Advertising

[Brian Trout]

Hi Martin,

I saw your post and had to chime in.

I'm a relatively new person to the advertising game myself, but I'll tell
you what has and hasn't been happening here.

Daily paper:  Doesn't seem to be very effective in this area.  Too soon
lining the bottom of somebody's birdcage I suspect.

Weekly papers:  Seem to be a bit more effective here.  People seem to spend
a bit more time with these, and respond a bit more for my advertising
dollar.  (They're the local "penny saver" type papers.)

Yellow pages:  Sort of a necessary evil.  They might see your name
somewhere, or hear your name somewhere, but they have to be able to _find_
your name when they need it.  If you're listed in the Yellow pages, you'll
stand a chance at a call.  If you're not there, chances are, they'll call
somebody who's listed there.

Business cards:  Spend some time and dollars and have a really nice business
card made, and don't be stingy about giving them to people.  They'll show up
in places you'd never imagine. (Incidentally, do put some kind of a logo on
it that tells people what your business is about without having to read a
single word.  If there's a likeness of a piano on the card, chances are they
will know that your business has something to do with pianos.)

Direct Mail:  I've done some direct mail pieces to specific potential
customers with limited success.  I won't say it was a huge success, but by
the same token, it put an introductory letter and a business card in the
hand of a potential customer.  So far, the mailings I've done have more than
paid for themselves, so I would consider them to be at least worthy of a
look.

Word of mouth:  Not only ask for referrals, but take the time to talk to
people.  I was in the woodworker's supply store just yesterday, and took the
time to talk to the clerk.  He noticed the piano logo on my shirt and
inquired about whether I work on pianos.  His mother has a Steinway grand
with (I guess) a DuoArt player on it that he thinks she'd like to get rid
of.  I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't had time to talk.

Clothing:  This is kind of a personal item for me, but I decided to have
some Dickies work shirts embroidered with a rendition of a piano and my
company name above the right pocket and my first name above the left pocket.
I did this because I wanted to look like a professional person, and give
people an idea of who I was when I showed up on their doorstep.  It also
opens up opportunities for conversation when I'm out and about.  I know it's
not something that everyone would do or even feel comfortable with, but it
fits me.  (I'm NOT a suit and tie guy.)

Radio:  This is another one that may not be for everyone, but it seems to be
effective for me.  In my area, one of the most predominate radio stations is
a conservative Christian radio station with a major listening audience.  One
of my friends, also a neighbor, encouraged me to at least take a look at it.
We found a nice air time to put on a weekly 30 second spot.  It costs less
than a 3" X 3" border ad in the weekly paper.  And people are telling me
about hearing my ad, people I didn't even realize knew I was in the piano
business.

TV:  Not here / now.  So far, this one is out of my league, and truthfully,
I'm not sure how effective it would be anyway.

Website:  This one is sort of a tag along for me.  I advertise the website
address in my classified ads in the weekly paper.  It's a "free home page"
from my local internet service provider.  It's not as fancy as some, but it
has some basic information about me and what I do.  It's very easy for a lot
of people to just check out without having to call on the phone.  I have had
people set up appointments entirely by e-mail.  For some people it does
work.

Guild and Dealer association:  This one can get you a ton of work.  Interact
with Piano Technicians Guild members.  Many of them can pass along work to
you if they know you need it.  Also, dealers can be a great source of work,
especially if you're willing to work on a "wholesale" level, and even
sometimes if you're not, depending upon the situations.  The main thing is,
you've got to interact with other people.

Freebies:  It may not sound like much, but once in a while, give away
something.  Give away a tuning to someone deserving.  Do some extra
regulating to make a piano play nicer without charging for it.  Do something
nice for someone who might not be able to afford it.  It's good advertising.
(And it'll make you feel good too.)

That's about all that comes to mind at the moment.  There'll probably be a
couple of more things that I think of just after I hit the "Send" button.
The things that seem to be the most important for me, though, are 1)Making
sure that people can find me if and when they need me, and 2)Making sure
that I keep in touch with people, whether I think they are potential
customers or not.

It's easy to get frustrated with the advertising category of our budgets
seeing so many ways to spend money and having such a limited supply to
spread around.  Ultimately, you'll have to figure out what works for you.
And the bummer of the whole thing is that you have the least amount to spend
when you probably need it the most.

Good luck in your endeavors.  May your customers find you.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Dubow <tuner@mediaone.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2000 1:35 PM
Subject: Advertising


> I'm pretty much just getting started. What are your opinions about the
> best way of advertising for work?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Martin Dubow
>
>