Most unusal ideas or ways of marketing that youhave done.

S

snosh

New member
What is the most usal thing you have done in terms of marketing your business or what unusal ideas do you guys have. Everyone talks about websites or flyers and business cards but I was curious about unusal ways to market like in the movie I love you man where tevin a real estate broker put his face on urnel cakes to get noticed. Just made wonder lol.
 
I haven't done this but your post made me think of it. You could have a case of toilet paper printed up with your business info on it and go to a few high end restaurants and replace their TP with yours.:rofl
 
lol I was just using that as in example because it wierd but it worked in the movie if that even matters lol but yea just just unusual ways to catch people eys...like doing those car wraps on your car so its like a huge billboard for your business. or buying a box of hersey bars and putting your own label around the Hershey packaging and giving them away for free or getting some golf balls with your logo and contact info on it and giving some out at the golf course or hiring teenagers to go around town all day and pass out flyers and business cards
 
snosh said:
lol hiring teenagers to go around town all day and pass out flyers and business cards
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Going to be a good thread, but I'd avoid this one like the plague. Takes a LOT of supervision to insure the teens look good representing your business and do what they are supposed to.

More important...door hangers and flyers if they don't get tossed by the teen will get tossed by the homeowner. When was the last time you looked at something hanging on your door?

Finally...if you were thinking of sticking things under wiper blades at the mall, don't. The better care someone takes of their car, (the kind of client you want), the more this pi$$es them off.
 
Passing out flyers in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact it can be a good thing if you are the person doing it and you have the chance to meet the person and shake their hand, leave them with material. Where it gets to be a very bad thing is when people leave unsolicited materials on windshields or door knobs. This in my opinion has a very negative connotation to it.
 
tuscarora dave said:
I haven't done this but your post made me think of it. You could have a case of toilet paper printed up with your business info on it and go to a few high end restaurants and replace their TP with yours.:rofl
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I don't know about that..... you might get your business associated with sh!tty service that way... :rofl



Sorry, couldn't resist :gotcha:



How about donating a free detail or a gift certificate toward services to a charity auction/raffle? Gets your name out there, brings in a customer that you can convert into a repeat visitor, and helps the community all in one shot!
 
Yes raffle off a free detail.....I have donated a few detailings to people's Jack and Jill party, which works well. I also had somebody purchase a detail to raffle off at a party, which I sold for a ridiculous low price of $30, and the person who won never called...so I made a free $30 doing nothing at all. That is generally the case, people who win them never call because they lose the certificate and it works out wonderfully for me. Other people that didn't win it end up calling and I make a bunch of new customers so it is a win win.....But when you are giving away free details like that, make sure it isn't something that is going to kill you. I usually just do a quick one step on the outside and vacuum the inside, clean the windows and wipe the dash. That way I'm not really losing much money at all
 
Have you ever seen those advertisment trucks that ride around? Church is another good place to get work, and it couldnt hurt to be there either.
 
Its funny that I just stated on Facebook today that this spring I was going to be doing an online raffle for Facebook friends. Great minds think alike :) Along with using Facebook to do the work for me, Im also doing the wrap on my trailer, gift cards, and anything else I can think of to get my name back out there.
 
Something I recently started to do that is a little different. I had some cards printed up specifically for the vehicles I want to work on. The cards read:

"This card was placed on your car because it's obvious you take pride in it's appearance. Come in today for a free estimate and 10% off any service"

So it's not like I am taking the cards and putting them on cars that are all messed up. They go on the high end cars that are already clean. I have only handed out a few as I just got them in recently, but I think it compliments the car's owner rather then insulting them by saying that their car needs to be detailed.
 
I've stated my opinion and said this in other threads many times in the past. I may be different than many car owners but then again maybe not. I think there are quite a few people that might feel the same way I do.

It's no compliment to me, for anyone and I mean anyone, for any reason to leave a card or flyer on my vehicle. If your standing by my car when I return and want to hand me a card/flyer to introduce yourself and discuss your business I would be happy to talk to you. Seriously, most would think I'm a pretty nice guy. If I caught you leaving a flyer/card on my vehicle you probably would not have the same impression.

It's just incredibly ballsy in my opinion for someone to think that they can for the benefit of their business place something on my vehicle. I can't imagine myself thinking I have the right to lay my hands on another persons possessions unless I've been given their permission to do so. No matter how good the media or the product I think this is an extremely poor business practice. It is the equivalent of Internet Spam and all too often becomes parking lot liter. I guess it's evident I'm pretty passionate about this position.
 
GearHead_1 said:
I've stated my opinion and said this in other threads many times in the past. I may be different than many car owners but then again maybe not. I think there are quite a few people that might feel the same way I do.

It's no compliment to me, for anyone and I mean anyone, for any reason to leave a card or flyer on my vehicle. If your standing by my car when I return and want to hand me a card/flyer to introduce yourself and discuss your business I would be happy to talk to you. Seriously, most would think I'm a pretty nice guy. If I caught you leaving a flyer/card on my vehicle you probably would not have the same impression.

It's just incredibly ballsy in my opinion for someone to think that they can for the benefit of their business place something on my vehicle. I can't imagine myself thinking I have the right to lay my hands on another persons possessions unless I've been given their permission to do so. No matter how good the media or the product I think this is an extremely poor business practice. It is the equivalent of Internet Spam and all too often becomes parking lot liter. I guess it's evident I'm pretty passionate about this position.
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I do agree ALL of my work has been generated by one on one conversations. A card is exchanged only if there is further interest. Sometimes people are looking for some kind of etiquette before being approached.
 
those who do paint/body work should just crash into peoples cars they'd like to work on...then say, "im glad we met by accident"
 
paintjobpro22 said:
those who do paint/body work should just crash into peoples cars they'd like to work on...then say, "im glad we met by accident"
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That's funny. However my PDR guy used to leave his card that had a car diagram where he could mark where dents were on cars needing attention. It worked till a guy came to his place (home) threatening him saying he put the dents there.
 
GearHead_1 said:
I've stated my opinion and said this in other threads many times in the past. I may be different than many car owners but then again maybe not. I think there are quite a few people that might feel the same way I do.

It's no compliment to me, for anyone and I mean anyone, for any reason to leave a card or flyer on my vehicle. If your standing by my car when I return and want to hand me a card/flyer to introduce yourself and discuss your business I would be happy to talk to you. Seriously, most would think I'm a pretty nice guy. If I caught you leaving a flyer/card on my vehicle you probably would not have the same impression.

It's just incredibly ballsy in my opinion for someone to think that they can for the benefit of their business place something on my vehicle. I can't imagine myself thinking I have the right to lay my hands on another persons possessions unless I've been given their permission to do so. No matter how good the media or the product I think this is an extremely poor business practice. It is the equivalent of Internet Spam and all too often becomes parking lot liter. I guess it's evident I'm pretty passionate about this position.
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Well, this was a thread for ideas, and this is just one idea. Maybe you are right. It's hard to just see a car and then wait around for the owner to come out, and I think that just leaving a regular business card doesn't set you apart from anyone else. Having specific cards JUST for leaving on nice cars shows the owner you at least took the time to make up the card.
As far as internet spam, it's a little different then that. Internet Spam would be covering an entire parking lot with your card or a coupon.
I can see that you do have a pretty passionate stance on this, so I don't want to get into a back and forth with you. Again, it's just an idea. My area is LITTERED with people who call themselves detailers and will go around and flier parking lots on a weekly basis. This way I can show people, "Hey, I don't want to work on all these cars, I want to work on yours." If it works for some people, great. If it doesn't work for others, well at least you are one step closer to finding an idea that does.
 
GothamAuto said:
Well, this was a thread for ideas, and this is just one idea. I understand and appreciate your view point. My comments were simply describing the way some may feel about people who do this. I know it's very apparent how I feel but that isn't to suggest everyone should have the same opinion. Maybe you are right. It's hard to just see a car and then wait around for the owner to come out, yeah, this almost goes without saying it is real work soliciting quality contacts. and I think that just leaving a regular business card doesn't set you apart from anyone else. Having specific cards JUST for leaving on nice cars shows the owner you at least took the time to make up the card.
As far as internet spam, it's a little different then that. Internet Spam would be covering an entire parking lot with your card or a coupon. Not necessarily, Spam hits a certain segment of the Internet. Targeted flyers/cards hits a certain portion of the parking lot (in your case nice cars that are worthy of your services). My point was that it was unsolicited marketing to an address, email or in this case vehicle, something that is all mine. That in my opinion is Spam.
I can see that you do have a pretty passionate stance on this, so I don't want to get into a back and forth with you. Again, it's just an idea. My area is LITTERED with people who call themselves detailers and will go around and flier parking lots on a weekly basis. This way I can show people, "Hey, I don't want to work on all these cars, I want to work on yours." If it works for some people, great. If it doesn't work for others, well at least you are one step closer to finding an idea that does.
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I appreciate the fact that we can discuss things that we see from opposite ends of the spectrum in a civil manner. Thanks. It's what makes DC a great place to be.
 
GothamAuto, I think it is a good idea....It will help you get those types of cars by targeting the ones you actually WANT to detail. Most of the time we don't have a choice what cars we will be detailing but this way you can at least put out an effort to get clients that care about their cars appearance, and will come back over and over again...BUT if you leave a card or flyer on the car, I would suggest putting it on the driver window, not under the windshield wiper. Because I know I would be pissed if I get in my car after walking the mall all day, sit down then realize I have to get back up because somebody stuck one under my windshield wiper....Or I could just turn the wipers on :idea but you get what I'm saying
 
Dtrick.22 said:
GothamAuto, I think it is a good idea....It will help you get those types of cars by targeting the ones you actually WANT to detail. Most of the time we don't have a choice what cars we will be detailing but this way you can at least put out an effort to get clients that care about their cars appearance, and will come back over and over again...BUT if you leave a card or flyer on the car, I would suggest putting it on the driver window, not under the windshield wiper. Because I know I would be pissed if I get in my car after walking the mall all day, sit down then realize I have to get back up because somebody stuck one under my windshield wiper....Or I could just turn the wipers on :idea but you get what I'm saying
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Oh, yeah. Absolutely on the driver window. I would never put it under the windshield wiper. It's easier that way too, you don't have to actually touch the car, just slide it right in.
 
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