Dont Let Winter Slow You Down...

For most decorative concrete contractors, winter means a slow down in outside work so it is time to focus on interior applications to stay busy. However, fall and winter are also the ideal time to begin marketing and promoting your decorative concrete services for next year as well.

One fatal mistake that many decorative concrete contractors make is waiting until spring to begin marketinge exterior jobs. This appoach leaves many contractors lacking work in the spring and some dont even make it...

Here are some basic marketing ideas taken directly from www.elitecrete.com and ee think you will find some of them very helpful regardless of the market you are in.

· Trade Shows:
Exhibit at as many trade shows per year as possible. Home and garden shows, county fairs, exhibits at parade of homes, open exhibits in shopping malls, interior design shows, exhibits held by local builders associations, business spot-lights with your local Chamber of Commerce, State ready mix associations and more. The objective is to get your company name and service out to as many people as possible. Understand that these types of exhibits tend to fill up quickly and many times months in advance. Do your homework and ask other construction trades where they exhibit their products and services.

When exhibiting at a trade show, put your best foot forward and represent yourself as a professional. Too many contractors exhibit at various shows only to sit in a chair and look all together unapproachable. Be open, enthusiastic and courteous but don't be a bump on a log or a high-pressure salesman either. Be sure to exhibit your services with brochures, sample boards to touch and feel, flooring made of your favorite overlay for them to walk on, a photo book for people to browse through and a computer to run your video presentation through.

Dress for success but not for a wedding. Remember, you are selling architectural concrete overlay finishes so although a three- piece suit is certainly overkill, you still want to look like a professional, trust worthy, knowledgeable representative. As it pertains to leads, you want quality not quantity. The "free drawing" ploy is ages old and will have you running ragged trying to bid and sell leads that many of which cannot use your services if they wanted to. Talk with the people coming by your booth, take the time to answer their questions before they ask. You have to remember that in most of the markets and regions around the United States and Canada, people have no idea of what architectural concrete overlays and surface restoration even is. People are sure to walk past your booth only to assume and think that you are a tile, brick or stone installer. It is your job to get them thinking otherwise. All of these things add up and are certain to yield results, just don't cut corners.

· Website and Internet
With the vast amount of people using the internet, it has become the first resource people use to locate, find, investigate and educate themselves on almost everything.
Websites can be designed and hosted for as little as ten dollars a month and it provides people with a method of learning about your services without the return of a sales pitch.

· Yellow Page Ads:
This is often an advertising method people view as a waste of time and money because of the lack of knowledge people have about architectural concrete overlays and surface restoration.
Your task is the same. Educate the community about products and services they know little or nothing about. Don't expect to place an ad in an "Architectural Concrete" section, because that section probably doesn't exist. However, sections such as "Concrete", "Decks" and "Flooring" are very good places to get response from.

· Local Publications:
Not newspapers, but smaller publications such as neighborhood newsletters can yield a tremendous amount of leads and based on the home value in the area you can be assured that you are targeting a specific income range. These publications generally print their newsletters monthly to keep residents informed as to what is going on in their area. Finding these newsletters may be the hard part but certainly worth the effort.

Another local publication you want to take advantage of is the newsletter published by your local builders association. These are typically a low budget print but you know that builders, other contractors and business owners will see your ad.

Yet another local publication is "higher income home & design magazines." These type of magazines are most prevalent in medium to large metropolitan areas, but quiet often these publications are glad to print articles about new or innovation building materials and services for free with the cost of an ad.

Target Mailings:
With the new software available today, direct and targeted mailings are easier than ever. Once you target your customer base you can draft a letter pertaining to their specific needs and by mail merging a database, you can easily print multiple letters to different persons at once and in a short period of time. Programs such as Sales Genie and American Business Lists (to name just a few) can assist in locating the exact target group you wish to target.

These lists are also very effective when used in conjunction with a specific job location. As an example, lets assume you are getting ready to begin an installation at 101 Jones Street. Use the program to locate all residents on Jones Street. Then draft a letter explaining your services and detail the fact that you will be installing your products and services at the specific address. Be sure to invite the recipients of the letter to stop by and watch the installation process.

Newspaper Press Release:
This is certainly one of the most effective forms of FREE advertising. Newspapers look for local stories to print about new businesses. Draft a short press release letter explaining what services and products you provide. Try to keep the sales pitch out of the letter and detail more the owners background, years in business, etc. Then fax this letter to all of your local newspapers with a cover sheet explaining the purpose of the letter. Be sure to refer to the letter as a "press release" and be very up front about what your intentions are, "you would like to have the newspaper print a story about your new local business." You will want to follow up each fax with a telephone call the same day the fax is sent. Be persistent with newspapers that seem not to be interested. Fax them monthly if needed.

· Newspaper Inserts:
Again, contact your local newspaper and inquire about have them print you an inexpensive flyer and then insert it into the paper for Wednesday or Sunday deliveries. Most Newspapers will allow you to pick and choose specific areas so you can control where the leads will be coming from. You will be surprised at how affordable this is.

· Auto & Trailer Lettering:
Yes this is common sense, but you need to take full advantage. We have even seen durable, weather proof brochure holders mounted to vans and trailers so people can obtain information even when you are not around.

· Yard Signs:
Aside from the normal yard sign, be creative. Have two types of yard signs printed. One that says something like, "Coming soon, watch us transform this pitted, stained and deteriorated driveway into a beautiful finish for a fraction of the cost of tear out and replace." Then once you begin application, leave the first sign and place the second sign that has your company's pertinent information; business name, telephone, brief description, etc. Even once the job is complete, leave the sign in place for a week or two.

· Door Hanger:
This is especially effective if done to residences in the surrounding areas of a job currently being worked on. A task for times when you have waiting periods. Similar to target letters, you can include the address of the job you are currently working on and invite people to come view the application process.

For more ideas on marketing, follow this link:
http://concretelocator.yuku.com/forums/4/t/Marketing-Advertising-Business-Development-Topics.html