And start changing the way you go about marketing.
My girlfriend Lindsay of That Mutt: a dog blog also operates a local dog running business. The first thing we did in marketing her new business was to hang up fliers, run a newspaper ad and all the other types of traditional marketing.
What we are doing next is a little different. We had a flier designed that is short and sweet with just the minimal info on it. The plan next is to simply walk up and down the streets around the area we live and every time we hear a dog bark, leave a flier on their doorknob.
Here we are removing the mass media shotgun effect of marketing and going straight after the people we want to work with. Sounds simple enough, right? So by taking the same $100 we would spend on newspaper advertising, we are putting that to design and printing cost. The best part is it is much more direct marketing which should lead to much better conversions.
Sure enough, we could keep throwing money at marketing the traditional way including splurging on radio, TV, print, billboards, you name it. Or we can focus on the very specific results we want. We want people with dogs who work during the day to be our clients. Now we will only go after those people.
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Stop throwing money at marketing: And start changing the way you go about marketing.
My girlfriend Lind.. http://tinyurl.com/4f4old
Door knocking is good – but only if you talk to people. Pasting flyers on doors usually only annoys people. Also, I’ve learned its better to give something of “value” to people – in this case maybe doggie biscuits attached to a postcard sized flyer? It makes you REALLY stand out if you give them something unique and/or useful.
Also don’t discount the people that don’t have dogs – they very well likely do know someone who does! You don’t have to give them a flyer – but talking to them about your business and offering a biscuit to give to a friend won’t hurt either – as you said still much less expensive than mailers, tv, billboards. Make sure you find out if you need a permit too – one of our agents was fined for not having one! Good luck with the business! Door knocking is big in real estate, so hopefully some of my tips will help you
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Be sure to check the community and sub-division regulations, as at least in our area there are restrictions that many areas have about putting things on the door.
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I have noticed that giving something of value converts very well with my campaign of sending a mail with 2 custom stamps in it so they can use it.
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@Chelle, point well proven. You never know who you might meet or talk to on a daily walk passing out fliers. Even if they don’t have a dog they probably know someone who does.
@Cathy, We would hate to get a littering fine
@Syed, Things that are custom made even if seemingly insignificant go a long way to helping people remember you or your service.
You nailed it right on the head. Also, don’t fall into the common pitfall of trying to cram as much information on the piece as possible. Sometimes people feel like “hey, I am paying for this anyway, why not put a 1000 words on a 5.5 x 8.5 postcard in 9 point font.” Use as few words as possible to get your message across. In direct mail/marketing Less = more.
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@Syed – What are you doing? Custom stamps? Are you talking about self inking rubber stamps?
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OK I know this is off-topic…but what a great business to keep you in shape! I’ve heard of dog walkers, but never dog runners. Cool.
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“We want people with dogs who work during the day to be our clients. Now we will only go after those people.”
Knowing the target audience is an important thing before starting any marketing strategy and plan.
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“Here we are removing the mass media shotgun effect of marketing and going straight after the people we want to work with.”
Simple and creative. How is the result of this marketing? Do you receive the impact that you want?
Great and creative idea Josh! At my restaurant we are always trying to come up with creative ways to market to our customers which is different than what everyone else is doing. We have found that the creative, original ideas are always what goes over the best!
Gary Vaynerchuk just posted a video which talks about some of the ideas in this post: http://snipurl.com/477k1
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