The web has changed the way many of us do business. Using the web is our best way of getting new business to our shop.
I would estimate that we are looking for one in ten thousand people for new customers. We have a very different business model than most shops. Our goal is not to do every job that comes in the door and not build every sign in town but rather only the specialty stuff. We do only a few projects each month with a limited staff and have no desire to grow bigger. Being that our style of work is towards the cartoon this limits who we work for even further. We also like to be paid well and promptly which further weeds out our potential clientele. Add all that up and we need to touch 10,000 people to get the one customer we want. So how do we make that happen? The web of course.
Most of our recent customers (last two years) tell me they follow the blog on our website. I also hear from folks who come to our website via facebook. I do daily posts about the many projects we have underway. Current customers follow the progress of their project and send all their friends, relatives and customers for a look as well. As you can imagine this builds a large following in a hurry. Word spreads of the unique things we do.
My posts are always upbeat and positive. I sprinkle in family news and stories and other adventures just to keep it interesting. I take the time to gather and edit pictures all through the day, posting only one or two of the best ones. The goal is to build trust with present and future customers as well as advertise what we do. It works! And it is works beyond my wildest dreams.
In the last month our blogs have enjoyed more than 47,000 hits. Unique visitors to our website(s) view an average of five pages per visit which tells me we have lots of new people exploring our site and also lots of regulars who also visit the blogs daily.
When I add up the new business generated as a result of the blogs and website I can easily calculate it's worth and that number is very positive.
Anyone else using the web to generate new business?
-grampa dan
[ November 24, 2012, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
Posted by Marty Happy (Member # 302) on :
Facebook has been great for bringing new clients to us!
Posted by Steve Luck (Member # 5292) on :
It is hard to get a solid figure on how much business our website has generated but I know it has helped. I've had customers call and said that they had looked us up and wanted to get a quote for a new sign. I recently added a counter to the website to see how many visitors I've had. But this doesn't tell me who they are.
I think it is a neccessity in today's market to have a sample of your work available for new customers to browse. I have tried to update the photos of each section with our most creative work. I agree that the way we do business is changing and we better keep up or we won't be getting as much work as we expect if we don't.
Facebook, whether you like it or hate it is a proven money maker. I know that posting a photo of a new sign recently got a bigger response than I expected. I have about 450 friends but they have 1000's or more which means massive exposure. This leads some curious folks to my website and the snowball gets bigger!
If you want to test this out, post a photo of something that you have finished recently and see what happens. It will surprise you and then you will understand the power that Facebook has to help your business.
Have a great holiday season and let's see what's out there....
