Are you making it easy to get found?

Peter Crocker A recent experience reminded me just how many businesses make it unnecessarily difficult to be found by their prospects. In a world that’s increasingly obsessed with Google ranking, let’s not overlook the basics.

I’m in the market for an automatic driveway gate. But with hundreds of options online, I decided to take an old-fashioned walk around the block to see some gates in action. While I had found some good options on the internet, it was hard to tell exactly what I was getting.

After about 10 minutes of walking I’d found three gates that were just what I wanted. They were the right size, colour and design. I thought, “Job done”. I’ll get the name and number of the suppliers, give them a call, get a couple of quotes and I’ll be all set.

But when I investigated further I found that none of the three gates had any indication of who made them. Even the opening mechanisms that sit behind the gates had no clear branding. I was able to read the manufacturer on one, but there was no obvious website or phone number.

A small, subtle sticker or badge would have been all that was needed to turn these gates into free advertising.

Sure, customers won’t appreciate blatant advertising on their products, and some industries lend themselves to this more than others, but it’s an opportunity well worth considering.

It’s very common. Web designers put their link on the bottom of sites. Security companies ward off burglars and advertise themselves with bright stickers. Magazine articles often come with a self-promotional footer from the author. Coffee brands leave their mark all over cafés. Research companies add their credits to the covers of reports. The list goes on.

As a prospect, I want to be able to find quality suppliers, but I don’t want to have to knock on a stranger’s door to ask them who installed their gate.

Doing this kind of basic marketing doesn’t have to come across as tacky self-promotion, surely it’s simply smart marketing. What creative ways have you come across to leave a calling card on products or services, or indeed what tactics have you used yourself?

Share your wisdom and learn from others.

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Until next week.

Love your work,

Peter Crocker is a director of Flying Solo responsible for the areas of marketing and advertising. He is a business copywriter specialising in websites, videos and marketing communications.

16 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 | Next» View all»

We custom-make reusable shopping bags - like the green Coles & Woolies ones - but we use a wide range of fabrics with funky color & style options. The outside of every bag is a walking billboard for someone else's business; but we make sure every bag has our label on the inside - just a postage stamp-sized label with our web address. It works wonders. Rod Tanks from Sydney
I think people are intuitive to marketing and product placement. They seem to like to have to discover what the message is rather than getting smacked with a bright-logo on every angle of the product. I have seen several websites that have small links in obscure places that lead you step-by-step to discovering more about the business and have enjoyed the process of researching their product. Rich from Sydney
I used to have a sticker on my automatic gate, but someone nicked it. Why would anyone do that?
If anyone knows of a culprit who has a thing for gate stickers ( Northern Beaches area) please, please report him or her.
It's for their own good. carl from Sydney
You also missed another important point : leaving the sticker on for follow up servicing. In your gate example, the gate may break in the future long after you've left the property. With a discreet sticker saying 'installed and serviced by company x', chances are the new owner will give them a call for a repair, rather than consulting the phone book.
I say this as our new gate came from the company that originally installed the garage door, all because it had a sticker on the inside. Durable goods should always have contact information left on them. Bruce Chapman from Queensland
I create and install leadlight panels and could not think of a way of advertising my work on my leadlights. Then I had a cunning plan. I purchased an old fashioned wax stamper and ordered a metal plate with my logo and business name on it. Now I stamp this into a solder join in an unobtrusive place. Lovely. Deb from melbourne
Whilst going thru a drive-through (I was only window-shopping, by the way) I noticed a sign which had the name and logo of a well-known Armoured Truck company.
The sign said "The Safe can only be opend by (well-known Armoured Truck company).
I'm wondering how the drive-through people get the money into the safe!
That probably means its a good sign, because now I'm telling you about it! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles

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