Best and worst advertising for a saw shop

[Cut4fun]

And have some ported saws of all sizes there so people can get the whole "he can make my saw do this?" feeling of astonishment.


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I just want to compare some newer stock saws.

I have long past the ported saw craze and have owned the top dawg of ported racesaws too.

 

[Definitive Dave]

my advice (worth what ya pay for it) get into the new building ASAP..
you have great a mechanic and mechanical skill set
you have great people skills and can deal gracefully with boneheaded customers
you keep a great selection of stuff in stock and alot of inventory from parts to saws and concrete saws
you have a bazillion bars and chains and know what fits what saw and where it is in the shop
you obviously love what you are doing and have good business sense
your prices are so damn fair i wonder how you make any money
your working knowledge of the problems that walk in your door is amazing
I imagine your market share locally is pretty good and will grow naturally because your competitors are typical hacks.
the advertising you do locally is the type of charitable contributions that real people remember.

You just flat out need the space to get out from on top of each other in the showroom/office/shop.
I saw pics of the new place and it looks great, what is the location like?
my first time over to your current place i drove past it twice, good lighted signage

take a dang saturday off and enjoy it now and then

 

[fordf150]

You just flat out need the space to get out from on top of each other in the showroom/office/shop.
I saw pics of the new place and it looks great, what is the location like?
my first time over to your current place i drove past it twice, good lighted signage

take a dang saturday off and enjoy it now and then

red circle on right lower is the new place, green/red on the upper left is the current. New place is exactly 1 mile off the 4 lane on a a state route so much much better location.




everything mowed around the building is mine, 3 acres in total.....the double wide will be gone but not until the people living there move out and i am not going to tell them to move out ever...they pay cash and the agreement is that i will never be inside the house or fix anything....they want to live there, they have to do all the upkeep.

 

[fearofpavement]

A couple of suggestions. First, I obviously use the internet or wouldn't be on this forum. That said, I'm not convinced that internet advertising is the most effective means to reach the locals which is what you want/need to do. Once someone gets on the internet, they're going to shop around and find they can order what they want from Phoenix or Miami for a lower price. I believe your advertising should be targeted to locals that are less likely to shop online as they're the ones that will actually walk into your store and open their wallet. For some, (many), an in person deal is more important to them than the absolute best price with zero product support or advice to accompany it.
So.... how do you reach those that are looking for a place to deal with someone in person?
1. local newspaper ads
2. scrolling video ads at the local restaurants
3. placemat advertising at local restaurants.
4. booth at the county fair (if you have one)
5. magnetic sign on your vehicles and anyone else you can get to wear one such as employees.
6. Distribute copious amounts of business cards that do an effective job of encapsulating your products/service.
7. Billboard that is simple, descriptive and well located. ie, "if you need to mow it, cut it, trim it or till it, see me at Joe Blow's OPE shop" located on bluegill way.

I don't feel brand specific advertising is important as that can be dealt with once customers come in. What is important is to let those people with a "need" know that your place can fulfill that need. When that takes place effectively, then word of mouth kicks in and that's some of the most effective advertising there is, whether positive or negative.

 

[jmester]

When I was running tree service we use direct mail advertising. (Valpak). It work very well for us. Expensive but it produced a lot of work for us. Phone book was about worth less. Got 3-10 calls a year. Even did an ad in a local magazine It didn't work very well either.
I was always willing to try different things to advertise. If I had $1000 for advertising I would try at least 1 or 2 new things a year. That way you can get in front of more people and there format of finding a business or service.

 

[jmester]

I think you will find one that works well for you and stick with it as your main form of advertising. Then branch out into other media outlets as fund allow. One thing I try to remember is people are always exploring new things.