Good idea!
This is why I love this forum. These are great ideas- and cheap!
I use their sticky doorhangers. They do good work.
Kemp
All Pro Powerwashing
850-897-5883
I’m kinda torn- I like the cheap do-it-yourself ideas on here, but then again there is something to be said about an all-in-one “package” as well. I’m going to wait and see what kind of samples they send me. Also I requested they send the price of postcards with the stick-it strip but WITHOUT the mailing included. I only saw the pricing of postcards WITH mailing on their site (I don’t want to mail them). If it isn’t high-quality and or cost efficient, then I’ll do it myself with stickers or rubber bands and a hole punch. in-fact might do it this way anyways.
Im trying to think of something that is useful too. Maybe like a hair tie or something cheap and re-usable. So even if they dont want window cleaning I will at least leave some sort of impression.
even better a keychain… but i think that is probably gonna be way to expensive. Maybe something like that could go to established customers to remind them to refer
Keychains are made up of soft silicone & do not scratch your bikes
That’s an interesting idea- I’ll have to dig into the site a bit more to see if it is cost effective. I did notice a $200 minum order on stationary rubber bands but it may still be worth it if you plan to do a lot of door-to-door.
I really like the idea of a keychain. There might be a way to just purchase some rubber bracelets with Company name and phone number, then just purchase the key ring things separate and do attach them to the rubber bracelets yourself.
Make your own Lazer-made Wristbands, Order Custom Silicone Wristbands
250 for 150$
Bulk Key Rings - Dealer Supplies
250 “industry standard split rings” 5 DOLLA
I like flyers, door hangers and postcards. You are not going to know what
will work the best until you try.
Different things work better in different areas. I would not worry about your
or others feelings about how something will be perceived by a prospect.
Because you feel flyers seem cheap is your issue (believe me, it is wrong). A lot
of people hate junk mail. A lot of people don’t want door hangers.
Advertising needs to suppress our inaccurate beliefs and find out what form of
advertising works best. Once you find what works best, the better you can decide
where your dollars should go.
So true.
I use Adeas Printing’s Stick-It door hanger product. It’s only $179.00 for 2500 of them. This includes design, shipping and printing. That’s a steal in my opinion. If you go to print place, you need the electronic file already designed. With Adeas Printing, you just tell them what you want it to say and they will design it for you. That right there is worth quite a bit. The design looks very professional and the thick card stock is great.
Kevin Dubrokski, you need to photoshop your avatar… you look like a smurf:D
Paul, I do worry about how MY marketing piece is “perceived” by my prospects. I want to convey to them my message via ALL means possible- not just the words or pictures. Taking the time to look deeper into your marketing and how it “may” be “perceived” by a potential customer is good business sense to me. Have you ever bought something at Walmart? Notice how cheap the plastic bag is that you carry your purchase out the door is? It usually already has a hole in the bottom its so cheap. Now go buy something at the Apple store and you will have your purchase (if it fits) in a very nice high quality double-sided bag with a rope drawstring. Big difference. You get what you pay for- and this starts before the purchase with marketing in my opinion.
I only use this example because in my opinion “perceived” quality- counts. Whether it is in marketing or in your workmanship. I’m not the walmart of window cleaning (I’m working on being the Apple of window cleaning). But to help me with this I need to think long and hard about how my service and my marketing is “perceived”. Thus I question the little things like postcards versus flyers.
My feeling that flyers seem cheap is NOT wrong- nor is it an “issue” Paul. It is how I “perceive” flyers in general. I’m not saying that all flyers are cheap, but that they seem cheaper to me than a thick High-gloss postcard. Thats my “perception” Paul.
I value your opinion Paul and your experience in marketing.
That’s a pretty bold statement from someone that doesn’t even have an avatar.
Nate, we all want to be perceived a certain way, but how do you know you are doing it?
Don’t look too deep into your marketing as you likely do not have a hefty enough
campaign to dwell on. The great thing about our type of advertising is that it is
relatively inexpensive.
I had a black and white flyer beat any postcard or full color ad I did… in January!
In a million years I would not have guessed that could happen. I surely would have
thought because my ad looked cheap to me it may have totally tanked.
I am in no way saying to try black and white flyers. I am saying my perception was
dead wrong.
‘Seems’ means nothing if it is you seeming it. Trust me, you will have full color
high gloss postcards that will tank. Was it perception or just a bad offer or
wrong target market?
I understand you and there is nothing wrong with presenting your service
the best you can. Just be careful on misguided perceptions.
I understand what your saying Paul. It will be trial and error to some degree no matter what I do. I won’t know how I am perceived until I try it. Even when I do find something that works great (perceived well), i will have to continue to refine it- or tweak it, to keep it effective. There is no perfect marketing practice. A sharp knife will only stay sharp- if you keep sharpening it (or never use it i guess). So I will do my best to eliminate things that do not work, and try my hardest to not only learn from my mistakes- but the mistakes (and successes of others).
Your advice is well taken Paul. Thank you
Ok I sent off for the sample pack from A’deas printing the other day and I got it in the mail today ( Adeas Printing | Door Hangers, Band-It, Stick-It, Mailings and all your printing needs ) and I have to say that the quality looks pretty darn good! I’m still waiting on a price quote request because they really don’t have an automated setup like a lot of print places do. They give some basic prices but you have to call or email them if you want specifics.
However, based on the sample pack quality + the unique “Stick-it” strip that you can get on just about (if not) everything they offer, I will give them a try if the price is reasonable. I’m just waiting on them to give me a price…
On the other hand, I recently had some business cards made by a company called Uprint ( UPrinting | Online Printing Company | Print Online & Save! ) and while the cards turned out to be useless (my fault not theirs) I did get a chance to look at their quality. What I thought I was getting- was not what I got. Their website does not specifically say “high gloss” like many printers offer a “High gloss UV coating” and I mistakenly just assumed that since I was ordering the premium “14pt cardstock gloss”- that it was the same thing- it’s not. So if you plan to use them, just know that your not going to get a high gloss finish like you can at other places. Also, many of the cards I inspected had fine scratches across the back, as if their machines were dirty or something when they did the printing or cutting. I’m not sure what to make of that as not all of them have that problem.
So anyways, that’s my experience with Uprinting and A’deas printing. I don’t plan on re-ordering from Uprinting.
