along this topic of puzzling results with such large amounts sent out is this great quick read by Seth Godin of how mass market has become niche market over the last 20-30 years. The bell curve of the ‘normal mass market’ has flattened out into many niche markets that all take their own unique appeal to respond
so what’s your niche market? is the question for all of us
Amazon.com: We Are All Weird (9781936719228): Seth Godin: Books
Hey man I am in my first year of business also. Though I have been a window cleaner for many years, this is all “greek” to me.
I know you’ve heard it before, but hang in there, be consistent, and you will succeed.
We’ve yet to get out mailers but from what I’ve read sometimes they can take 2 or 3 goings to just even out, let alone bring in any income.
Being a first year business owner I know that more than likely my first year I am going to
A: Bust my arse
B: Be constantly dissapointed
and C: Probably lose money (from the never ending marketing and advertising.
They don’t call it marketing for nothing “Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.[1] It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments.[1] It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves.”
Create value is the key word. To create something you need to start from scratch, and everyone has to start somewhere.
Ok, I’m rambling. Hang in there brother, and yes, the veterans in WCRA can help a lot.
Direct mail is a great way for small business owners to promote their businesses. Direct mail services are versatile, offering an effective and affordable marketing strategy that allows business owners to give one on one attention to their prospects.
Dave,
I know the response was not what you where expecting but it was not a complete disaster. If the customer goes in the spring you’ve almost recouped your money and its only been 2 weeks. People can hold onto your ad for a while before they call. keep in mid its your first run so people have only seen your add once. You could easily up sell these two jobs and cover the cost of the add atleast, not to mention the lifetime value of the customers if you retain them. Keep the add going on a regular basis for another 3-4 times to the same homes and see what the response rate is. It sounds like for your area window cleaning is seasonal so unless you advertised your other services on the ad the time of year probably affected the response rate. I bet if you started a campaign in the spring and kept it going to the same homes all season you would great a better response. I would definitely post the ad on the forum for some reviews so you can maximize the effectiveness of the add.
For me one of the major keys to maximizing the profitability of advertising is up selling the customers and customer retention. Making sure you have a good game plan in these two areas. More services sold to each customer+more returns to each customers = increased Return on investment. When you have a good game plan in these two areas it will minimize the risk of loosing money on any ad campaign.
