Page 211 - 101 Ways to Market Your Business

101 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

100 People read noticeboards in shopping centres

People read noticeboards in shopping centres. Put your
company flyer or business card in the corner whenever you
visit the local shopping centre. How much effort does this
take?—about five minutes and a drawing pin. You may be
surprised at the amount of business received from this
simple promotion.

A friend of mine makes a comfortable living as a
handyman. He markets his services by putting signs up on
shopping centre noticeboards. He gets five to ten calls per
week from each noticeboard and most turn into small jobs.

Handymen, gardeners, babysitters and cleaning busi-
nesses can virtually run their operations from noticeboards
scattered throughout the region. If you keep a supply of
business cards and flyers in your car you will never be
caught out. It is also a good idea to keep a box of pins
close by as these are normally in scarce supply on the actual
noticeboards.

Quite often large shopping centres have shops vacant
for a few months at a time. These shops are sometimes
already leased but the tenant is not moving in immediately.
This provides you with an opportunity to approach the
centre and put up a permanent display promoting your
business and the services you provide. Rent in this instance
is normally minimal as it is often preferable to have a
display of some sort rather than an empty shop.

Once again, this is a situation where it doesn’t hurt to
ask, but remember that if you are going to put a display
into a shop or a shop window, make certain that it is high
quality, professional and easy to understand. Make up a
sign saying where your business is located and the hours
that you operate and leave a supply of flyers or brochures
for people to take.

If your business would conflict with other tenants in
the centre, it is unlikely that you will be able to put a

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