BUSINESS CARDS – If you have a business to consumer (B2C) business, you can use tools like DemographicsNow (often available at public libraries) to identify the ideal market demographic, known as a Groups and Types in DemographicsNow, for your product or service. Within the text of each “Type”, the segment is a description of the demographic’s preferences, which includes where they shop.
A copy of the DemograpohicsNow Group and Type Manual can be found in the Free Downloads Tab of this blog. Once you have identified where your customers frequently shop, you can go to the parking lot and hand out your business cards. Recently I was waiting for my wife while sitting in my car when a fella came up to the window and said that he noticed my cracked windshield. He handed me a card for his windshield repair business.
Years ago I placed business cards under cars’ wipers or under the rubber window seal by the door lock, with some marketing success. While it is technically not illegal to leave business cards on cars some people can get pretty annoyed, especially if you touch their new vehicle. 500 business cards can be purchased for under $10.
CORRUGATED PLASTIC YARD SIGN – We have all seen political yard signs all over neighborhoods as an election nears, or we have seen “open house” signs on houses for sale. Placing a reusable sign with your company and contact information in the front yard of a customer’s home, either while you are working or for a few days after the job is complete, is a good way to promote your business to the neighborhood.
This is particularly effective if the neighbors can see your work, such as with roofers and house painters. You can also often place these low-cost signs in vacant lots or near intersections for even greater exposure. At a cost often in the range of $10 per sign, this is a cheap way to create brand awareness.
PICKET SIGN – You have seen people protesting on the corner for higher wages or against unfair labor practices, but picket signs can also be used to create brand awareness. You can simply attach poster-board to a stick to make a picket sign with your company’s information. Have idle employees walk up and down the street in front of your establishment to draw attention to your business.
