Small business marketing for your service business.

Are you running your service business in stealth mode?

Many small businesses feel that they will do fine with word of mouth advertising. “I do a great job so everyone will tell their friends and family about me” is a common belief.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is your job as the owner of a service business to get people to notice you. That doesn’t mean standing on the corner in a monkey suit, but there are a number of things you can do to stand out.

An easy one that almost any service business can do cost effectively is lettering or wrapping your truck or vehicle. It doesn’t have to be over the top, but even your logo, phone number and website can make a difference as you will become a rolling billboard for your business. And if you have a license number in your industry, like an electrician, put that on there as well.

Additionally, putting your information on your truck shows that you are not just a fly by night company that will disappear once the job is done.

In a recent Rossen Report on NBC, Jeff Rossen set up his cameras on Garage Door companies looking for crooked repair man. While these reports show off some of the worst cases, why not use them to your advantage. Show the customer (or at least offer to), explain why a specific service needs to be done, and make them feel confident that you are a legitimate business. In his report Jeff gave these tips;

To protect yourself when you need garage door repair:

Always check to see if the repairmen have signage on their vehicle. (None of the companies in this report — even the one that did a good job — had any marking on their trucks.)
Try to get recommendations from friends and family who have had similar repairs done.
Check with your local consumer affairs office to make sure the company you hire is licensed.

Which of these two businesses seems more trustworthy?

Marketing in stealth mode