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Need Some Advice - Advertising
Hi guys,
I started a small computer business about a year ago. I finally have some time to expand (I hired a few friends of mine from school to help me) and I need some advice.
Right now our only marketing strategy is giving out flyers to doormen in good neighborhoods and word of mouth.
Unfortunately the giving out flyers is not working too well. We gave out nearly 4000 fliers 2 days ago and still no calls.
Here are our strengths and weaknesses
STRENGTHS
We are VERY good at what we do (fixing computers), haven't had a single dissatisfied customer
We have a small, satisfied client base right now
We have no real expenses as of right now (going to be college freshmen/sophomores next year)
Labor is dirt cheap (since 2 of us are in HS), I pay my guys $5/hour to advertise
WEAKNESSES
We know next to nothing about advertising
We are still kids (not too much trust especially with the richer folk, who prefer to call GeekSquad/go to Mac Store than take that initial risk)
Rather small advertising budget (~$100/month, $200 if we're sure it will help). We bring in profits of $1000-$2000/month at the moment.
So basically, what advertising strategies do you suggest for us. We aren't shy, and we live in a huge city (NYC) so we aren't afraid to experiment/embarrass ourselves.
A few initial questions:
What to wear when advertising (right now we generally wear a suit).
Who to give ads to (to doormen, slip under door, flyers, etc)
How much should we spend on advertising right now
How to appeal to small businesses (what do they look for when hiring contractors), and how to approach them
We appreciate all your help!
I started a small computer business about a year ago. I finally have some time to expand (I hired a few friends of mine from school to help me) and I need some advice.
Right now our only marketing strategy is giving out flyers to doormen in good neighborhoods and word of mouth.
Unfortunately the giving out flyers is not working too well. We gave out nearly 4000 fliers 2 days ago and still no calls.
Here are our strengths and weaknesses
STRENGTHS
We are VERY good at what we do (fixing computers), haven't had a single dissatisfied customer
We have a small, satisfied client base right now
We have no real expenses as of right now (going to be college freshmen/sophomores next year)
Labor is dirt cheap (since 2 of us are in HS), I pay my guys $5/hour to advertise
WEAKNESSES
We know next to nothing about advertising
We are still kids (not too much trust especially with the richer folk, who prefer to call GeekSquad/go to Mac Store than take that initial risk)
Rather small advertising budget (~$100/month, $200 if we're sure it will help). We bring in profits of $1000-$2000/month at the moment.
So basically, what advertising strategies do you suggest for us. We aren't shy, and we live in a huge city (NYC) so we aren't afraid to experiment/embarrass ourselves.
A few initial questions:
What to wear when advertising (right now we generally wear a suit).
Who to give ads to (to doormen, slip under door, flyers, etc)
How much should we spend on advertising right now
How to appeal to small businesses (what do they look for when hiring contractors), and how to approach them
We appreciate all your help!
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