Marketing Flops?

[Steve]

What marketing ideas have you tried that flopped?

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[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

walker-talker said Ok....hate even thinking about this one. This past spring I had some fairly professional looking flyers made up and read "3 Free Mowings" across the top. Glossy and full color both sides. In short, $3K and 30,000 flyers later I picked up (and kept) two mowing accounts. Had them inserted into neighborhood assoociations newsletters, never again. Actually, one of those accounts was from the same flyer, but delivered. Next spring, it will either be postage paid postcards or hand delivered flyers/doorhangers. I might send out a small run of 5,000 postcards. I still have about 600 flyers, 1500 nice doorhangers and another 1000 one colored doorhangers, so I will try and get all those used up. I am planning of getting me an electric scooter to get all those delivered.

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[Steve]

arizweedhea said

I did this years ago.
Offered free "grass" , one ounce .Not the real stuff

Also , "free ***** " , kitten ,with 12 month agreement

Lots of calls , no takers

[Steve]

DFW Area Landscaper said

Clippers Magazine. Total flop. Paid $400. Got two calls from it. A one time cut and a guy with a lawn way too big for us to mow.

This season, I have started getting about three cold-calls per week from people selling advertising. I always tell them this when they call:

I've already got proven methods of advertising that make money for me. I would love to have more advertising sources. But what I can't do is pay you to find out if your advertising method will work for my business. Its a gamble on my part and I don't gamble now that I have a proven method. Most advertisements, especially the ones that are represented by sales people, are too expensive to work. I mean, most of them will probably generate calls, but then when I look at what they are costing me, it isn't a money maker. So here's the deal that I offer everybody that calls me selling advertising. If you want to give me the ad for free, if it works, and if its a money maker, I will renew it over and over. But I'm not gonna pay you to find out if it works or not. I've just had too many bad gambles that didn't pay off to keep doing that.

So far, no one has taken me up on the offer.

I did display advertising in the news paper. Had them put a nice 2x2 display ad in the paper, run it on 2 Sundays in a row (even had one on the front page their treat!), and 4 times on Wednesdays paper (our two bigest days papers with most circulation). I got 1 residental account. Spent $600 on advertising to get a $25 lawn job. All years work never even made $600 off the account.

Following season... Spend $55 a month, and had them run the same ad in classified without graphics, just the text from the ad... averaged 5 new customers calling wanting estimates a day!

NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE DISPLAY ADVERTISING. Classifieds worked just fine!

[Steve]

waffletown20 said

Late June flyers for people who get sick of mowing the lawn, total flop!

[Steve]

NCSULandscaper said

Advertising on the placemats at Burger King

[Steve]

greenman said

Full color banner at a big box grocery store.

[Steve]

Avery said

Ad space on our local hurrican tracking charts. In hindsight I realized that only tourists (not homeowners) look at those things. DUH!

[Steve]

RonRaley said

A free lawn aeration if you signed up for a full season of services and signed our contract.

That went over real well, Had no takers what so ever. it was a complete waste on money and time and taught me a valuable lesson about Val-Pak coupons. The only things that work in val paks are restuarants, carpet cleaning, and auto repair.