Advertising within the major stores and retail outlets i.e. Tesco, Focus etc

Seeing Phil’s post concerning advertising on LJN reminded me about an advertising method which has not been mentioned on here or at least I don’t recall it.

I mentioned on another post how I had inherited some customers from a neighbour who moved out of the area. My neighbour also had an advertising contract running with FOCUS-- DO IT ALL. So when he moved, he gave me the sim card from his mobile phone so that I could received any enquiries ( lucky again). All for free, would not take anything for it, helped him move out though.

For those of you who are not aware of the advertising on offer. It is a purpose display/rack of business cards. For about £15 per week the company operating the franchise produces the business cards, they are larger than standard cards. There after they don’t have to do a lot to earn their money, they simply come into the store every so often to clean the display and top up the level of cards.

Anyway, during the time that was left on the contract I received 2 or 3 calls a week. Most was for Landscaping jobs which I do not do but there were some mowing jobs which I still have today.

I don’t actually know if the response level is value for money but I notice that all the advertising rack in our brand new Tesco Extra Store is full. So somebody is thinking it is.

Anybody have experience of this advertising method and was it , or is it worth it?

No went for a job doing the sales for this !!
so i know they make money from both ends doing 'not-a-lot' !

they also want to print the cards , which they charge you £500 for also !!

rip-off (IMO)

maybe for large co's or landscape jobs over £10,000 maybe (if you got work)

i have an old best friend (builder) ive know from primary school who has his cards in a home-base one, he has no work and has laid 2 or so staff off , nothing for 3 months. it was / is an established local business he took on from his wife's father 10 or more years ago !! i saw him in the pub on xmas day - dont bother !!

Kieran Ray said:

I have always said no to it as I never believed it could work, when out shopping I have looked at the rack whilst queuing at the till and have never scene a single person pick up a card, maybe that's because it is tesco and not a DIY outlet but hey If any one can prove me wrong I will be pleased as I have always thought about it!

Replies

Kieran Ray January 7, 2010 at 5:49pm

I have always said no to it as I never believed it could work, when out shopping I have looked at the rack whilst queuing at the till and have never scene a single person pick up a card, maybe that's because it is tesco and not a DIY outlet but hey If any one can prove me wrong I will be pleased as I have always thought about it!
Lawncare-4u.co.uk January 7, 2010 at 8:04pm

No went for a job doing the sales for this !!
so i know they make money from both ends doing 'not-a-lot' !

they also want to print the cards , which they charge you £500 for also !!

rip-off (IMO)

maybe for large co's or landscape jobs over £10,000 maybe (if you got work)

i have an old best friend (builder) ive know from primary school who has his cards in a home-base one, he has no work and has laid 2 or so staff off , nothing for 3 months. it was / is an established local business he took on from his wife's father 10 or more years ago !! i saw him in the pub on xmas day - dont bother !!

Kieran Ray said:
I have always said no to it as I never believed it could work, when out shopping I have looked at the rack whilst queuing at the till and have never scene a single person pick up a card, maybe that's because it is tesco and not a DIY outlet but hey If any one can prove me wrong I will be pleased as I have always thought about it!
Lawncare-4u.co.uk January 9, 2010 at 1:03am

yes it is commission .

you have to go to the office in macclesfield ,be on the phone all day and use yellow pages,
try to get 10 -20 appointments in an area per day / plan 4 days? in ;say bristol then use own car/fuel !!

proper con trick (both ends)

Dan Tarleton MSc, BSc (Hons) said:
Waste of money. The chap came to sell it to me when we were based in NW London and I told him after he bought me a free cofee in costas that I was not interested. He was gutted. Bet he was on commission too.
Ofer El-hashahar January 9, 2010 at 5:07pm

Lets be positive,
Here is what might work for you:
1. go to garden centres DIy stores where the people who works there knows their customers- or the customers know of them. Buy from them and try to have a friendly chat say what do you offer and if they can keep your details just in case someone need it. If you buy there again- sure say hello to this man/lady.

When I did garden design and maintenance it worked for me- that is actually networking- so I deliberately bought from few garden centres/nursseries and kept in touch with them -big part of my work arrived that way.

No harm it is free too.

I hope it will work for you!

Now is a great time to try it -when both you and the garden centre people staff my have more time.

best wishes for 2010
Ofer
Fenlandphil January 11, 2010 at 7:25am

I had a visit a year or two back from a rep selling this service, the price seemed pretty high and the contract too long. I asked the chap for cards of people in different locations to myself doing wrought ironwork and similar products. I scanned the cards as he wouldn't leave them, then phoned up the advertisers, none of the people I phoned was happy with the results most were distinctly unhappy, on that basis I declined the offer, the concensus was don't touch it with a barge pole.
I try now only to take on advertising on a payment by results method, if it works I will pay for it.
Anthony Toop January 11, 2010 at 11:21am

I to have looked into this advertising avenue in the past but was put off by the high cost, i've found that spending the money instead on advert cards about twice the size of a business card and placing these in shop windows, newsagents and shop/postoffice etc next to DIY sheds if at all poss have proved far more fruitful and i have taken on quite a few clients in this way. Obviously this is more for the garden maintenance side of things and not big landscaping jobs, i was at first sceptical that a card in a shop window would work but i was pleasantly surprised at the response. Nothing happened straight away but once your card has been there for a couple of months enquiries start to trickle in and generally one job won per shop pays towards the advertising in that said shop for several months :-)
chris nangle January 11, 2010 at 2:45pm

i think its a risky way way of spending money a good adwords campaign would be better imo set your weekly budget and split test some adds
Graeme @ BGS January 11, 2010 at 4:03pm

10 years ago I would of said yes for the DIY stores but by all accounts only selective trades seem to do okay with the card scheme now days. However check if your local golf course allow (charge) for business cards to be left as the members are ideal clients.

I did spend £800 to advertise on Tesco's TV - Only went for the cafe area rather than within the shop and got nothing other than winding up another gardening firm who used the cafe for business meetings!
Rob Bamford January 13, 2010 at 10:39am

Sounds very expensive to me. I paid c£340 for a great 12 month ad in the Yellow Pages, half what they are offering here! I know where I'd rather spend the money....
Kieran Ray January 13, 2010 at 5:28pm

Yellow pages isent too good either, you never get too much work from their adverts no one looks in the books any more!

Rob Bamford said:
Sounds very expensive to me. I paid c£340 for a great 12 month ad in the Yellow Pages, half what they are offering here! I know where I'd rather spend the money....