Have you ever spent money on an ad that flopped? Perhaps it was a mailer that brought no real response. Would you like to insure better success the next time? Please read on…

The most effective ads target a market and fill a specific need. It is not enough to tell someone you are a painting company with so many years of experience. They need to be moved to action. One effective way to do this is to state a problem and offer a solution. Keep the ad simple and if at all possible use a picture to show a visual image of what you can do for them.

Having an effective ad is only a starting point. Some people spend lots of time creating an effective ad but spend very little time thinking about what happens when it leaves the office. You need to also think about who will receive it and if it will hit its target.

Lets say for example you want to send out 5,000 flyers to try and drum up some new work. So, you buy a small mailing list. Do you know who's on that list? What if ½ the list contains apartments where the renter has little on no say in the painting decision? That means only 2500 have a chance of hitting their target. Now consider that some of those flyers may go to mobile homes with vinyl siding, senior housing and homes that are being rented out. Take away another 1000 for this and you now have about 1,500 left that may respond to your message. Now, out of those 1,500 some will be do it yourselfers and some will not need painting at this time. Take away another ½ and you now have 750 who may respond. Ok, you get the point. It's not how many flyers you mail out it's how many hit the mark that matters.

So, how do you change the odds? The secret is to choose your target market wisely. Select areas that have homeowners with disposable incomes that like to hire things done. Upscale neighborhoods that are about 7 or 8 years old for example yield much better results then areas that are mostly occupied with renters.

One very effective way to target your market is to market around an existing job. You can do this several effective ways. You can use a professional jobsite sign or banner on the house itself. Another effective method is to use doorknob hangers and have your employees put them on the block you are painting on. It only takes about ten minutes to walk the street and hang them on the doors. You can even have a little contest and ask your guys to write their name on the bottom of the flyer. Then at the end of the month give the employee who gets the most leads a prize.

For a more formal approach go through the neighbor hood and write down the address of the house that look like they need painting. Houses that look freshly painted can be skipped if you are targeting exteriors. Also note thing like decks on your notes for future mailings. For flyers to be really effective they need to be mailed a few times. I like to mail the same group of homes two flyers each mailed one week apart.

Think of marketing like shooting a gun. You can use the shotgun and blast everything with very little actually hitting the target or you can use the scope and riffle method. Where you aim for a specific target market. Try to identify the needs of the neighborhood you plan on reaching. Let me give you an example, you drive out to estimate and notice while doing the bid that the kitchen cabinets are peeling. All the houses in this subdivision where painted about the same time using the same product. You now have what I call a target market! Develop a flyer stating the problem and how your company specializes in fixing it.

The most effective ads target a need and suggest a solution to fix it. Be sure to make them an offer to correct it. Make it seem urgent! "Don't wait till the problem gets worse and cost more to correct". Call now: MY-PHONE-NUMBER. People tend to put things off if they feel no urgency. Always put on a coupon good till and the date.

It is very important to make your phone number jump off the page. I recommend increasing the font and using a bold color like red. Studies show red is an action color and you want people to take action. So, next time you plan on doing a little marketing ask yourself this one question. Have I taken aim and will I hit the target?

Author: David S Martin (www.painterschatroom.com) Comments about this article can be posted on the PCR bulletin board.

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