I currently own my own mobile business, however things are slow, what do I do to increase business?

Question

I have a mobile automotive surface reconditioning business, I specialize in overspray removal, concrete removal, and oxidation removal. I also do interior and exterior details, carpet cleaning on cars, pinstripping, ect. I currently advertise in the newspaper, and awaiting my yellow pages ad to come out the first of the year. Business is slow and I need to find out some useful ideas to drum up more work.

Answer 1

Dont waste money on advertisement when word of mouth is the most powerful. I would give some of your customers a "client refferral fee." For instance.... You have one client that you do some work for. You tell him, "The total for my work is $100.00. That is due and payable now." Then give him your business card and say "Now if you tell a friend about some of the things I do and they hire me, I will give you $10.00. I will do that up to 5 people." You paying him $50.00 may seem stupid since that is half of what he paid you BUT he just referred 5 more people to your business. They have heard about what a good job you do and from someone they trust. Not just a newspaper. Its the same thing as, if a good friend of yours says a movie sucks, you most likely wont go see it in the theaters or make it the top of your to do list... you will forget about it and most likely never see it. But if that good friend of your said it was the best thing ever, you will want to make time to see it as soon as possible right? Well, the movie theater just earned 6.50 more for your admission but didnt send your friend .65 cents which they should have. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising and absolutely the cheapest. 50.00 for 5 more clients is a lot cheaper then 30.00 for the 1 week advertisement in the news paper and maybe 1 phone call. You dont have to do the referral fee for ever. Run it for one month to your most recent clients. Only offer then a portion of what they paid you for your service or a flat amount for everyone. but make it worth their time if you do it that way. You can get really creative. Let me know if you need more ideas.

Answer 2

A few ideas:

1) Flyers & Business Cards - Who are your customers & where do they shop (e.g. grocery, home improvement stores, etc)? Post flyers where your customers frequent.

2) Advertise Locally -- Craigslist, Yahoo! Local

3) Word of Mouth -- Offer a great service & people will talk.

4) Mailers -- Send out coupons, specials, etc.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

Sounds like a great business! Here's a few suggestions for marketing:

Make up flyers promoting your business and leave it at the reception desks at local businesses saying you'll work on their car while they are at work

Offer local businesses the opportunity to recognize the 'employee of the month' or 'best sales of the month' by providing your services

Pick one of your services and write a short article on why it's important and maybe how people can maintain their vehicle interiors better. Then submit the article to the local paper and see if they will run it.

Go to a local store or flea market and sell $1 tickets for the chance to win a complete interior car detailing. Say when you are announcing the winner, and also say that you are donating 10% of all proceeds to your favorite charity. Have everyone fill out the entry form giving their names and contact info. That way you have lots of people to contact after the contest is over that are interested in having work done on their car.

See if you can partner up with local auto repair shops, oil change shops, car sales places, etc. Leave your flyers there and/or offer them an incentive for referring customers to you. Also good places for your ticket sales. Be sure to tell your local paper about the contest and then again about the winner. If they run a story on it, more publicity for you.

If you are comfortable speaking to groups, you can offer to be a speaker at local rotary clubs, lodge meetings, country club meetings, etc. regarding car car issues. These groups are always looking for free speakers, and you can give out your contact info at the meeting.

Good luck!

Answer 4

There a few things you can do and it will cost you littele but need some time to get started.

Find your locality map and locate a few offices that have car parks that need your service. Offer to do this service for a number of cars for a certain price

You can also put flyers on car windscreens. I saw someone do it at 1am i the morning when everyone else is asleep.

Do a promotion with AA or other automobile associations and offer your first customers an incentive to do business with you first.

Give out discount or first time incentive cards to employees of local businesses and give their employees an option to start doing business with you.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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