What marketing works the best?

I am curious as what type of marketing has worked the best for you guys, besides referrals. Because in the last 9 years I have spend a lot of money on advertising and I have had very little success with anything except yellow pages and referrals. But I am curious as to what other stuff has worked

Lawn care business tips

trade shows I attend the Home & Garden shows in my area each year. I honestly get booked for practically the entire season through them. Think about it, about 20,000 potential customers coming to you, not you reaching out to them.

for what type of work?

that is a good point question. For pesticide applications

[mowboy]

I've had the best success with direct mail. Yellow pages definitely make the phone ring but over a year I think direct mail has more bang for the buck. Having said that, use caution in selecting what direct mail you use. I always went with a reputable company who consistantly offered quality goods and services in a package of ads. They always had great coupons too, so people always opened them up. They expected them. Of course, I offered a coupon too. Phone rang like crazy. *

[Steve]

Joel,

Are you talking about direct mail where you send out a single postcard or are you talking about something like val-pak?

[mowboy]

I was talking about something like val-pak. In fact, I have used val-pac successfully in my area so it's worth investigating.

Individual postcards would be great but if you are mailing them to the masses you are going to pay a lot more per household so it's probably not practical. However, postcards would be great for mailing to existing or past customers to try and upsell them or get them to come back.

[Steve]

How about word of mouth?

Where people talk about your company to others because of a special skill you have or how good of a job you do?