How Do You Advertise

Currently, I am doing the local phone books and direct mail coupons. In the past I have done fliers and door-hangers with very limited success.
 
business cards, I also have a yard sign that I put up when I am at someone else's house.



Example: those "vote for "Joe" for office" signs the wire ones that dont leave noticeable holes in the yard :) I took there part off because they never came and got it from my yard after the election in durham some time back, and had a local sign shop put a nice overlay to attach to the frame....



Word of mouth is also a good way that has brought me good business before....
 
I have a vinyl on the back of my car, I have a website (that I promote on craigslist and on my business cards), I'm in the yellow pages, and word of mouth.



Steve
 
I have a website, some fliers, some business cards but the best is the customer's comments.

Happy customers bring more customers...I am going to buy a van to stick some stickers on it and also to pay for advertising in some magazines for modified cars, guide for buying cars etc etc
 
Stephenwz968 said:
I have a vinyl on the back of my car, I have a website (that I promote on craigslist and on my business cards), I'm in the yellow pages, and word of mouth.



Steve
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Do you get very good results from Craig's List?
 
Website and business cards but I'd say I get 90% of my new customers through word of mouth and on internet boards. I haven't done any active marketing for more than 10 years now. This really is a business that self-perpetuates itself as long as you take good care of your customers.



You have to approach each new job with this thought in mind:



How do I "wow" this customer so he is my customer for life and brags about my work to all his friends.
 
I've just started out a couple months ago and my business has been through word of mouth, craigslist(only 2 clients though), and boards.





Scottwax said:
Website and business cards but I'd say I get 90% of my new customers through word of mouth and on internet boards. I haven't done any active marketing for more than 10 years now. This really is a business that self-perpetuates itself as long as you take good care of your customers.
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Funny you mention internet boards, a fellow member on a bmw forum was asking for a detailer in Fortworth and I showed him your site. Can't wait to see what you do with his car.:2thumbs:
 
Scottwax said:
Website and business cards but I'd say I get 90% of my new customers through word of mouth and on internet boards. I haven't done any active marketing for more than 10 years now. This really is a business that self-perpetuates itself as long as you take good care of your customers.



You have to approach each new job with this thought in mind:



How do I "wow" this customer so he is my customer for life and brags about my work to all his friends.
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Great method of thinking. It's no wonder you have so many maintenance clients.
 
07e90 said:
Funny you mention internet boards, a fellow member on a bmw forum was asking for a detailer in Fortworth and I showed him your site. Can't wait to see what you do with his car.:2thumbs:
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:cool: Thanks!



I do the same for my fellow pros here, I know at least Joe (Superior Shine) and Sean (G35stilez) have done work for people I have referred to them. I think it is important that we support and recommend each other. :)
 
Scottwax said:
:cool: Thanks!



I do the same for my fellow pros here, I know at least Joe (Superior Shine) and Sean (G35stilez) have done work for people I have referred to them. I think it is important that we support and recommend each other. :)
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I agree 100%:goodjob
 
Rick and I are all 100% word of mouth. We actually have been doing a ton of full corrections, wetsands, etc.



I know the economy is slow, but there is a ton of money and work out there.
 
Scottwax said:
Website and business cards but I'd say I get 90% of my new customers through word of mouth and on internet boards. I haven't done any active marketing for more than 10 years now. This really is a business that self-perpetuates itself as long as you take good care of your customers.



You have to approach each new job with this thought in mind:



How do I "wow" this customer so he is my customer for life and brags about my work to all his friends.
Click to expand...





Scott - If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you go about this? I would think that most boards discourage people like us going on their board posting a "Click 'n Brag" as advertisement for our own business. Obviously, you have a huge following, so I'm interested as to how you walk that line on other boards.
 
I advertise on craigslist a bit (over 10 clients), post on message boards, list on directories. I also have some vinyl on my car and a nice A-frame sign I use on mobile details. Other than that, the rest is word of mouth.



I also refer clients out of my range to other Autopians (ChrisNJ and CleanDean) I have gotten a couple GREAT regular clients from them. I think it's extremely important to bounce work back and forth amongs Autopians you know and can trust.
 
mshu7 said:
Scott - If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you go about this? I would think that most boards discourage people like us going on their board posting a "Click 'n Brag" as advertisement for our own business. Obviously, you have a huge following, so I'm interested as to how you walk that line on other boards.
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I make no secret what I do for a living. I am active on a few other automative board's detailing forums. On offtopic, I've been the mod of the detailing forum since 2001. In addition, once you do a few cars for others who are active on the internet, then they start linking your site if someone asks about detailing-so do people you know from other internet boards. I get a lot of business off BMW and Porsche forums.
 
mshu7 said:
Scott - If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you go about this? I would think that most boards discourage people like us going on their board posting a "Click 'n Brag" as advertisement for our own business. Obviously, you have a huge following, so I'm interested as to how you walk that line on other boards.
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Mike,



Scott is a helpful, volume poster. He is not spamming, he is truly helping those looking for assistance making their car look better. Scott does not post with the intent of getting business; he posts with the intent to assist. If you treat community forums this way, you will get people knocking on your door.



In your responses to people, you should use before & after threads that you've created here (in Click & Brag) to explain how you took care of a similar problem (e.g., swirl marks, water spots, scratch, carpet stain...). Tell people what products and procedures you used, if you like (unless you have commercial involvement with the product).



This is not spam, it is being helpful. Once you do this enough times, you will gain a solid reputation and other members will stamp your forehead with "EXPERT".



db
 
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