Idea Drawer

[Scott]

Today I was looking through my "to-do" drawer of marketing ideas I've come up with over the years. Several of them I have worked through and use to this day; but there are many others that are still there awaiting for me to do something about.

With all of the talk here and the boards like "what marketing works best?" and "should I be in the YP?", etc. it got me to thinking...

The most unsuccessful marketing campaigns are those that are well-thought out but never started.

Do you have an idea drawer or folder that has a lot of marketing ideas that you haven't instituted? I have many such as:

1) creating a character to help build my brand (I have started on this one recently, though)
2) advertorial campaigns in the newspaper
3) marketing to a niche within a niche - i.e. becoming a 'berber carpet cleaning specialist' (I believe Chris M. is already doing this)
4) opt-in online newsletters to clients and prospects
5) partnering with a local radio station to do "ask the cleaner" type of shows (we have one local station and they won't do this - but I think I could persuade them if I was persistent enough)

How about you? Do you have any great marketing ideas that you haven't got around to yet?

Scott

 

[Mark Imbesi]

I'll bite, Scott. I'm always trying to think of different ways to market. I've posted months ago, in this room, that I was going to celebrate Hammock Day in July, then was going to try giving away 3 BBQ side dishes for up to 20 people during Labor Day Weekend + a free touch up after the winner's party. I have a friend in the catering business that I wanted to help advertise on my August postcards for a discount on the sides. I personally wanted to deliver the side dishes right at the start of the party, so maybe I would be introduced to some friends and family of my winning client. Unfortunately, I've been so busy with installs, it never happend.

I would like to add a #6 to your list and see if we can think of other trades or professions that are not the obvious to market too. Of course, my vote would be for caterers. Think about the messes they see in their clients' homes. Would be a great service for them to offer afterwards. X amount for the food and wait staff and this, Mrs. Piffleton, includes a free carpet cleaning after your party. Might even want a house cleaning service to tag along this group...catering in your home and clean up after. Sounds like a win-win to me, but I guess I'll have to wait until Memorial Day weekend 09 to see if it would really work.

Another trade would be the home remodeler. Everytime they do an addition to a house, the existing areas get dirty. Again, win-win for a house cleaner and a carpet cleaner to bring the house back to normal after construction.

#3 Along with berber cleaning specialist, there would be odor control specialist and flooring repair specialist (my favorite). I guess you could become a happy client specialist, no? LOL!

Thanks for bringing up this topic.


PS - Just got back from the Tool Box so,...leather cleaning specialist, upholstery cleaning specialist, spot dying specialist...

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

Well Scott you already know most of what we are doing.

Every month our chamber has a "Business After Hours" get together for all chamber members to attend and every month it's at a different location. I'm making a 1 year commitment to clean each location for free in exchange for my company to hang a banner of some sort in their building while the event is taking place.

This will be 11 different locations , the 12th location I don't think I want to clean for free because 3 different area chambers get together for this event and the location charges a hefty fee for the one night event.

I've already tried this once and we did get some feed back from it. Just been dragging my feet since then about this idea.

 

[Scott]

Well Scott you already know most of what we are doing.

Every month our chamber has a "Business After Hours" get together for all chamber members to attend and every month it's at a different location. I'm making a 1 year commitment to clean each location for free in exchange for my company to hang a banner of some sort in their building while the event is taking place.

This will be 11 different locations , the 12th location I don't think I want to clean for free because 3 different area chambers get together for this event and the location charges a hefty fee for the one night event.

I've already tried this once and we did get some feed back from it. Just been dragging my feet since then about this idea.

I really do like this idea, Bruce. One suggestion I'll make - if you're not doing it already have a biz card holder with the words "Free, Take One" on the board where people can grab your business card. If allowed, even better would be to also give a free bottle of spotter away - with your brand plastered all over it, of course. You'd have to work this out with the business ahead of time as you wouldn't want to be seen as raining on their parade. As we know many Chamber-goers are mavens, which are trusted people in a position to use and recommend your services.

One last thing....if you can stand near the board and interact throughout the event that will surely help too. You gotta be the worst kept secret around these people and nobody can do that better than you.

Scott

PS - hmmmm.....that last event sounds like it's the Crème de la Crème of all of the events where mostly mavens hang out. Sort of a good 'ol boys club event. As my granddad said, "when you get in with the good 'ol boys, good 'ol things happen."

 

[Scott]

I'll bite, Scott. I'm always trying to think of different ways to market. I've posted months ago, in this room, that I was going to celebrate Hammock Day in July, then was going to try giving away 3 BBQ side dishes for up to 20 people during Labor Day Weekend + a free touch up after the winner's party. I have a friend in the catering business that I wanted to help advertise on my August postcards for a discount on the sides. I personally wanted to deliver the side dishes right at the start of the party, so maybe I would be introduced to some friends and family of my winning client. Unfortunately, I've been so busy with installs, it never happend.

I would like to add a #6 to your list and see if we can think of other trades or professions that are not the obvious to market too. Of course, my vote would be for caterers. Think about the messes they see in their clients' homes. Would be a great service for them to offer afterwards. X amount for the food and wait staff and this, Mrs. Piffleton, includes a free carpet cleaning after your party. Might even want a house cleaning service to tag along this group...catering in your home and clean up after. Sounds like a win-win to me, but I guess I'll have to wait until Memorial Day weekend 09 to see if it would really work.

Another trade would be the home remodeler. Everytime they do an addition to a house, the existing areas get dirty. Again, win-win for a house cleaner and a carpet cleaner to bring the house back to normal after construction.

#3 Along with berber cleaning specialist, there would be odor control specialist and flooring repair specialist (my favorite). I guess you could become a happy client specialist, no? LOL!

Thanks for bringing up this topic.


PS - Just got back from the Tool Box so,...leather cleaning specialist, upholstery cleaning specialist, spot dying specialist...

Scott,

For our duct cleaning division, I've "partnered" with a very respectable HVAC contractor in the area. What we've done is come up with a service agreement, that a client shall have their ducts cleaned every 3 years. With that, every 6 months they get a visit from the HVAC contractor to do a system check, and maintanence. Its billed each month, and either our company can sell it to them. Or The HVAC contractor can sell it to their clients. We just started it a month ago, and we have two service agreements signed. The client pays 23 dollars a month on a credit card, and everything is automatically scheduled for them. There is not discount on either I nor the HVAC contractor's work, but we do offer them 15% off of any other service rendered that our company provides. The HVAC contractor offers 15% discount if say a component would go bad on the furnace, on the parts and labor, or on replacement of a new furnace.

It will be more worth it once more get signed. I've been really trying to work on ways to earn residual income, so that the "slow times" don't seem so slow for our bank accounts.

All excellent ideas, guys. Thanks for sharing.

Mark, the caterer partnership is great. It reminds me of the "Marriage Mafia" where the dressmaker refers the invitation card company who refers the tux shop, who refers the shoe shop, who refers the caterer, who refers the jewelry shop, etc. In my idea drawer is also a way to get our company positioned as part of the Marriage Mafia, but like so many ideas over the years I get busy and put it on the backburner.

Steve, rock on! Great idea if one does ductcleaning. Have you ever approached a carpet retailer about a similar plan for carpet cleaning? I was actually approached by one of our carpet retailer hubs to do this and we put a plan together for them. They sold a few but in the end the logistics just didn't work out.

Anyone else working on some outside-the-box marketing ideas?

 

[Scott]

Yes Scott, we have been they were more interested in just selling their product and not ours. But they still refer us a lot, and when we have to pull carpet on WDR cases, we go thru them for the replacement. If someone calls them and asks what to do because their basement has water, they refer them to us for the mitigation.

No offense to you, but I think if you are to do a program like that with any type of vendor, whether it be HVAC or Carpet Retailer, a lot of follow up and engaging has to be done. Or else they honestly just don't care to go the extra effort to help sell your product. It also helps when you can sell the program more, because it shows that you DO care, and are willing to help them out, and they are more likely to jump onboard and implement the program as well. But to work harder to make more money, I'll do that all day long!! :wink:

Roger. We'll commiserate the merits of such a program over a drink or 3 in the swim up bar this weekend.

Scott

 

[Jack May]

Scott, you been peeking in my office over the weekend?

My biggest downfall as a business person is implementation

Every now and again, I go on a marketing design rampage and end up with a fwe partial-to-completed pieces for different areas of my business. Sometimes I get busy and it stops there and never goes any further.

Other times I get the first group out, mabye even 2nd and 3rds but almost alwaysget too busy to keep it going.

One thing I did do when I employed my receptionist mid last year was to write into her contract that she do the follow up and some things that we have implemented, she has done that for me.

From here forwards, I need to get to the stage where I have someone else as a team leader to allow me a bit more time for marketing and management etc.

Yeah, I get frustrated with it/myself too.

John

 

[boazcan]

Well Scott you already know most of what we are doing.

Every month our chamber has a "Business After Hours" get together for all chamber members to attend and every month it's at a different location. I'm making a 1 year commitment to clean each location for free in exchange for my company to hang a banner of some sort in their building while the event is taking place.

This will be 11 different locations , the 12th location I don't think I want to clean for free because 3 different area chambers get together for this event and the location charges a hefty fee for the one night event.

I've already tried this once and we did get some feed back from it. Just been dragging my feet since then about this idea.

Bruce, thanks for this idea you posted back a bit.

We have been on the chase for these. Our chamber does, a coffee event, a noon event, and an after hours event. We have done three of them so far. Got $300 the first time for cleaning the whole room and will be doing a $1500 commercial job next month from a hotel as well as trying to get a $10k job if I can ever figure out how to get all the acrylic sealer out of their grout. Great idea. I just need to stick with it.

 

[XTREME1]

I want to sponsor and run an adult playground games tourney.

4 Square
Whiffle Ball
Dodgeball
Kickball

The XTREME Playground Tourney to sponsor Marshfield Youth Sports

 

[Chris Muetterties]

What about a menu of services ?

Like a restaurant menu? A list and description that the custy can read while your working ?

Another thing I have noticed in 80% of homes I go into............. One of the worst realtors in my area made a magnet that listed about 20 services on it, funny thing is people have kept them for 8+ years and they don't use the realtor at all. Seems like we could do the leg work and sell the spots for 150.00 per line and make some cash and get free advertising.

Chris

 

[Mark Imbesi]

Great post, Chris! I'm gonna bring that magnet idea up at my next BNI meeting!

 

[Brian R]

I leave my own magnet...I never thought about puting some of my power partners on one..Hmmm. Great idea I think.
And if they can put me on theirs? Yea baby.

Damn good idea.

 

[nickreal]

Who are your power partners in BNI? My group is pretty young I need to work on recruiting, just wondering who to recruit first.

 

[Brian R]

Who are your power partners in BNI? My group is pretty young I need to work on recruiting, just wondering who to recruit first.

I belong to Letip Int...pretty much the same thing
My power partners are

House cleaner
Landscaper
Pest Control
Electrician
Handyman



Semi power partners (They help me more than I help them)

Realtor
Insurance Agents (a few of them in the group)
Mortgage Broker


People I partner with for thank you's for customers

Mary Kay...lotions or something like that (House wives love it)
Toffee Lady...tins of toffee to stay thank you
Promotions Guy...pens, coffee mugs, letter openers etc.
Gift basket Lady..bigger jobs

On all of the thankyou's I put that company's info in gift as well to help promote.

You can't just expect to "get" without "giving" back.

But you guys already knew that ...right?