No Clients

[jbm]

Hey Everyone,

Just a bit of bakground firstly;

I work full time and have started a part time home business, most of the work for which will be done on the weekend, or after work hours.

I am 21 and have worked in mining since I left school, and the mining company has paid for me to do my degree externally (surveying) - setting me up for my main passion - business.

Recently I started an event hire business which includes
- Audio Hire
- Visual Hire
- Lighting Hire
- Jumping Castle Hire
and looking to expand into event planning/management and event hire (tables, chairs marquees etc.)

There are two reasons for starting the business
(1) I bought a lot of the equipment for my band - and this way I will get tax benefits
(2) Everytime I walk into a shop I think about what they could be doing better, from aesthetics to customer service to pricing - which made me really interested in business.

The problem is that I have no real experience, and therefore no concrete marketing plan. Once the business is established, I am sure that we will gain about 80% of the local market share on customer service and pricing alone.

I have spent about $30000 on inventory/van/insurance (most of the inventory was bought over the last 3 years for the band), and I am wondering what marketing I can put in place to gain customers.

A website? - I have a business facebook and a quote of $3500 from a local web designer - including logo and copywriter

A letter box drop?

Limited offer of free hiring - ie to first ten customers to get the ball rolling.

Hold an event?

Other ideas?

Also note that I do not have a marketing budget, as I have no real marketing plan. Hopefully some of the more experienced users on here will be able to help me out with my options.

Thanks!

John Macpherson

[Chris Bates]

Hey John,

I've spoken to a few entertainment hire businesses about getting them an effective web presence before, because they're such an untapped market there in terms of online marketing.

I would love to have a chat to you about setting up your website and online marketing, and at the least can give you input on what you will and will not get from that $3500 quote.

Could you drop me an email at chris@frontbox.com.au ?

Cheers,
Chris

[FS Concierge]

Hi John,
Exciting times for you! Congratulations on your progress so far, and thanks for coming out to play with us.

Can I suggest that your next step should be consulting an accountant to make sure that your business structure is right and that your assumptions about your investment in inventory are correct?

You'll also find the following articles to be useful starting points for your business and marketing planning:

http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p251276...ness-plan.html
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p311453...ting-plan.html

All the best with your new venture!
Jayne

[Gordon Akman]

The figure you have dropped about a website seems ridiculous. Type 'website designer' into Google and peruse a dozen websites that provide website design/hosting/solutions etc.

Like all businesses, you need to think about your customers. How would someone interested in event hire go about contacting you. Would they pick up the yellow pages, go online and type 'event hire', 'audio equipment hire', 'jumping castle hire' etc into Google.

What I think you should be doing is thoroughly researching the industry and see what the top performing businesses are doing. Then find a point of differentiation with your business model and go for it.

Good luck.

[Samith]

Hi John,

A website and Google Adwords would probably help you find leads, I agree with Gordon to a certain extent about the pricing of the website, you can build a website for a much lesser amount and spend the rest on actual marketing. PM me if you need a free coupon ($100) to Google Adwords, it will help you get started on online marketing, thanks to good people at Google I get twenty coupons every three months to giveaway Best of Luck!

Best Regards,
Samith W.

[wordmistress]

Hi John

What would be ideal (if not unviable due to the cost, but hear me out anyway) would be to hold an event, to which you would invite your targeted clients. It could be an opportunity for the suppliers you would use, to showcase their offerings e.g. caterers, equipment hire, musical acts, etc. They would all contribute their time, products, etc at no charge because it would count as marketing for their own businesses. It doesn't have to be hugely extravagant, and in fact, it could be billed as a 'sampler' for potential clients to see what you're capable of pulling together.

To a degree, I might be talking out of my hat a little, but with some hard work, real focus and lots of cold calling, it could be a success.

You would get real invitations printed (by one of your suppliers), worded so that it was obvious that there was an actual event taking place but that it was a sampler event. You would also include either on the invitation's reverse, or as an insert, a list of the companies that would be attending and providing their services. The list would contain their contact details and a short description of what they do.

You tell these suppliers - in order to get them on board - that it represents a novel and unique opportunity to demonstrate how good they are, and that there is no remuneration, just the chance to show off 'live'. This is unlike an expo where they only get to talk about what they do and have a display.

Just by organising this alone, you are doing exactly what your business offers and if you make a huge success of it, imagine the follow-on custom you'll get from it.

And by the way, have a list of 5 or so similar suppliers for each item (5 caterers, 5 table linen providers, etc) but as you offer this fantastic opportunity, have the list ready so you can tell them who else you will be offering it to if they don't take it up.

Co-ordinate the whole thing, do it well, invite some in-the-market contenders, and watch your business boom.

Of course, you'd follow it all up with thank you letters which again contain the list of suppliers you used, and a lovely voucher entitling them to something special when they book you for their 'real' event.

[wordmistress]

Ok then I went back and re-read the kind of event hire you do. Same idea goes, just customise it accordingly .

[Emroy]

A little while ago I was launching a new product (I'm in printing) Basically it was for order of services for funerals / wedding etc.

I approached about 20 local funeral homes and asked them if they could spare 10 minutes of their time, as I was a new business owner and wanted to pick their brains, borrow their expertise.

After explaining my concept, most only wanted to add side points here and there which was great, but get this, best part was almost all of them wanted my card, also wanting to know when I launched.

It was basically a soft marketing technique to allow them to open their doors to me and listen to what I had to say. Best part is, didn't cost me a cent. (I left them with a few brochures and business cards of course)

@Gina - Thats also a great concept!

[wordmistress]

Oooh tricky! Very nice, and clever!

[kathiemt]

I can certainly help you with your website for much less than you were quoted and help you get listed in the search engines, etc. And I can set something up so you can login and update it anytime you want - without having to know any web programming. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more.

With your line of work I believe you really need to be marketing on a local level to find your target client base. Some ideas for you:

• Check the website of your local council. Most have business directory listings these days and you can get listed there (having a web presence will be paramount for any listing you get anyway).
• Find out about local business networks and attend some of their events.
• Always carry your business cards with you wherever you go.
• Check your local paper for events that are coming up so you can go along and attend. They might already have someone supplying what you do but it will give you an opportunity to find out who's hiring and buying.
• Put the word out to all your contacts - family, friends, colleagues, anyone you know really. Let them know what you're doing.
• See if you can put flyers up in halls or buildings where the types of events you want to get are held.

These are just a few ideas but should get things rolling for you. Have fun!