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Try not to draw attention to yourself - this is a very good strategy in many situations in life. In advertising, however, the exact opposite is true. So take a look at what your competitors are doing - and then do something different yourself. By doing this, you can demonstrate that your company is something special. This will mean that you are remembered and that, after all, is what advertising is about.
However, it is also important to stay true to yourself. Give your customers a waterproof shower radio as a gift. Hand out ceramic business cards. Cover a company van with a mosaic. I.e. create advertising which stands out because it is especially suited to your company.
How can I advertise efficiently?
It is possible to spend a lot of money on advertising without achieving any effects. You should therefore check the measures which you have been using up until now and ask yourself whether you are satisfied with their effects. If the measures are not as successful as expected, you should use the money for better advertising instead.
Efficient advertising starts with a clear brand identity. You need to determine what you company stands for and what makes you different from other companies. You should publicise this brand identity with eye-catching advertising measures. Here are a few tips:
Have you been spending lots of money on large, colourful advertisements which nobody sees because they appear at the back of the daily newspaper? Invest the money in a small, single-colour advertisement in the editorial section instead!
Are you using a logo which is distinctive and clearly separates you from your competitors? No? Then create a new, memorable one!
Do you describe the services which you offer with vague statements such as "service and more"? Then you should try to make your customers a concrete offer. Such as: "We work for a fixed price!" "Fast service - the first tile will be laid within 24 hours" "Everything is watertight - your specialist for swimming pools & wellness areas"
You should ask yourself what you can do better than all the rest and draw you customers' attention to this ability. You don't need to enter a talent show to prove it - but think along those lines!
How can I use my construction site or business premises for advertising purposes?
Most tradesmen have signs for construction sites. If you don't have any yet then you should get some. If you already have some, you should consider whether they are as eye-catching as possible.
Instead of the usual small signs, you could, for example, hang up a large digitally-printed banner which looks like a newspaper advertisement. This would really set you apart from the competition. Such a measure does of course require a certain amount of courage - but advertising is all about drawing attention to yourself.
This is why you should also use your own business premises for advertising purposes. For example, do you have a display area? Why not set up a corner there where your customers' children can have a go at being tilers?
Also have a think about what you, as a tiler, can do with a piece of lawn, a room or a building!
For example, on a lawn area, you could set up over-sized tiles with your logo on them.
In your office, you could set up an aquarium which looks like a miniature tiled swimming pool.
You could put a mosaic on an outside wall which looks like an arty, modern wall decoration.
The only thing which is important is that the measures which you use on your business premises fit your brand identity. The company Wiesmanncan be used as an example here. The car manufacturer from Dülmen in Germany has a gecko as its logo - and had a giant version of this gecko integrated into the building when the new factory was built.
How can I achieve really big effects with a really small budget?
If you have a good idea, you can still advertise successfully with only a small amount of money. In the advertising industry, people call this "guerilla marketing". A well-known example of successful guerilla marketing is provided by the company Blendtec which manufactures blenders. The company produced a series of video which showed all of the things which can be blitzed in their blenders: golf balls, video cameras, iPhones etc. The videos were a huge success online and made Blendtec famous within an incredibly short amount of time.
Such campaigns do of course require a certain amount of courage. However, they are also affordable for small companies. For example, as a tiler, you could cover an area of the floor on your business premises with tiles and then make a video in which a steamroller drives over the tiles. You could put the video online, present it at trade fairs or show it in your showroom - and therefore demonstrate the indestructible quality of your work.
However, guerilla marketing does not have to be so sensational. Think of the stone masons in the Middle Ages, for example. Once they had finished making a stone, they put their symbol on it. You can still admire these engraved "logos" in old churches today.
You could revive this tradition for yourself. For example, you could have small tiles with your logo made and put one of them into every surface which you tile as your sign of quality. This would certainly cause puzzlement to start with. However, after a short time, the customers would come to recognise your work as a branded product - and even pay more to have your logo in their tiled work.
Make use of all methods of communication:
Print a short description of the services which you offer on the back of your business cards.
Give your customers advertising material from other tradesmen, such as installers - and ask your colleagues to do the same for you in return.
Offer to hold a short talk about your work at a club or at your children's school.
Ask happy customers to give you a review online, such as on yelp.com
Do what the demolition company ExKern from Munster did - set up a café which is named after your company!
Of course, these are just a few examples of what is possible. You should not just copy these examples. Guerilla marketing is ultimately about having an original idea and doing something which no one else does.
What are the benefits of cooperative advertising?
Creating advertising measures is relatively expensive. For small companies especially, it makes sense to advertise with a partner in order to reduce the costs.
For example, wedi GmbH offers its customers a range of layouts for advertisements and postcards which are free to use. You can download these layouts from the wedi website. All you need to do then is have your own logo and address put on it - by a graphic designer, for example. However, newspaper publishers and printers can also complete this task quickly and easily.
So if you want to advertise effectively without spending a lot of money, just take a look at the advertising material on offer.
Advertising checklist
1. Which target group do I want to reach? 2. What information do I want to give my target group? 3. What should the target group do? 4. Do I have a clear brand identity? 5. Does my advertising convey my brand identity? 6. Is my advertising clearly different from my competitors' advertising? 7. Does my advertising grab people's attention? 8. Am I using my business premises and construction sites for advertising purposes? 9. Is guerilla marketing an option for me? 10. Am I interested in cooperative marketing?
