door knob advertising

[huggytree]

My new electrician friend has an interesting advertising idea....when he's done w/ a project he goes to 3 houses left and 3 houses right of the finished project and puts door knob advertisments on their doors...i think he maybe goes accross the street too.

i thought it was interesting...im going to have to get ahold of what he says on them...

any thoughts?

[Business Attorney]

In theory it sounds like a good, simple and inexpensive marketing idea. Did he say if he has gotten business from the door hangers?

[Harold Mansfield]

Landscapers do that a lot. I've seen services do that for years. It couldn't hurt, they have to be cheap to print up...no reason not to have a stack of them in the truck.

[Paul Elliott]

HT, I have done this very successfully in the Dallas market with landscaping/lawn care companies. There are several considerations.

1. Be sure there are no local restrictions on such hangers.
2. Use both sides of the hanger. Consider selling the other side to another vendor, such as an electrician, painter, etc. It should more than pay for your production of the piece.
3. Another use for the back is to say that here are the streets where we have satisfied customers. Put the community names and the street names. Then add some short testimonials.
4. Make some offer of a service or inspection that homeowners usually need a plumber for that they usually will not call one. You establish a relationship and periodically send them a postcard reminding them that you still exist.
5. Put them on as many houses in each direction and across the street as you have time (or helpers) for.
6. Test not only the technique but the offer -- "Test EVERYthing!" as Elliott says. :D

I'm sure they are better for lawn care companies who benefit from increased density of customers and the repeated returns to the areas, but until you've tried it for your business you don't know.

Paul

[Spider]

My new electrician friend has an interesting advertising idea....when he's done w/ a project he goes to 3 houses left and 3 houses right of the finished project and puts door knob advertisments on their doors...i think he maybe goes accross the street too.
.. i thought it was interesting...im going to have to get ahold of what he says on them...
.. any thoughts?Yes - this is what I recommended to you before on two separate occasions. I'm glad you have found someone to corroborate what I was saying. It does work. You already have material to place on the neighbor's doors - your postcards and your fliers - or print a new flier that says to the effect that you have just completed work at their neighbor's house and to call you when they have need of a quality plumber.

Good work, Dave.

[cbscreative]

Paul's advice to check local restrictions is an excellent precaution.

I would go a step further since the effort requires more of your time and you want the best possible return. Let me say in advance you will need to also check local laws on this idea, but it should be OK. When putting up the door hangers, no amount of info on the door hanger itself will close the deal. If you can get them to visit your web site, you've brought them one step closer, right?

Give them a good reason to visit your site. Give them something. You could do a free coffee to a local coffee shop (maybe hand delivered with a free toilet inspection to check for leaks), or a "register to win" something of higher value. If they fill out a form or take a short survey, they get the gift or are entered to win one.

Not only can you "bump" them with useful emails (not "selling" emails, but useful info or offer emails), if you use a survey, you can structure it to provide valuable info. IOW, make the survey so they tell you how to sell to them. Half the battle in marketing your services is knowing what motivates your customers.

As others have already said, many homeowner service providers use door hangers. Step it up a notch and be different.

[Paul Elliott]

As others have already said, many homeowner service providers use door hangers. Step it up a notch and be different.

Yes, Steve, distinction is of vital importance. It is essential for businesses to distinguish themselves in their marketplaces.

An excellent book is The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain (sp?).

Paul

[vangogh]

Consider selling the other side to another vendor, such as an electrician, painter, etc. It should more than pay for your production of the piece.

Or consider an exchange where you get the other side of his door hanger.

[Steve B]

"3 houses left and 3 houses right"

I doubt something this small will have any noticeable impact. If it does, it would be like winning the lottery with only buying a couple tickets. You need to think in terms of MUCH bigger numbers with this kind of advertising. I always put my marketing literature in the newspaper boxes of homes in the sub-division where I install fences. (Our houses are too far apart for putting them on door knobs). I usually blanket the entire area. I repeat in the same areas every month or two. I have a very well designed piece - professionally done (printed by Remipub - a member of this forum). I need to hand out thousands to get a single phone call.

I'm sure it works better for other businesses (landscapers, painters etc.), but you need to be realistic about the numbers. A friend of mine has a poop scooping business - his numbers are better, but not much better.

[nealrm]

I was thinking about doing something similar with real estate photography. When we shoot a house in a neighborhood, sticking a door hanger on other homes that are for sale. I'm thinking that is they know their neighbor is using a professional photographer, they may feel the need to use one too.

What is a good source for the hangers?

[Steve B]

Try Tim at Welcome to Reminiscence Publishing (http://www.RemiPub.com) (he's a member of this forum - and is very easy to work with).

[Paul Elliott]

I was thinking about doing something similar with real estate photography. When we shoot a house in a neighborhood, sticking a door hanger on other homes that are for sale. I'm thinking that is they know their neighbor is using a professional photographer, they may feel the need to use one too.

Neal, what is the market for professional photographs after the house is listed for sale? Hasn't that already been done by the listing agent? Or are you talking about for sale by owner?

Thanks.

Paul

[Blessed]

Neal will have to answer specifically for what he is doing but one of the places I worked a few years ago put out a twice-monthly homebuyers guide (the kind of real estate book you can pick up in grocery stores or just about anywhere else). If the agent supplied us with pictures - we used those - sometimes they had taken the picture, sometimes the pictures were supplied by the homeowners or a professional photographer. For every address that didn't come with a picture, the publisher drove around in his jeep and took pictures out the window of everything that was listed. Long story short - the houses with the professionally done photographs looked a whole lot better in the finished publication than the ones we took or the real estate agent took.

[nealrm]

Paul,
In the area we will be using the hanger the potential is there. While many of the agents do take their own photos, those photos in general are not very good. Few real estate agents have either the equipment or the experience to bring out the best in a home.

I'm hoping to accomplish two goals with the hanger. First to have the owner contact their agents about getting professional photos (hopefully with us) and then to increase awareness of our real estate website.

[Paul Elliott]

Thanks for the insights, Neal and Jenn. I supposed the listing agent supplied the pics either professionally done or who had the equipment and sufficient training to do it well.

Paul

[scottmckain]

Yes, Steve, distinction is of vital importance. It is essential for businesses to distinguish themselves in their marketplaces.

An excellent book is The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain (sp?).

Paul

Paul -- just wanted to write and say "thank you" for taking the time to share kind words about my book. I really appreciate it...and hope that we can stay in touch!

Best regards,
Scott

[Paul Elliott]

Paul -- just wanted to write and say "thank you" for taking the time to share kind words about my book. I really appreciate it...and hope that we can stay in touch!

Best regards,
Scott

Hey, Scott! Great to meet you! I LOVE your book! I've read it several times and it's all dog-eared and marked up ... kinda like a textbook. :D

You have made distinction and a number of sub-principles very clear. Thank you for putting it on paper -- and in an audio -- for the rest of us.

Hope to see you around the Small Business Forum some more. Careful, though ... we may pick your brain.

Paul

[Vivid Color Zack]

One thing I've always felt about door hangers is that they don't really do anything for me without a promotion. Unless there's something really worth my interest I automatically put them in the trash.

That being said, if there's 20% off my next pizza, or I actually need carpet cleaning done soon - I usually go with the door hanger instead of opening the yellow pages or using google to find what I need.

Door hangers might even be more effective than direct mail because I automatically throw things away from my mailbox. There isn't a trash can by my door, so I have to look at it on the way to throwing it away. If it catches my eye it may end up being a useful promotion.

Sharing the cost with someone is a great idea, we see a ton of door hangers come through with dual promotions on them.

[Paul McQuillan]

Yes, Steve, distinction is of vital importance. It is essential for businesses to distinguish themselves in their marketplaces.

An excellent book is The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain (sp?).

Paul

Distinction is important, but not-so-much in this very effective form of
advertising.

When I owned a window cleaning company I had very stiff competition. They
used fliers and door hangers all the time, as did I.

There were many times I had a 3-6% response rate from my fliers. Think
about that for a minute; I was making an average sale of $170 in a
saturated market full of sameness.

I will admit I know how to write a good ad, but I never really separated
my company from the others in these ads.

I could literally go into an area dominated by my competitors and start
taking a bite out of their business at will.The ad holds the power

A flier or door hanger is not about brand awareness, it's about causing a
direct response. I did not talk about the company at all, I talked about
what we could do for them and why they need to call now.

Keep advertising in the proper context and use it like it supposed to be
used, not how we want it.

anyway, just some thoughts...

[vangogh]

Interesting thoughts Paul. Like you said it comes down to what the goal of a specific piece of advertising is. In this case if you're looking for direct response then things like branding are not as important to achieve that goal.

I'd suggest it's still a good idea to get in some brand awareness anyway. The next time the customer might have needs for your services your door hanger might not be in front of them. If they do remember your brand then it's possible they'll still call.

[Paul McQuillan]

Brand awareness is a funny beast, no one knows how to use it. I
can barely find a business that knows how to market let alone
chase the dragon.

Brand awareness does not work through ads anymore. People see
3000+ ads day, and 99% are meaningless.

The best form of brand awareness is more customers. They see
our company as more than a logo. People seeing our name over and
over does not stimulate buying behavior. A reason does

[vangogh]

People seeing our name over and over does not stimulate buying behavior

True, but brand is a lot more than just seeing your name over and over and it's a lot more than a logo. Brand is the sum of all the thoughts and feelings someone has about your businesses. That may not stimulate buying behavior, but it does help you become the only choice when that buying behavior is stimulated.

[Steve B]

"Brand awareness does not work through ads anymore."

Boy, the folks at Coke and Pepsi will be glad to hear this! They've been wasting milliions and millions every year on this - they can finally stop :)

[Paul McQuillan]

"Brand awareness does not work through ads anymore."

Boy, the folks at Coke and Pepsi will be glad to hear this! They've been wasting milliions and millions every year on this - they can finally stop :)

Bad example, it cost them billions and about 50 years to build that
awareness. What's your marketing budget? ;)

Times have changed also. People are exposed to more ads in one day
than our grandparents got in a month. We are not as open as we
once were.

Let's face it, business owners focus on their brand because of their
ego, not it's effectiveness. Advertisers have been raping businesses
for years on empty ads. If nobody can track it, how does anyone
know if it works?

ah well, just an opinion

[Paul McQuillan]

True, but brand is a lot more than just seeing your name over and over and it's a lot more than a logo. Brand is the sum of all the thoughts and feelings someone has about your businesses. That may not stimulate buying behavior, but it does help you become the only choice when that buying behavior is stimulated.

I got one marketing term that can't be questioned- proof

I don't agree and if you can't prove it, why invest in it?

There is NEVER an 'only choice'. That is a dangerous belief system.

The brand means a helluva lot more to the business, believe that

[vangogh]

I'm still not seeing anything in what you say that would convince me brand isn't important.

In your comments above I'm seeing brand talked about as though it's only about getting your name in front of as many people as possible. That's only one part of brand. Brand is about everything a person thinks and believes about your business.

If your one of the local gardeners and your name in the community has positive associations. Maybe the word is you do good work, quickly and inexpensively. In general say people in the community have heard of you and think good things about you. Then the door hanger you leave will be more effective, because there's a trusted name behind it. Also you may not even need to send out the door hangers because when a person decided they need a gardener you're already the first business that will come to mind.

Brand is a lot more important than you give it credit for. True it's hard to measure, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the time to build a brand.

[Patrysha]

Branding is only hard to measure because as small business owners we don't have the budget to make the measurements. It'd be a waste to pull together focus groups, do the pre and post market surveys and so on for a small

Direct Response appeals because it is directly and easily measurable, whereas branding efforts take more work to measure (if any measuring is done on it...many go about with branding campaigns without measuring).

[Paul McQuillan]

I never said brand was not important.

[vangogh]

My bad Paul. Sorry if I misinterpreted anything you said.

Guess we're actually in agreement here. Brand is important, but something like door knob advertising is done more for direct response.

[Paul Elliott]

Distinction is important, but not-so-much in this very effective form of
advertising.

Paul, I certainly agree that "brand" distinction is not important in this medium; however, the offer is, as you point out.

This week a very successful realtor told me that his industry standard is 40. Anytime he lists or sells a house, he goes 10 houses either side on the same side of the street as his customer and 10 in each direction on the other side of the street = 40 = another listing. He says it usually works.

He says it works best, of course, if he introduces himself and talks for a minute while handing the homeowner his package. But it also works well as a door hanger. He includes a personal letter referencing the home he just listed or sold and some other information.

He does a lot of walking and talking, but he says most realtors aren't willing to do this.

Paul

[vangogh]

Paul are you saying your real estate friend finds one person who wants to sell within the 40 and he gets to be the one that lists?

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that when one person is selling someone near by is also ready to sell. No reason what that shouldn't be. Just never really thought about it.


He does a lot of walking and talking, but he says most realtors aren't willing to do this.

We could probably say the same thing about most industries. Many people want the spoils of success as long as it doesn't involve the work.

[Paul Elliott]

Paul are you saying your real estate friend finds one person who wants to sell within the 40 and he gets to be the one that lists?

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that when one person is selling someone near by is also ready to sell. No reason what that shouldn't be. Just never really thought about it.

Yes, Steve, that's what the industry says in their new-agent training. My client says he's found that to hold true in his experience.


We could probably say the same thing about most industries. Many people want the spoils of success as long as it doesn't involve the work.

Precisely! True success in business comes to those who are willing to do those things competitors are either unwilling or unable to do.

Paul

[vangogh]

Thanks Paul. That is interesting. Like I said above it's not something I had ever thought about, but the more do think about it, the more it makes sense. Even if we think just about the math and how x% of people in any group will do y.


True success in business comes to those who are willing to do those things competitors are either unwilling or unable to do.

Hopefully more people will take this to heart. I think it's also one reason why it makes sense to choose a business that aligns in some way with your interests. It takes work to be a success and there will be failures along the way. If you're going to push through those failures and stick with things for the longer term success it helps a lot to enjoy what you're doing.

[Spider]

...If you're going to push through those failures and stick with things for the longer term success it helps a lot to enjoy what you're doing.Helps a lot? I would say it was imperative.

Procrastination only happens when not doing something is more enjoyable than doing it.

[Paul Elliott]

Yes, Steve and Frederick!

The consistency and persistence needed for success does require that there is sufficient enjoyment in the process that we're able to continue it.

Paul

[vangogh]

For me the enjoyment of what I do and the lifestyle I'm able to maintain working for myself is worth more than any money I make.

[williamross]

Landscapers do that a lot. I've seen services do that for years. It couldn't hurt, they have to be cheap to print up...no reason not to have a stack of them in the truck.

A couple of years ago I put together a door knob hanger that had a white area on it for my landscaper client to write in a unique promo code. Under the promo code was the following copy, "Enter this code into our website and save on your next landscaping project"

He told me it worked really well. He kept track of which house got which code, and while he was still working in the neighborhood, he kept his eye out for anyone buzzing around the house in question. If he saw someone he'd give a wave and try to strike up a conversation.

If he didn't see anyone, he'd leave a more detailed brochure in the mailbox with a letter inviting them to contact him.

This sort of print combined with web advertising works well I find.

[Paul Elliott]

If he didn't see anyone, he'd leave a more detailed brochure in the mailbox with a letter inviting them to contact him.

One must be careful with this since it is unlawful to put anything in the mailbox except mail.

Using the door knob/handle is preferred.

Paul

[HomeBusinessMan]

I have only seen door knob hangers for services being offered. I can't recall them being used to sell a product. I wonder if this has ever been tried. You would probably need thousands of the door knob hangers, and have college or high school students do the distribution for you. I could do some myself and get some exercise in. I would only distribute in the areas with the better demographics, like in a middle to upper middle or higher class neighborhood.

[Paul Elliott]

I have not used door hangers for products, nor have I seen any with such an offer.

I suspect it has been tried and abandoned for the more cost-effective, high density coupon mailers in greater numbers--5,000 or more--more narrowly targeted, say by zip code or household income in given zips.

Paul