What % of gross does your advertising run at?

[Bexiesbruv]

24 jobs a year for a $700 a month investment? At $8400 a year, that would be a cost of $350 a job.

Here is an update.
YP gave me a deal that was worth it to me to do. I get online, paper and mobile for less than half I was paying. So far its paying off. The mobile placement is what is making the difference, its higher than last year and getting me calls.

 

[Bexiesbruv]

I wrestled with the decision, thats for sure. In the end, it came down to whether I felt I would be able to (honestly) put the time and effort into my own marketing efforts. I think I mentioned that before, and the answer was no. I have a hard time scheduling myself to do anything other than carpet cleaning. I know I need to move forward with this and employ people, as I am not getting any younger or fitter, but I cannot.

 

[Blacktiedetailing]

About .0005

 

[Bexiesbruv]

About .0005

.0005 is so precise, but then you preface it with "about".
Funny. Well, its funny to me.

 

[Blacktiedetailing]

.0005 is so precise, but then you preface it with "about".
Funny. Well, its funny to me.

I buy 3,000 cards from costco for about $250?? Just took a wild guess.

 

[shamrock]

Less than 5%. We have quite a few of the tile and carpet stores that refer work. Also we get a lot from Angie's list, repeat clients etc. Of course this figure is different for all. It depends how you have it structured. In some markets you may have to advertise more. Maybe you have more cleaners in your area etc.
just my two cents.

 

[Bexiesbruv]

I thought I would come back and update this. My new YP rep has been trying to convince me to stay on board. I tracked all the calls with their phone numbers in my ads. I excluded duplicate calls and US numbers and also non listed numbers. Gave me 5 calls per month but they say 17. Still not worth it to carry on. The biggest issue for me is that you cannot turn it off so when you are really busy, you get the calls, can convert them but not come up with the date, so wasted money.

 

[rob allen]

I thought I would come back and update this. My new YP rep has been trying to convince me to stay on board. I tracked all the calls with their phone numbers in my ads. I excluded duplicate calls and US numbers and also non listed numbers. Gave me 5 calls per month but they say 17. Still not worth it to carry on. The biggest issue for me is that you cannot turn it off so when you are really busy, you get the calls, can convert them but not come up with the date, so wasted money.

YP's are dead for most carpet cleaning markets. Direct your funds elsewhere Stephen.

 

[aloha one]

I thought I would come back and update this. My new YP rep has been trying to convince me to stay on board. I tracked all the calls with their phone numbers in my ads. I excluded duplicate calls and US numbers and also non listed numbers. Gave me 5 calls per month but they say 17. Still not worth it to carry on. The biggest issue for me is that you cannot turn it off so when you are really busy, you get the calls, can convert them but not come up with the date, so wasted money.

One WORD...FUK YP! (OK 2 words!) They're almost as WORTHLESS as YELP...

 

[aloha one]

YP's are dead for most carpet cleaning markets. Direct your funds elsewhere Stephen.

YP's are DEAD ROB? Since when were they ALIVE....? They're Scamming Phone Book Whores of Yester Year trying to Capitalize on something that does Not Exist. NO Morals..Taking Big Bucks from Small Business men with their Greedy Interests in Mind.

 

[the organic cleaner]

YP's are DEAD ROB? Since when were they ALIVE....? They're Scamming Phone Book Whores of Yester Year trying to Capitalize on something that does Not Exist. NO Morals..Taking Big Bucks from Small Business men with their Greedy Interests in Mind.

Come on Dave, tell us how you really feel.

 

[Hitman]

10%

Yes, 10% is what the ideal recommendation is approximately. However, if you're a growing company, you may go up a little more. If you're a solo operator and not trying to grow, you may spend less.

ALWAYS leave room in your advertising budget for client retention. This normally involves mailing postcards or newsletters to the people you've cleaned for in the past two years. I recommend to budget at LEAST 30% of your advertising budget for this. It's the best investment you can make. It builds your brand and invests in the most valuable asset in your biz....your clients.

These aren't concrete number, but suggestions:

$200,000 sales = $20,000 advertising budget.

Spend $6,000 of that budget on marketing to your current clients.

 

[the rugman]

Yes, 10% is what the ideal recommendation is approximately. However, if you're a growing company, you may go up a little more. If you're a solo operator and not trying to grow, you may spend less.

ALWAYS leave room in your advertising budget for client retention. This normally involves mailing postcards or newsletters to the people you've cleaned for in the past two years. I recommend to budget at LEAST 30% of your advertising budget for this. It's the best investment you can make. It builds your brand and invests in the most valuable asset in your biz....your clients.

These aren't concrete number, but suggestions:

$200,000 sales = $20,000 advertising budget.

Spend $6,000 of that budget on marketing to your current clients.

Client retention - the easiest - cheapest and for some reason - the most neglected marketing avenue!

 

[fittlebug]

Client retention - the easiest - cheapest and for some reason - the most neglected marketing avenue!

Drip Drip Drip - email marketing is free with the bug, so let's do the math... zero costs - any results = A GOOD DEAL!

 

[ash]

7-12

 

[omigalic]

near 8-11%

 

[SMCommerical]

5% but will be increasing it to 15% We do not have a ton of accounts but the ones we do pay well and for the most part in most days happy. We do mostly Janitorial.

 

[Dougie "fresh-clean"]

0%

(well 0.008% if you count website hosting and email vendor)

 

[rob allen]

Very close to 10%.

 

[Spazznout]

Very close to 10%.

I was always curious but never wanted to be rude and ask.......thanks.

Would you be willing to share what your spend was while you were growing from truck 1 through 4? The period where you were trying to achieve growth to your desired size quickly.

Was it the same or similar in percent the first time and second time you went through this growth phase with your 2 businesses?

What was the most important marketing mistake or lesson you learned from your first business that you applied when starting and growing your current business that allowed you to grow the business back up more quickly than the first time?