Classifieds

[_GUNNER_8]

Just curious what all you guys put in your ads?For me its always been same but i would like to try something new this year.

Lawns Unlimited
A Complete Lawn Care Company
mowing,trimming,edging,shurb care,areating,overseeding,and fertilizing, ect. Licence, Insured, Free Est.
I've used that for six years want to try something new and what colors on uniforms? We always have worn tan pants and forrest green shirts, but were switching to spruce pants and yellow shirts,tan shows up to much stains.

[MOW ED]

Soon to also include the

www. site for the curious.

Work on a web site and you won't have to spend so much on the ad.

[stslawncare]

with a webpage u could put
Lawns UNlimited
A complete Lawn Care Company
www.uraddress.com

thats probs half the cost of what ur add was

[_GUNNER_8]

And you fellows think we would get lot of calls from web page?man i just don't see that but could be wrong

[KDJ]

Originally posted by _GUNNER_8
And you fellows think we would get lot of calls from web page?man i just don't see that but could be wrong

I agree


Wast of time..........Alright here we go.....................

[65hoss]

I do sometimes have a complete ad run, but I have found that I usually do better advertising seperately. Ex: Fall=leaves, summer=aerating, spring=lawn maintenance, etc.

[heygrassman]

I agree


Wast of time..........Alright here we go.....................

Do you think they are useful as a tool in the referral process? I am thinking that a person who as gotten our name at the watercooler my jump on the net to look us up.

Just my thoughts.

Jeff

[65hoss]

I agree, website isn't the fix. But, it could help. You put the web address on your trucks, people then look it up after seeing you around town.

[kenneth parsons]

The best advertising is word of mouth, period! Get your current customers to write down the names and phone numbers of 5 folks they think can use your service and call them. Before long you'll need to buy another rig and hire a foreman. Your business has to be built around your reputation. Forget a web site. The cost of yellow pages and newspapers every year equate to a new mower or a trailer

Good Luck!

[Five Star Lawn Care LLC]

Originally posted by 65hoss
I do sometimes have a complete ad run, but I have found that I usually do better advertising seperately. Ex: Fall=leaves, summer=aerating, spring=lawn maintenance, etc.



Just a question....why would u advertise aeration in the summer?

[65hoss]

Originally posted by Big Bad Ram2500




Just a question....why would u advertise aeration in the summer?

Because i'm in the south. Warm season grasses here. You always aerate during the growing season for the type of grass. Our growing season starts when it gets hot outside.

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

Gunner-- If you're solo, you might want to include in the ad something like "All work performed by owner" People feel more confident when the boss is doing the work.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[_GUNNER_8]

Originally posted by LAWNS AND MOWER
Gunner-- If you're solo, you might want to include in the ad something like "All work performed by owner" People feel more confident when the boss is doing the work.

LAWNS AND MOWER
We are not solo,we have run two crews will add 3rd this year,we have been geared for commerical last 4 years would like to add lot more homes,i was just wonder in thread what you guys put in your ads,maybe find something that stands out.

[lamblawnscaping]

How many people will look at your website depends alot on what type of market you are in. Northern Virginia (my market) has about the highest rate of people who regualarly use the internet in the country. Also the wealthier neighborhoods tend to be a little more sophisticated/web savy so the rate goes up even more. A website can be used to answer alot of questions a potential client may have even before they call you. So time spent qualifying callers who have already viewed your website should decrease. Maybe if you only put the company name and the web adress you would get more qualified callers, but depending on your market you may get none at all. I would probably still put a short description of your services, perhaps "Complete Lawn & Landscape Services" and your phone # and pay to have it in bold print. Newspaper ads in the services directory have worked more for installation jobs than maintenance.

[CSRA Landscaping]

Gunner, I just use bluejeans and embroidered polos. I haven't really settled on a color for my shirts yet but I think it may be charcoal &/or moss, with red or yellow lettering.

Maybe for the ad put in something about being a lawn & landscape maintenance company? I haven't been around long enough to tell you what catches the public's eye but that gets mine, probably only because I'm in the Green Industry, LOL.

[Ssouth]

As far as advertising 90% is from word of mouth.

And for the uniforms, this it what I use. Last year we wore khaki shorts. This year we may change to navy shorts. On the back it reads TLC, The Landscape Company in large letters. And yes safety glasses and hearing protectors are part of the uniform.

[gusbuster]

Originally posted by lamblawnscaping
How many people will look at your website depends alot on what type of market you are in.
Couldn't have said it better. Depends on your area. I live in the heart of "Silicon Valley" (Intel, Hewlett Packard, Apple all corporate headquarters less than 30 minute drive from me) so naturally; having a web presence has been natural for me. People will and do use the web to find whatever kind of service they wish.

Newspaper ads in the services directory have worked more for installation jobs than maintenance.

Other than word of mouth, the old fashion newspaper adds has been the best expense where I have to put money out of my pocket. Profit wise the web presence has been a cheap form of advertising.

John

[jrblawncare]

When you place an ad in the news paper,have you ever included your minimum price for some services you provide...ex.weekly mowing as low as $00.00 or lawn applications starting at $00.00.I was thinking it may catch someones eye and they may call you first,sort of like "carpet cleaning 3 rooms for $00.00."Do you think its a good idea or not?THANKS JOHN

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

Gunner-- Maybe you could include in your ad " All phone calls returned within 24 hours" This tells people that you're dependable right from the start. Just an idea.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[yardmonkey]

I have usually included my prices in classified ads in the past, for 2 reasons. 1 - I don't have to waste time with people calling who think my prices are high - they already know what they are. 2 - I will usually be the only ad out of 20 or 30 with a price at all, and I think this appeals to people who don't want to call around checking prices, negotiating, etc. I may leave prices out of some future ads, partly to save money by making the ad smaller, and partly to not scare off people who may think my prices are high (when they really aren't compared to everyone else, whose prices are unknown), and partly just to experiment.

Also - I have put up a webpage to refer to in my ad. I tried running an ad with nothing but the URL for 2 weeks and got no calls (and no hits - you want to put a counter on your work page) - but I think that is just due to the season and the weather. In the future I will include the URL in all my ads, so whoever wants to look at it can get all the info they want, including prices. Also, out of 30 ads, there will be no one else in the lawn care categopry in the classifieds with a URL, which will attract some people ("hmm - this guy is smart enough to know how to use a computer" or "hey, a website - cool").

I sometimes just run an ad in the Sunday paper and sometimes daily, depending on how busy I am. I went for 4 or 5 months without advertising last year. I now wish I had gone into the winter with more aggresssive advertising. It has been slow! Depending on how much business you are after, you should get to a place where you don't need to advertise anymore, just by having enough customers and enough new business by word-of-mouth.

Advertising is a complicated science and it is smart to experiment with various aspects of any kind of advertising to see what works for you.

Terry Slade