Crippled CEO Blog #078:
This blog entry will only apply to you if you have a service business or plan on having one. If you don’t, you can probably skip it.
If you’ve been reading for a while, then you’ve heard me say that the only place your small business should be advertising in 2021 is online — social media and Google Ads.
And that’s pretty much true.
But there is an exception. It is an exception because it is a relatively small, one time investment that pays for itself, over and over again, for years.
I’m talking about a full vehicle wrap.
If you have a service business, you use a vehicle — probably a van or a truck — to deliver your services.
And you need to wrap that vehicle.
You might be thinking right now, “I have magnets on my truck. I’m good. A wrap is so expensive.”
No, Ken. Just no. A full wrap is going to cost you around $2,000. If you have an established business, you can’t afford not to do this. The cost per impression (people who see the ad) over 5 years on the mobile billboard that drives all over your area and parks in your customer’s driveway is easily the best advertising deal you’re going to find. It is a billboard you get to run month after month, but you only have to pay for it once. You’re not going to get the same effect from magnets.
Besides advertising to all of the people you drive past and all of the people in the neighborhoods you work in, it will also help you close sales. When you have a professionally wrapped vehicle, potential customers are more likely to trust you over your competitor who just has a magnet. You look more like a legitimate, quality company. It might be the reason somebody chooses you even though you are more expensive.
Now that we know you need a full wrap, here are some tips to avoid common mistakes and do it correctly.
- Start with the brand
The focus of the wrap is going to be your brand, not your service. Use Fiverr or 99 Designs to make sure you have a high quality logo. Consider creating a “character“ that represents your company who you can feature.
- Almost never use photos
Unless you do something really esoteric (like pool fence) that people aren’t familiar with, your brand and company name should be enough to let people know what you do. If you install AC units, having a photo of an AC unit on your truck isn’t convincing anybody to go with you. It’s not communicating anything about your brand.
- No bullets. Limit the words.
Your company name, a tagline, your website, and your phone number. Those are all the words that should be in your vehicle wrap. No one is going to read your list of bullets at 65 mph on I-95. Focus on the one thing you want people to learn about you and make it big.
- Stand out. Be creative.
An interesting, creative vehicle wrap costs just as much as one that looks like everybody else. Why not be different and cool? I’m going to include a wrap for my future pool service company here. We told the designer to go nuts, and this is what he made. How much better is this than a stock photograph of a swimming pool? Or a list of bullets over a water background?
That’s it. If you stick to those rules, you should be in good shape. But the most important part is that you actually decide to do it. Don’t miss out on the best ROI currently available in advertising.
(You know who never wants to wrap it up? Your mom. She crazy. But she’s not too crazy to subscribe to my weekly text message letting you know about the latest blog post. Send a message to the phone number 484848 with the word CRIP and you’ll get one message per week from me with a link to the latest post.)
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