Whats your #Marketing tool and #1 piece of advise to a new guy
- Thread starter AJS
- Start date
garyg7133
New member
- Sep 7, 2011
- 309
- 0
Try to find a small business group, whether online or in person, who refer friends, family and other group members to you. That is how I started out once the friends and family angle was covered. What will happen after that is you will get referrals (providing your work is up to snuff) from the group members and you will begin to build the most important advertising tool ever - word of mouth. I have done some advertising here and there, but with the exception of 1 or 2 customers over the past 7 years my customers have all been repeat or word of mouth.
I buy nice microfiber towels wholesale on clearance. I put one in a bag with my card and a note and put them on cars. The note says "you've got a cool ride. here's a complementary new towel to keep it clean and if you need any help cleaning, removing scratches, etc. give me a call." It costs me 67 cents per bag. I get 20% success rate.
I like that idea.
dcjredline
New member
- Mar 26, 2012
- 3,340
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I wouldn't like people putting stuff on my car. If you give it to the owner that's different but touching someone's car doesn't sit well with me.
Definitely something that I considered. It is a clean plastic bag with a clean towel on the windshield and cowl.
In the end, people like "free."
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
- Aug 31, 2010
- 17,035
- 1,321
That's a monstrously high advertising return--good for you.
I'm very selective of where I put them out. At the price I'm spending, I can't just cover a parking lot. I look for young adult women in nice rides and retired type men in nice trucks and muscle cars. I try to hand them to people if I can, and I make it quick- I don't try to sell. Just "nice ride, here's a free towel, enjoy!"
I also specialize in Camaros so I spread the love to all Camaros I see.
I also specialize in Camaros so I spread the love to all Camaros I see.
You know, my #1 tip now that I think about it is: YOUR OWN RIDE! It needs to look incredible!
I get a lot of business by people complimenting my car. Then I say, "I can make yours look just like it." Then I give them my bag with a towel, card and note.
I get a lot of business by people complimenting my car. Then I say, "I can make yours look just like it." Then I give them my bag with a towel, card and note.
LSNAutoDetailing
Active member
- Jun 21, 2014
- 3,373
- 21
If you're getting 20% and it's working, keep doing it! However, I will be one of the few that decent from this practice.
I know if I came out and saw something on my garage queen, I'd be miffed to say the least.
It's funny you say that, I used to take the Garage Queen to cruise nights and shows and folks would come up to me and say, that's a 2005? I'd say "yes". The reply was "Wow, it looks so new!" Hence that's how we named our business. But on the other side, I never got one piece of business from this car. It's weird.
I found that old guys at cruise nights seem to know best... (bottle XYZ product from Over The Counter Store with a filthy old rag, some one use for checking oil...). I never got any traction at cruise nights or shows... Except spending hours talking to people that will take no action.
To the OP: All the advice given here is good, especially Bob's advice on "Get Legal". Another piece of advice is, Do business where you do business. Sounds weird but, I tend to like to do business with small business in my town. Restaurants, coffee shops, Ace Hardware, etc.... I go all the time and get served by the same folks. I strike up conversations and get business that way. Even when I got my shirts printed, I did the company owners truck. I did my doctors two vehicles and even got her boyfriends truck. Do business where you do business. You spend your money with them, let them spend their money with you.
I am a 1 man mobile operation. I have never gone to a car show or a Cars & Coffee. I figure those guys detail their cars themselves.
Some other things I do:
I have a guy who flips RV trailers. He brings them to me for exterior cleanup. I don't do RV interiors, it's a pretty specific thing, with the plumbing and stuff.
I go to law offices (I know a lot of lawyers in my real job) and doctor's offices and sell car wash services to the entire office. Sometimes bosses like to give perqs.
I do cheap hand washes/quick waxes in the parking lot of a convenience mart/gas station for $12, trying to sell more expensive services done later at the customer's house.
I sell subscriptions for $35/month in the winter for rinseless washes done once a month at the customer's house. I only have 4 customers who do this but hoping one day to increase.
Some other things I do:
I have a guy who flips RV trailers. He brings them to me for exterior cleanup. I don't do RV interiors, it's a pretty specific thing, with the plumbing and stuff.
I go to law offices (I know a lot of lawyers in my real job) and doctor's offices and sell car wash services to the entire office. Sometimes bosses like to give perqs.
I do cheap hand washes/quick waxes in the parking lot of a convenience mart/gas station for $12, trying to sell more expensive services done later at the customer's house.
I sell subscriptions for $35/month in the winter for rinseless washes done once a month at the customer's house. I only have 4 customers who do this but hoping one day to increase.
I'm not sure if I have ever put a bag on a "Garage Queen." I definitely have put one on a dirty Corvette. But if it is a "Garage Queen" and it looks great, that's not really the vehicle that I am targeting. I wouldn't put one of my bags on that type of vehicle.