[Smart Marketing] Low-Budget Marketing

Many letters and calls I receive from pest management professionals around the nation begin this way: "I have a small business and can’t afford a big marketing budget." Some then go on to ask for advice on how they can grow their businesses without spending any real money. Unfortunately, that’s like asking how to succeed without working.

Here’s the reality. Ours is a competitive business. There are often dozens, sometimes hundreds, of businesses listed in the "pest control" section of most Yellow Page directories. Many are what I call "guy with a truck" businesses while others are much more substantial. In order for a guy with a truck to compete with larger operations, he either has to invest his time or his money, sometimes some of both.

The good news is that, at least on a small scale, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive as long as it’s smart and you’re willing to put in some "sweat equity."

INEXPENSIVE TIPS. In our business there’s usually at least one common denominator: the service technician. Sometimes we’re the technician; sometimes he or she is our only employee. Either way, the technician, in order to be productive, sees a number of customers every day on his or her route. I’ve heard estimates of anywhere between 10 and 20 customers each day, depending on a variety of factors. Let’s use a number of 15 customers each day, five days each week, four weeks each month. The numbers are 15 a day, 75 each week and 300 in a month. If you have two technicians, the numbers double, and so on.

Here’s some smart, relatively inexpensive marketing designed to grow your business. Draft a "business letter" that reads something like the letter on the previous page.

Have this letter, or something like it, laid out by the person at your local copy center (Office Max, Kinko’s, Office Depot, etc.) and have copies made on nice paper. Then have your technician(s) deliver the letter to the five homes directly next door to and across the street from your existing customers. In a month you’ll have delivered 1,500 letters to homes near your existing customers. Chances are, you’ll pick up between 15 and 30 customers. You might gain even more if you ask your current customers to tell their neighbors how great your service is.

This kind of direct response advertising is designed to be highly affordable and relatively simple to execute. You can also take a Saturday or Sunday and deliver hundreds more to neighborhoods near your current service area. It’s not a high-powered, big bucks marketing effort, but for small businesses or sole proprietorships, it’s a great way to get started.

CONCLUSION. Marketing to grow your business doesn’t happen without some sort of investment. You can invest your time and/or your money, but you have to invest something. You can’t succeed without working. You can’t market without putting something into the effort.

The author is president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services Inc., Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com.