, Jane Lew, Weston, and Buckhannon West Virginia. All of which have a population of less than 50,000 people. With 3 out of the 4 having less than 20,000 people.

Can you tell me how you go about offering presentations / seminars? I would love to learn how to do this myself. Seems like a very cheap and effective method of advertising seeing as you establish yourself as the EXPERT (which is what ONLINE marketing, at least, is all about)

 

[nibblesandbits]

I think I had better stop posting replies. I will continue replying to any other replies when I figure out how to include multiple quotes in one message. lol

 

[nibblesandbits]

I FIGURED IT OUT, YAY! lol SORRY DON'T BAN ME FROM THE FORUMS FOR BEING STUPID AND POSTING 10 posts in a row.

Pray first. Then if I had a do or die budget of a grand, I would want to keep my name out "there" as long as possible. News paper is a good shot. Its affordable and you could be seen longer. Not the classifieds, but something about the size of a 4" x 4" or better. Put your photo in there with your ad. In three months, change your wording and photo. My servicing hours increased by at least three times as much from one month to the next once I added my photo to my advert. People like to put a face to a name. That's why tv ads are so successful. Billy Mays can sell water to a fish, because his face is everywhere. No one cares what he's saying. And put yourself where people are, so you can work your mouth piece. Take every chance you can to sell your services. And pray again.

Photo seems like a really good idea. I haven't been using a photo on my materials. I think I'm going to get a good one and put it on my materials. My brochure has a nice picture of me on the back at the bottom of me standing in the yard on a hill dressed up. Not 100% appropriate, but it has worked until I got something better to put there.

Praying isn't going to help anyone.

Haha. Amen. (No pun intended)

Great big phone book ad

I explained why I don't want to do this in another reply up there.

 

[angry_geek]

http://www.rotary.org/en/Pages/ridefault.aspx

 

[Doctor Micro]

You've got a relatively small market, and from the sounds of it, a big competitor on the Radio. What you want is for people to think of you when their computer goes on the fritz. All the suggestions mentioned previously do the same thing, just by different methods.

Join the Chamber of Commerce if you haven't done so already. Most Chambers have some sort of networking get-togethers after-hours occasionally. Grab a stack of business cards and go mingle.

Get some graphics that you can put on your rear side window glass, so it can be seen from the side while you're parked or at a traffic light.

Flyers and Door-Hangers can help. You can even hire a high-school kid to distribute them for you.

If you have any clubs, assisted-living or retirement communities in your area, go offer to hold some basic computer seminars and self-help sessions.

A business card-sized ad in some of your local papers and shopper guides shouldn't cost you too much.

If you have a local newspaper that does not have a "Computer Tips 'n' Tricks" column, offer to write one for them on a regular basis, for free (Hint: Write up a dummy column sample and bring it with you when you go talk to the editor and please spell check it and have someone check the grammar before you go live with it.)

Business cards: Don't leave home without 'em. Give 'em out like candy to every new person you meet. Leave two with every client; one for them to keep and one to share with a neighbor, friend or relative.

Use your shoe leather and pay a courtesy visit to local businesses in the area that you would like to have as clients to introduce yourself, leave a brochure and/or your business card. Ask them to consider calling you for any computer services they might need or want in the future.

Make sure your home customers know that you also service businesses, and vice-versa.

Reconsider a modest phone book ad. Not everybody throws them away, and going to switchboard.com isn't an option if their computer is fried or internet isn't working.

All I can think of for the moment. *need more coffee*