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View Full Version : what kind of 'offer' should go on the back of my cube van?



huggytree
11-29-2009, 03:31 PM
i will be redo'ing my cube van logo/sign this spring.

the back door is getting rusty looking, so ill be doing a wrap

just having my name on the back does nothing for me advertising wise..once someone behind me called me...i never got the job...so my van hasnt gotten me 1 job on 3 years....somethings got to change...i feel im missing an opportunity

people are behind my van all day long...there looking, but not seeing or remembering

i feel i should be specific on one product to advertise on the back door...have the space be devoted to a advertisement with my logo and phone number not being the main focus..

water heater replacement is what im considering...maybe a photo of a water heater and a photo of a tankless water heater...have the title be 'do you need to replace your water heater?' or 'would you like to save money with a higher efficiency water heater?'

typical tank water heater is 58% efficient
i can install a 62% efficient for $150 extra
tankless is 85% efficient
high bred tank waterheater is 94% efficient

there is also a new powervent tank heater coming out soon which is 75% efficient and not too high priced.

any thoughts on my concept of using my back door for advertising a product i sell instead of just my logo & phone # ?????

are water heaters a good idea?? (i am typically $100+ lower on waterheaters than most plumbers)...its one of my bargains...i still make good $ on them.

tankless and high breds are 3-4x the cost of a typical heater...they are $2400-$3000.....your average customer will never spend $3k for a water heater..is there something in my ad. i should include to educate them on the price before they call? or should that 'bam' in your face price be when i qualify them over the phone??

Dan Furman
11-29-2009, 04:44 PM
just having my name on the back does nothing for me advertising wise..once someone behind me called me...i never got the job...so my van hasnt gotten me 1 job on 3 years....somethings got to change...i feel im missing an opportunity

people are behind my van all day long...there looking, but not seeing or remembering


Yes they are. I guarantee your van has helped get you work.

That type of advertising is more reinforcement type advertising. Like a billboard. Nobody looks at a billboard and says "I have to call them now". Instead, when they see an ad in the yellow pages, they say "Joe Blow Plumbing... I've heard of them". They may not remember where, but some have heard of you.

You can't calculate a direct return for everything, Dave.

huggytree
11-29-2009, 05:45 PM
i know the more times people see my van and yard signs the more they remember me when they need a plumber and see my name in the phone book.

what im looking for is a phone call THAT DAY....if not THAT MINUTE....

I want to try something new and am curious on what you think the results will be?

i do think some people look at a bill board and say 'i have to call them right now'....thats why i like the question 'would you like to save money on your water heating?'....if they look at it and have thought about it in the past maybe they will call on the spot....i dont know what % of people that is though.

Steve B
11-29-2009, 07:44 PM
I think you are on exactly the right track. Let them find out about the price later when they call you. This way, you'll still have a chance at the conventional water heater installation.

Spider
11-29-2009, 09:51 PM
My wife has signs on both sides and back of the van she uses for her grooming and boarding business. We've had one call in 20 years. But I wouldn't take those signs off for anything.

I believe the value in work vehicle signs is not in direct advertising - that's minimal. People see and hear thousands and thousands of advertsising messages every day. We tune our brains to filter them out. My goodness, we even see an ad, laugh at it, comment about it, mull over it, and still have no recollection of what or who they were advertising!

People do not want to be bombarded with advertising messages and they see them but don't see them. I don't even believe there is much carry-over in terms of recognition.

The value that I see in vehicle signs - and the reason I wouldn't remove them from my wife's vehicle - is this. Suppose you were to have no signs. How would your customers view you when you turn up to work on their home in an unmarked van? Would they even let you in the door?

Vehicle signs establish your credibility TO YOUR CUSTOMERS! They tell your customers that you are a professional, that you are an established business, that you take pride in what you do. They convey to your customers all the things they need to refer you to their friends and associates. Who would recommend a plumber who turns up in an unmarked van?!

For my wife and her pet grooming business, she gets all her business by referral. I believe the vehicle signs contribute greatly to that.

Patrysha
11-29-2009, 09:56 PM
See and this is where I see your chance to get them online (or in your case since it's on a vehicle something via SMS would be even better) --from there you can pre-qualify them before they get on the phone with you and pre-sell them while you're at it :-)

handprop
11-29-2009, 11:06 PM
Your right to question if it's a strong offer! Very good!

I would send them to the website as well. Just putting the company name on a truck has a purpose, but bang per square foot is very low.

First figure out what you can put on the website that a home owner would want to read, design it to have value. What type of information would they want? What are they looking for that you could give them? Once a homeowner visit's give them a reason to fill in contact information because then you can market to them in the future to increase conversion rate from stranger to prospect to customer.

The key is to make the offer strong right? I'll give you one example of many possibilities.

Headline: "3 easy ways to extend the life of your water heater"

List the 3 in bullet type format

You just gave them valuable information

Underneith that write another headline that says something like:

"For more free plumbing advice go to WWW.WEBSITE.COM"

Once they enter the page GET THEM TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING!!!!

Once a week you can send them a free plumbing tip. Now you will be able to see how effective your truck is because as of now it's just guess work. If you have no offer you don't know if it works or not.

Now you can measure and market because you can contact people. The thing to understand is you don't want to send them tons of offers, instead give them free information that they might want to hear. It doesn't even have to be plumbing related, make a page that has great tips on everything having to do with general home maintenance.

You will find that this works great if you do it right!

Mike

Spider
11-29-2009, 11:58 PM
I have to say, this idea does not appeal to me. I do not think this message will appeal to a total stranger/non-prospect who is not thinking of water heaters at the time of seeing the ad. It will just get filtered out.

Further, I think this type of advertisement sitting in the driveway of a large luxury home (Dave's target market is the upper echelon, after all) will cheapen the service he provides, in the eyes of the client and their neighbors.

Would these upper-crust clients recommend a plumber whose van looks like a mobile advertising banner? I don't think so.

handprop
11-30-2009, 12:18 AM
Water heaters have nothing to do with it.

How does offering good sound advice not appeal to a homeowner?

How does the fact they have money have anything to do with good sound advice?

How is good sound advice the same as advertising?

When a homeowner reads something that makes them think "Hey that's good advice.....I had no idea!" how does that get filtered out?

I'm just wondering.

Mike

Steve B
11-30-2009, 05:21 AM
Good input so far - (Mike - I think Spider's comments are to the OP - not to your comments).

FWIW - if I go to a website and they ask me to "sign-up" for something - I can't hit the back button quickly enough. I won't get tricked into giving my e-mail out to anyone. This doesn't mean Mike isn't giving good advice - there are a lot of people who will sign up - and being able to market to them in the future is valuable, but you'll also be turning off a portion of the visitors just by asking. I'm probably in the minority - as usual.

Patrysha
11-30-2009, 08:41 AM
But Steve B...

at least you've learned 3 ways to extend the life of your water heater (or whatever info offer is being promoted) and you'll have gotten to know Mike a bit better and know the advice is good even if you don't sign up for the list offer

and at least he knows that his van ad drove you to the page...

then there's the possibility that if the advice is good that you will bookmark the site and possibly remember it if you ever need a plumber...though it's a slim chance...I think most people run a new search

huggytree
11-30-2009, 08:58 AM
Fredrick....this billboard ad. would only be on my back door....the sides will still be all about Waukesha Plumbing.....when im at a job the back door is up....The back door will be selling a high end item (tankless and High bred water heaters)...which is right at my target market....

i think only the do it yourselfers want free advice..the people who would see it and use my website would not be my target market...just the opposite i would think?

Id rather get phone calls than website hits....i think having an offer to save people money is better than free plumbing advice....

who thinks my idea will get me a couple of calls a year?
who thinks it will change nothing(no calls) ???

if it got me 2 water heaters a year id be happy and consider it a mild success...10 sales and id be thrilled.

greenoak
11-30-2009, 09:08 AM
i would go for very short and sweet..... like a billboard...just 7 words...
like your picture and the message....i can help.... in the best words possible......
or a happy plumber picture and i can help you....
or huggys plumbing....call me anytime....
its mostly to get your name out there...so they r emember it when the time comes....
i think a detailed message would be a waste...
you need a cute picture like derbys dog....
ann

handprop
11-30-2009, 12:42 PM
Steve has a good point about the sign up. People get bombarded with this stuff every day and it's difficult to convince them it's not a trick, I'm the same way. With that said it's still proven to work very well and that's why everybody does it.

Putting a nice photo or cartoon is a good thing but it will yield zero work, as in a direct call because they see a nice picture. Indirect? Sure, but nothing you can measure. The key to making it work well is quality. Make everything you do top quality with no tricks and make people feel like you just gave them real advice, advice they never heard before. Keep in mind this is one of many things you could do. Marketing has no right or wrong answers, just solutions that are more effective than others.

A website can be very valuable to a plumbing business, never underestimate that. If you don't want customers to visit the site than take it down. If I was in your shoes I would create the greatest plumbing website in the state. Just think of what you could put on the site that would help streamline the process. If a ton of answers are being dealt with on the website that just provides you with more time to do the actual work of a plumber. Most websites in the construction type industry are really poor and most don't take advantage of the full power of what a good website can do for a business owner. Think of it as a tool, not something you have because it's the cool thing to do.

I would create that and use the van as a tool to help direct people to the site. I realize it's a lot of work and maybe not the answer you wanted but that's just the way my brain works I guess.

Mike

handprop
11-30-2009, 01:31 PM
Huggy, just wanted to add something for you to consider.

You mentioned you would rather have an offer that sells something before giving free advice to the "do-it-yourself" crowd.

It depends how you look at it. If you decide to put a water heater on the back and a sale price, or something similar what are the odds that the person who reads it is a homeowner.....that is in the market for one in the next couple days. I would say that's poor odds of targeting. On the other hand free advice (or anything similar) has better odds overall.

What are the odds the person that reads the back of the truck is a homeowner who would like a maintenance tip they never heard of before.......Much better I think. If it's really really good would they feel inclined to go visit the site for more????? It's a guess on my part but I would say yes.

As far as the do it yourselfers, forget about them because they wouldn't call you anyway. The information is a qualifier for strangers and the conversion rate is the only thing that matters.

Just a thought
Mike

Dan Furman
11-30-2009, 02:48 PM
Id rather get phone calls than website hits....

Why? You *hate* discussing prices and such on the phone.

Plus, the phone only works when you are available.

huggytree
11-30-2009, 04:48 PM
phone calls lead to jobs- website hits dont seem to do anything

phone call odds 10-50% chance of sales
website hits 1-10% chance of sales

I know you will all argue this but i feel most people use the internet for price shopping...they want to find a product the cheapest in the shortest amount of time...when i buy power tools thats exactly what i do...i type in 'Milwaukee Sawsall Free Shipping'....

What i want for my van is an immediate call...someone driving behind me who says 'yea ive always thought about a tankless water heater and i want to save money on my gas bill...ill call that plumber right now'.....thats what i want to happen....it doesnt have to be a water heater...it could be a different product i sell....i just want to sell something which makes people call me right now......something beyond name recognition...i never see that on the backs of other plumbers van....they are all the same...company name and logo..i want to try a new experiment

Steve B
11-30-2009, 05:08 PM
As I said, I think you are on the right track.

Here's something I plan on doing in the future - I will buy big magnetic messages that I can put on top of my van wrap. This way I can make special offers and change them out to see what works best. Since they will clearly be for Limited Time offers - I don't think it will look too bad. I've seen places put a sticker on their van when they are "currently hiring".

Spider
11-30-2009, 05:59 PM
Mike has been a great addition to this forum and I have learned much about marketing from his presence. Unfortunately, though, I find myself on the opposite side of this discussion. I get the impression that it is expected that the people driving behind Dave's van are going to read what is displayed there. Dave certainly thinks that : "What i want for my van is an immediate call..."

I ask any of you, when was the last time you read what was written on the back of a truck you were following? And, if you did actually read it, how much attention did you pay it? How often have you taken out a pen and written down something you read on the back of the truck, like a name or a phone number or some bit of advice, while you were driving down the highway?

People don't need a plumber that often, and they rarely anticipate needing them. You'd be very lucky to find someone who knows they are going to need a plumber the minute they arrive wherever they are going. IOW, I do not believe anything written on the back of a truck will prompt an immedaite response, nor will it accumulate into recognition at some later date.

Furthermore, Dave has pointed out frequently that he does not want to deal with cheap clients - he wants to deal with people who have the money and are willing to spend it to get the quality work that he provides. It was remarked some while ago in another thread that Dave's advertising was creating the prospects he was getting. The implication that I took from that was if Dave was getting too many cheapies and not enough quality enquiries it was because his advertising was giving the wrong message.

Now, what can Dave put on the back of his van - even if people were to read it, absorb it, write stuff down and call him. It has to be content that appeals to quality-minded people. The type of people Dave wants aren't going to be doing it themselves - so plumbing DIY advice is pointless. "Save $10 on your next call" is not going to appeal to someone who doesn't even question the price. And "How to make your water heater last longer" will not attract an immediate purchase, obviously.

DerbyFence Steve is thinking along the same lines for a van wrap, but I suggest Steve has a different situation. It's not something Dave wants to duplicate, by his own admission.

greenoak
11-30-2009, 09:42 PM
...i wouldnt dismiss the value of a good visual....and a name..its very common out there, thinking the geico lizard.....or apples apple ... etc etc etc
..like frederick i wouldnt bother to read very much on a truck...
for a plumbing job the yellow pages would be where most would look...and thats where remembering the name would pay off....
also huggys name sounds pretty long and hard to remember....so being able to remember all that to get to him on the internet sounds hard...
ann

handprop
12-01-2009, 02:37 AM
Spider, I would like to answer that for you or at least explain my thinking behind it. As always I'll be rash and brutally honest.:D

You raise important questions and actually I agree with most of what your saying here but it still warrants further explanation from me. I just got home from a day of solid strategy meetings and it's 1:30 AM so i'll give it a shot in the afternoon when I have some free time.

This is a really important thread and topic and exciting from a marketing perspective.

Sleep tight!
Mike

billbenson
12-01-2009, 03:22 AM
Do both Steve. Put product reviews, advice, plumbing tips on the web site (could just be a blog) and give the option to be emailed the new tips.

This is really a direction Dave could go to improve the performance of his web site IMO. Hell, put them in a RSS feed and try to get local contractors to put the feed on their site. Tweak the feeds so they are helping the contractors pitch their customers. It'll help build relations with the contractors if it helps them get clients! Meanwhile its free advertising for Dave.

Steve B
12-01-2009, 07:23 AM
billbenson - that sounds like a great idea. I only hit the back button when giving up personal info. is a condition for seeing anything on the page or site.

I'm not exactly sure what an RSS feed is, but it sounds like it would be a good idea for HT.

huggytree
12-01-2009, 04:54 PM
green oak....my name is easy to remember because its the name of a city and a county.. everyone around here could easily remember it...thats why i chose it...

i read whats on the back of vans/cars all the time....me and my wife joke about how some just have a website address.....whats the purpose of that...

water heater replacement is probably one of the most common plumbing jobs...everyone needs one every 2-20 years...what im trying to sell is Highbred and tankless....many people have 10-15 year old waterheaters which still work, but know they are going to break soon....these customers who replace before needed are the type who may want to upgrade....people see 'tankless' as a status symbol....its strange...its like a new high tech toy...i sell them in new homes, but cant seem to sell one on a retrofit...the Highbred heaters are pretty easy to sell since its only $200-600 extra.

does anyone think i could put some sort of ad on the back door and get a immediate call? remember my van is LARGE...a large photo will be noticed!!!

Steve B
12-01-2009, 06:14 PM
I think you can.

Dan Furman
12-01-2009, 06:17 PM
If you ask someone to "call now" on your van, it is probably only a matter of time before someone sues you for a car crash.

I'm only half kidding :)

greenoak
12-01-2009, 07:13 PM
ok...i didnt realize that was a town name....it sounded hard to me....
sounds like a really good name in that case....
ann

billbenson
12-01-2009, 07:23 PM
I would think you would want your yellow pages ad, website home page, fliers, etc and van to have the same look. I know there have been advertisements on vehicles that I wanted to call in the past, but I never had a pen and paper in front of me. Just a guess, but if everything looks similar, they will recognize you in the yellow pages or fliers - whatever the customers use.

I would think a phone number or web site would have marginal results unless it was a number or name thats easy to remember. Some people may be able to remember it or write it down though.

Sounds to me like emphizing your name and logo would be the most important. As you said, it's easy to remember.

prova.fm
12-01-2009, 07:57 PM
Good conversation. I'd have to agree with Mike. If you want to attract high end customers, ask yourself what appeals to them (or ask some actual customers). I always think giving out free advice works. If you give out free tips, it helps qualify you as 'skilled' in that area. Sure there will be people who take your free advice & do it on their own. They never would have been your customer in the first place. And if they did, they wouldn't be a good customer.

But to your target market, they'll see your knowledge, realize there's no way they'll do it on their own, then pick a plumber. They might just call you or they might try to shop around. Either way, you have the advantage of already gaining a bit of credibility. I usually hire people that have "proven" themselves with tips, suggestions, etc.... I'm getting to the point where every penny doesn't matter.... Getting a quality job done right the first time does.

-David

Spider
12-01-2009, 08:07 PM
...does anyone think i could put some sort of ad on the back door and get a immediate call? remember my van is LARGE...a large photo will be noticed!!!Sure you could, but not the sort of customer you would want and your wife would approve of :eek:

You do not want cheapskates searching for the last penny.
You not want people who are uninterested in quality.
You want upperclass people who have money and who want quality.
You want people who do not question your prices.

So, if I understand this correctly, you want to advertise something that wealthy, unquestioning, trusting, quality-minded people will want immediately?

I don't know of anything in the plumbing field that fits that bill.

Therefore, my serious suggestion is, try to rent that space to an advertising agency. They could sell it to businesses who have products that drivers want immediately, and you will make a steady income from it.

If you make 10% profit from the installation of a water heater (not counting your time, materials and all other costs) and the water heater sells for $2,000 installed, and you want to sell two of them a year from your ad, that means your breakeven is $400 ($2,000 x 10% x 2)

$400 is $7.70 per week. I'm sure you could sell that advertsing space on the back of your van for $50 a week. Anything over $7.70 a week is more than you are making from selling water heaters.

lav
12-01-2009, 08:08 PM
remember my van is LARGE...a large photo will be noticedMakes good for a huge photo or huge logo, huge phone number and huge web address. Anything else will get read by very few people. Im a strong believer that vehicle signs only work as a high impact brand awareness tool. Anything more than 5 words wont get read at all. People will take a glance at any sign and if at first glance it looks uninteresting or take too much time (more than a second or two) to read they wont read any of it. That means they will not just be skipping your offer but not taking any notice of your number either.

For the people you laugh at for just putting their web address on their vehicle without their number they will be more likely to get a phone call later on than the guy who puts his phone number without a web address....why? because 90% of web addresses are more memorable than a phone number. very rarely will someone write down a phone number from a vehicle (it has happened) but people will often remember a web address. Drive them to your website and then give them a reason to call.

As for getting phone calls directly from your vehicle it will rarely happen. But if you dont have signs on your vehicle you are missing out on some really effective "brand" recognition opportunities

Big logo as big as possible IMO......

Paul Elliott
12-04-2009, 06:49 PM
Some observations, HT.

1. What is the most important thing that distinguishes YOU in the minds of your customers in your marketplace? If there is not something, GET something!

2. What is your unique selling proposition?

3. Pick a distinguishing feature to exploit.

I had a client in HVAC who used an easily recognized caricature of a penquin. All his service vehicles had this penguin. His phone was 800-PEN-GUIN or area/code-PEN-GUIN -- both easy to remember.

A tagline was "Call the penguin!" This worked very well for him and got a lot of business mostly because of its distinction from his competition.

I knew of another business, an appliance service company, that had distinctive little red trucks. They advertised that "the little red truck" can solve your appliance problems. They quickly became known over the Dallas area and grew very rapidly.

You MUST create distinction to be noticed regardless of what you put on your truck.

Paul