Best way to target customers who need my product??

Pump101

So heres the thing,I have a water treatment business that i run on my own and due to some luck many thousands of houses in my area need a product I sell or will need it.

Il explain, the houses have had there water supply changed from source and its now been pumped from a well and as a result they now have very hard water. Its been hard for 6 months now and people are slowly finding out what damage the hard water is doing to their appliances.( Showers, immersions, washing machines failing etc). I had done a leaflet drop a while back with limited success but I know my self that i throw those leaflets out my self.

Basically I have 1000s of customers who need/will need their water treated, I just need them to be my customers. My problem is I cant seem to get through to them.

I am thinking of doing a 2 week radio advert on my local station, whos listenership is over 30s and approx 70000 listeners per week. They are looking for 390 ex vat per week for 3 20second ads a day or 525 for 3 30sec ads per day and they will run a competition for free. There is not much competition in my area either.

What are your thoughts on getting these customers to come to me??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks
Ian

MyBusinez.com

Hi Pump101,
It sounds like your customers don't fully understand the implications of the hard water or simply don't have the money to spend on it. Either that or they might be trying to get the council to sort out the situation.

The radio advertising sounds like a good idea but only if you get a decent return on it. You might be much better off trying to get a radio interview somehow so you can fully explain the situation to your potential clients and how much it will end up costing if they don't do something. Try to justify the cost to your potential clients.

Although it may be time consuming, it would also do no harm to knock on doors, explain who you are, what your business is and why you are going around the houses. It will be cheaper, it will give you a chance to meet your target market face to face which they will appreciate, you could get some valuable feedback and market research and it will also give you a chance to perfect your sales technique. Give your customers a leaflet at the door and get a website together to better advertise your services.

Regarding potential customers not having the money to spend on it, maybe try a few different payment plans to make it easier for people to pay. Always make it easy for people to pay as they are more likely to go with you and trust you for this and trust is the best sales tool you have. The silliest thing any company can do is make it difficult for customers to contact them and make it difficult for customers to pay them.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Pump101

As regards door to door knocking, I think its a good idea but I feel people are uneasy with strangers calling to their door. Also how should I dress, as in do I wear my own work uniform which has company logo on it or should I dress likes a sales person would? Im a bit frustrated with it at the minute and I will try anything at this stage. Has anyone any experience of door to door knocking?

thebrendanr1

hi pump 101 i have a business that distributes flyers around waterford and i know a person who can create eye catching flyers that will be made exactly how you like them if you want some more info just let me know and ill pm you some info

Pump101

Hi brendan I was thinkin of maybe doing a letter to customers in an enveople, at least that way it would entise people to open the envelope and maybe read the letter. Is it possible for you to distribute envelopes too?

thebrendanr1

yep i distribute flyers letters brochures all that sort of thing

Pump101

Is it all estates etc or do you do some rural (ruralish) as well?

thebrendanr1

well i do the areas my customers want i do waterford city but if you tell me an area i will try my best i also do new ross town

Pump101

Yea it sounds good so, im away from Friday next for 2 weeks so il be in contact with you after that.

thebrendanr1

yea im also away from saturday for 2 weeks so were in the same boat but feel free to contact me anytime ill send you on my email address in a pm

thebrendanr1

also roughly how many are you looking at distributing ?

Zonua

thebrendanr1 wrote: »

hi pump 101 i have a business that distributes flyers around waterford and i know a person who can create eye catching flyers that will be made exactly how you like them if you want some more info just let me know and ill pm you some info

Yes OP, leaflet distribution seems to me to be the best choice for your situation. I would have an explanation on the back, about hard water. Include pictures, and explain the cost of repairing things damaged by the hard water.

Will your local radio let you do the competition for free - and don't do the ads? They might let you do an interview then too?

Then, you can have your url, and contact details on the leaflet, and, if you get the timing right mention the competition on the flyers/"As featured on XX FM!"

CatFromHue

Can you do the leaflet distribution in conjunction with setting up a stall in your local town/city on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then showing how your product works.

We get flyers through our door most of which are looked at once. Now if you do a presentation in town where people can ask questions and see the benefits of your product they would be more assured of it.

martinn123

Personally, I have always been very sceptical of the success of Leaflet drops.

You have the cost of the leaflet, and the much higher cost of distribution.
We all see or have '' no junk mail '' on the postbox.

I would question, the brendanr1, as to what return, in numbers of inquiries he can show you, from his distribution methods.

Previously I recorded less than 1% enquiry rate from leaflets.

Its like a plumber, putting a leaflet into a home, the day a leak breaks out, very hard to do.
The leaflet will end up in the bin, most of the time.

radio add sounds good, probably a better target fot you,

what about a stand in a local shopping centre, where you can interact directly with your target customers and discuss face to face the issues, much better inquiry rate in my experience.

After that it's word of mouth, offer existing customers a reward for a recomendation,

Good Luck.

Pump101

Thanks for the replies everyone, I hadnt thought of a stall but it does sound like a great idea, how would I go about it? Is it just a matter of approaching a shopping center management and aking them? any idea of costs?

Yea im contact my existing customers a few weeks after installation and get feed back from them and ask them for refferals for a reward to make it worth their while.

Zonua

martinn123 wrote: »

I would question, the brendanr1, as to what return, in numbers of inquiries he can show you, from his distribution methods.

Previously I recorded less than 1% enquiry rate from leaflets.

Yes, you need to think in terms of return.
For 10,000 leaflets, 1% return is 100 enquiries.
Approx cost of 10,000 leaflets = 250e (design + printing) + 600e (distribution) = 850e.

So then you need to calculate how many of the enquiries you can turn into actual bookings/purchases - to see if it is worth your while.

@OP, you're on Facebook? Considering you are a targeting a local area, word of mouth is very important to you. This is mirrored somewhat on Facebook. Ask your customers to 'like' your FB page, and recommend you to their friends.

martinn123

Yes, ring your shopping centre managment office and request some available dates.
No idea about cost, depends on the location, head down some weekend and ask anyone managing a stall.

You will need posters, a stand, and leaflets to draw people over to you, you could also run a competition for a Free draw for a TV, ( small portable ) if people fill in a ticket with their address and phone no. Talk to them while they are filling out the ticket, and make a note on the back of the ticket, if they are worth a follow up. After the draw, leave up some pictures in the Centre showing the winner, local press may also publish.

Word of mouth is the best, a referral, is almost a guaranteed sale, offer existing customers a voucher, for every sale from a referral. I have used M&S E50.00 which makes it worth their while, to work on your behalf.

EIREHotspur

Pump101 wrote: »

..... the houses have had there water supply changed from source and its now been pumped from a well and as a result they now have very hard water. Its been hard for 6 months now and people are slowly finding out what damage the hard water is doing to their appliances.( Showers, immersions, washing machines failing etc)......

Well if I lived in your area I would want to know the facts as to how long does it take for Hard Water to disrupt my appliances.
Does it happen every 6 months, every year, every two years.....what?

Hard facts look great on a tagline of an Ad as a Call To Action.

YOUR APPLIANCES WILL FAIL WITHIN TWO YEARS UNLESS YOU USE OUR SYSTEM
That would certainly get my attention....and as long as that was a fact you'd have credibility straight away.

What I'd do if I were you is:

get a stand in a local Shopping Mall and have Appliances (not photos but appliances) around it with Repair Costs/Replacement Costs and your cost at the top so they can see in black and white what they could save.

get a video advert done showing clearly the benefits

get a website and put the video on it

get a facebook page and link your website to it

buy adwords and drive people to the website (you'd be surprised how much this works)

There are some products/services that need to be spelled out and this is one.....people will react better to a demonstration and hard facts.

ezspeeder

Timing is important here. Nobody looks for a solution until they have a problem. Leaflets will have limited effect if people don't realise that there is a problem. Perhaps focus on convincing them that they have a problem looming. Is there a residents association that you can work through? Get them to communicate the potential problem to residents. Rather than adds on local radio maybe get a slot where you do an interview with a DJ to talk about the issue. Or, get the issue raised at local council so that it appears on their minutes. The key is to start raising awareness of the impending problem - then be ready to solve it! Best of luck.

RATM

If you put together a good website with good SEO on it then I reckon you can get to page one of Google.ie without too much difficulty for the search term 'hard water treatment'.

A quick Google of those terms shows a couple of paid searches, a thread from here and a few UK sites. As you'd be a .ie you'd get preference over a .co.uk when searched on google.ie

Irish people are going to Google in their droves to solve problems, ask questions, etc.

Also you can put together a cost per click campaign targeting 35+ years olds on Facebook pretty easy. You can specify the counties / regions you want the ads targeted at too.

mcgarry098

Imo door to door is the way to go,. If the hard water actually leaves visable signs of damage on the appliances bring a part of it with you as proof. Door to door also allows you to look for work as you need it unlike leaflets and radio ads which could end up with you being ran of your feet for 3 weeks and even having to turn people away or put them on a long waiting list. It also limits the chance of someone else hearing what you do and steeling your idea.

Just be friendly and gently push the fact that if they dont do something about there hard water it will cost them much more in the longrun! Dont be pushy though. Once you do a few houses you'll have no worries about knocking on doors as you get used to it and its a great feeling when someone actually says yes!

Give it a try anyway, it is free after all!!
Good luck,

Kinetic^

Is there any cheap ways of testing for hard water?

Tangled

Why not do a freebie / heavily discounted job in a housing estate to try and drum up business there? Put a sign outside the house, leaflet the area while you're there, try and get talking to people as your product is area specific?

Also agree with having a stand in a shopping centre, show some plumbing ware covered in limescale, costs etc. That would draw me a lot sooner than a flyer.

Pump101

Thanks a million for all the replies folks, i really appreciate it thanks. So many great ideas coming from other peoples perspectives is invaluable.

I think I may run with the shopping center for a few weekends as it wont cost much and as suggested I can have items on display that have hard water scaling, (a kettle, immersion heater, shower etc.)

As money is also a big factor, I may just bite the bullet and go door to door and talk with people.

This is probably a stupid question but what should I wear? Should I go with my uniform, ie polo shirts with company logo or dress up as a sales person would?

I can bring evidence of hard water with me and explain this is whats happening to their appliances and what it will cost to replace/repair.

The web site is also a good idea, i got one of those free .ie domains from getting irish business online but not sure of cost to get one built and optimised, costs may be prohibitave at the minute.

keep the advice coming guys its really appreciated.

Marcanthony

hi,
Radio ads are good for advertisement and awarenss if it targets the right listeners.However in my opinion they will not be profitable in the short term.If you get a client from your ad and that client is happy with the service. Most likly word of mouth will produce more clients as they have the same problem in that area you provided that service.
The current climate.People will not spend on services they do not think is necessary. You need to tell them they need your service and attract them.In your ad state you will provide a free consultation with no obligation in relation to how you can save them money and the effects and protential costs due to untreated damage to there systems.
Pay a referal fee to trades that can refere work to you.Plumbers and washing machine repair companies for example.
Flyers are also good to target a persific area.However a mobile number , no bussiness address, cheap standard printing and lack of information or advice. Will more than likly end up in the bin.I know of clients in my own business who have held flyers and called my company months or even years later. How I know this is because I always ask where did you hear about us and document it on my data base.
You do not state how much your product is. This is important and you need to attract clients with deals. For example free fitting or 20% off.You are not established you need to attract clients.
Remember in the current climate.Be professional and have a good administration system. For example first impressions are everything. Dress well when visiting clients and have a good sales pitch and have documentation to give to your clients and most important KNOW ALL THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT.Business cards are a must and make sure your car is clean attending.Confirm appointments with clients before attending and if your going to be held up notify clients in advance.FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING AND THE GENERAL IMPRESSION OF YOUR BUSINESS.
If your a one man band. Selling , fitting, and administration, ECT. The general impression is not good.Try make your company as professional as possible.You can get a virtual office cheap.
Best of luck and I wish you well. I am in a business that I could refere protential clients.If you pm details of your product and its price. Ill get back to you.