Just a thought or two about the challenge of building a business, and figuring out how to generate more calls. I don't consider myself to be experiencing resounding success in marketing, but I see some things unfolding that encourage me. I live an a city with a population of about 43,000, with a trading area of between 70,000 and 150,000. When I moved here there were two well established tuners in the area. I know one of them well, and have received significant instruction, encouragement and support from him, for which I am grateful. Wim, I have your book, and it's time for me to read it again. Thanks for bringing it to publication! A turning point in the development of my courage in this business was identifying something unique that I could offer that would distinguish me in the marketplace. I knew that I needed to be known by the piano teachers in the area, but I thought it safe to assume that most of them would already have a working relationship with one of the existing tuners in the area, both of which were more experienced than me. How would I even phrase a letter of introduction? It occurred to me that there was a problem teachers had that I could help to address. I figured that one of the things that must continually frustrate teachers is having students practicing on instruments that are impediments to their musical development. The teachers, I expect, seek to be diligent in trying to educate parents about the importance of an instrument that is appropriate, but it must sometimes be a lonely task. I decided to write a series of newsletters that could serve to raise awareness that having an instrument that would reward a student for practicing was both desirable and possible. I went to work assembling a list of local teachers from whatever sources I could find, purchased a color laser printer, and started sending out my letters. I've got five out thus far, and have also sent them to schools and churches, as well as posting them on my website http://tuning.floydgadd.com. I can't say the response has been startling, but my business has been growing, and I have received some positive feedback from teachers, some of whom actually pass on copies of the newsletter to their students (which to me is the whole idea.) I'm curious to see what will happen when I get up to newsletter #7, since 7 is reported to be the magic number of exposures at which people suddenly become aware that you exist :-). I am preparing as well to try to address another unmet "need" in our community--the need of beginning students for "real pianos" (fully regulated, voiced and tuned) when the purchase of a new one seems overwhelming. I'm intrigued by the idea of piano rental, which has been discussed both on this list and in the journal. I've given one modest console a pretty thorough work-over, and am encouraged with how much better it is than many similar piano that I service in the field. A key to making this work will probably be hiring and training some part-time semi-skilled labor. (I split my time between piano service and teaching as a sessional instructor in the music department of the local university.) For whom else can I identify a problem to which I can develop a unique a creative solution? Local music stores? Entertainment venues? I'll need to think about this some more. By the way, Google Adwords can be used to target a local area for online advertising. I find it quite inexpensive, and people are telling me that they are seeing my ads, which point to my website. I'm encouraged. Also, by the way, I have found the recent discussion on Premium Service to be inspiring. Even the terminology, "Basic - Premium - Premium Plus" stimulates my marketing imagination more than the terms I was thinking in before, "Standard Service - Extended Service." The "new" set of words seems to do more to communicate a sense of value. I appreciate the many contributions that are made to the discussions on this list. Thanks all! Floyd Gadd Manitoba Chapter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100313/160f5a1a/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC