In this final installment of a three-part series on ways installers and other onsite industry professionals can market their businesses, we’ll focus on ideas that are fairly easy to implement. In some cases, you may not even think of them as marketing-related, but they are. Marketing is more than just the sales call, a company brochure or a website. Anything that leaves an impression about your company in the minds of your customers has a marketing component.

Incentives for your customers

Word-of-mouth is the most effective form of advertising. Make sure to leave extra business cards or brochures with customers upon completing your job. Consider offering your customers a finder’s fee, coupons for movies or restaurants, or some other incentive if a referral from them results in business for you.

Incentives for your employees

New work frequently comes from neighbors who see your employees on the job. Make sure your crew understands how to deal with potential new customers and put your company’s best foot forward. Also, take advantage of workers’ circle of family, friends and other contacts. Give some thought to providing incentives that encourage them to identify and exploit opportunities to sell your services. And who knows? Perhaps there is a great salesperson among the folks who work for you.

Advertising items

Little giveaways such as refrigerator magnets, pens, notepads, etc. can be effective ways to keep your company top-of-mind when people need your services. They work well as giveaways at fairs, but can work in a wide range of settings where you connect with potential customers. The best items are likely to be used or seen frequently.

Appearances matter

How you present your company will leave an impression on both current and potential customers. If the inside of your truck is filled with fast food wrappers and other trash, if your equipment is caked with mud, if you aren’t reasonably well-groomed with clean clothes, people will take notice. As the expression goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.”

Have a consistent look

Everything used to advertise your company – brochures, website, truck signage, estimate forms, invoices, etc. – should present a uniform message to promote your company. One goal of advertising is to get people to recognize your company right away. If everything about your company looks different, your message is less likely to be easily retained by your customers. The two characteristics all company materials should have are your company logo and a consistent color scheme (ideally not more than one or two colors).

Ask customers how they heard about you

This is the simplest way to figure out what’s working and what isn’t with your marketing. Over time, it will be clear which tactics are the most effective and which should be dropped. As you plan next year’s marketing strategy, asking customers how they learned about your business may be the most important intelligence you can gather to make the most of your limited marketing budget.

Handle problems personally

Studies show that 50 percent of the time an unhappy customer will return if the company made a good faith effort to address a problem. If you are the business owner, it is in your interest to make sure you deal with problem customers personally. No matter how good your employees are, they are not as invested in the success of your company as you are, and won’t care as much about the consequences of poor customer relations.