70+ Ways to Advertise Your Surveying Business

One thing that remains relatively constant for surveying business owners, or any other types of business owners, is advertising. In order to keep a steady flow of customers calling, emailing or contacting you in some way, you need to be constantly getting your business out there in front of potential clients.

To help my surveying friends, Iƒ??ve decided to brainstorm as many advertising ideas as possible that could realistically be implemented by a surveying company. You should always be looking for new ways to reach your clients, and there's probably some things on this list that you havenƒ??t tried yet.

Furthermore, the items on this list could apply to almost any kind of business.

Free Traditional Advertising

• Customer Referrals?ÿƒ?? Probably the best free advertising around for your business. ?ÿFew things are more powerful that a recommendation from someone you trust.
• Cold Calling ƒ?? Not my favorite technique, but if you can get over the uncomfortable feeling, you may just find some local businesses in need of surveying services that didnƒ??t know where to turn. ?ÿI recommend doing this with other businesses only, as calling private homes unsolicited is normally seen as intrusive and can have the opposite effect as intended.
• Door-to-door?ÿƒ?? Similar to cold calling, but may be more your speed if you prefer being face-to-face with prospective customers.
• Happy Hour ƒ???ÿIƒ??ve made a handful of business deals over a cold one. ?ÿWhen you get together with a group of friends after work on a weekday youƒ??ll normally be introduced to new people all in a friendly festive environment. ?ÿHave some business cards handy, talk a bit about your business, and have fun!
• Attend Business Mixers ƒ???ÿSimilar to a happy hour, but designed for the purpose of meeting other business owners, these are usually coordinated by your local chamber of commerce or other business organization.
• Contribute Articles to Local Paper ƒ???ÿContact your local paper to see if theyƒ??d be interested in featuring a weekly surveying column penned by you. ?ÿNormally theyƒ??ll allow you to include a small blurb at the end of the article with info about your business.
• Teach a Class ƒ???ÿMany organizations such as churches, senior homes, networking groups, and community clubs hold workshops and classes on various topics for their members. ?ÿReach out to these places to see if you can teach a class on a typical surveying service. ?ÿAt the end of the class you can pass out business cards or write your business phone number and email on the board for folks to contact you with further questions.
• Volunteer ƒ???ÿSimilar to teaching a class, you can volunteer your time for other things such as free monument recon for under-privileged households or helping an organization understand their deed or survey map. ?ÿThis will not only get your name out as a friendly resource for surveying help, but it will allow you to meet community organizers who can become major allies for referrals in the future.
• Partnerships ƒ???ÿPartner up with another local business to offer discounts to their customers or some other kind of cross promotion. ?ÿYou can partner with other businesses that provide services that you donƒ??t, like ALTA surveys or construction staking, or you can partner with other service businesses like engineers and lawyers who can then recommend your business to their clients while you do the same for them.
• Press Release?ÿƒ?? Any time something changes in your business, whether it be a new service offering, a new location opening up, or a new partnership, be sure to send out a press release to your local papers and magazines. ?ÿSometimes theyƒ??ll go unpublished, but every now and then youƒ??ll get something put in that will potentially get your business out in front of the eyeballs of thousands for free.
• Community Bulletin?ÿƒ?? If you live in an organized subdivision or community that has a Home Owners Association or some other organized group that serves local residents, send them a note about your business by offering to give them a discount. ?ÿThis form of hyper local marketing?ÿhas worked really well for me in the past.
• Write a Book ƒ?? I know this is easier said than done, but writing a book is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. ?ÿYou donƒ??t necessarily need to get published by a major publisher either.?ÿ A self-published book can still be sold on Amazon or online via your website with publishing provided by an on-demand publisher. ?ÿJust put a unique spin on a surveying topic or cover a specific aspect of surveying in-depth. ?ÿWho knows, you may release the next New York Times bestseller!
• Have a Catchy/Unique Business Name ƒ?? A unique and catchy business name can go a long way in brand recognition and can be a way to create buzz about your business. ?ÿGetting people to talk about your business is a great form of free advertising. Be careful here though, as this can backfire if the name is too outrageous.
• SMS(text) Campaign ƒ???ÿTexting is as popular now as ever, thanks to the rise in mobile phone use among members of all age groups and demographics. ?ÿYou can leverage this trend by first engaging your existing customer base. ?ÿInclude a check box on your invoices asking if your customers would accept exclusive offers via text message, and then ask them to leave their cell number. ?ÿThen, a few times throughout the year, you can send an offer or special via text only.
• Hold a Contest?ÿƒ?? Engage your existing customers and attract new ones by running regular contests. ?ÿIt can be as simple as asking folks to sign up for your mailing list or ƒ??Likeƒ?? your Facebook page. ?ÿThen you can randomly draw one of those people to receive a small prize. ?ÿEven better, make the prize branded with your logo or business name!

Paid Traditional Advertising

• Fliers ƒ???ÿThe old stand-by, fliers have been around for ages and are effective for both lemonade stands and full-fledged surveying businesses. ?ÿThis is a numbers game, so get out as many as you can in as many places as you can. ?ÿThe cost is minimal if you can design your own.
• Tear-offs ƒ???ÿThe flierƒ??s big sister, this is simply a?ÿflier with little tabs at the bottom?ÿwith your contact info. ?ÿPeople can ƒ??tear offƒ? these tabs and take them so they donƒ??t forget your info.
• Business Cards ƒ???ÿThis is probably the first advertising tool you should purchase for your business. ?ÿEasy, portable, informative, and functional, the business card is essential.
• Magnets?ÿƒ?? Made popular by pizza places, refrigerator magnets are a great way to get your business in front of peopleƒ??s faces daily. ?ÿGive them out any way you can: in the mail, on the street. ?ÿGive a handful to your customers to pass out for you.
• Pens ƒ???ÿPeople use pens all the time. ?ÿWhy not remind them that your business exists in the process? ?ÿItƒ??s easy to?ÿget a bunch with your logo on it.
• Stickers?ÿƒ?? A fun and inexpensive way to leave a little promotional item with your customer, or their kids, that feels like itƒ??s a prize or reward. ?ÿThen, depending on where they put the sticker, it can serve as a mini advertisement.
• Mouse pads ƒ???ÿRemind your clients that help is only a mouse click away. ?ÿMouse pads sit right next to a user's computer, the perfect place for such a reminder.
• Shirts ƒ???ÿA little bit more expensive than pens, magnets, stickers, and mouse pads,?ÿbranded shirts?ÿare a great promotional item to give away and wear yourself.
• Door Hangers ƒ???ÿLike fliers, door hangers are a great way to get your message out to the masses without being too intrusive. ?ÿWalk around your neighborhood, get some sun and exercise, and hang these on your community's door knobs. And if you live in an area where you must give notice prior to accessing private property, door hangers can serve to fulfill the legal obligation, be informative, and serve as a reminder to your professionalism.
• Direct Mail ƒ???ÿDirect mail?ÿis an old form of advertising that is a great way to get your advertising directly to a large number of local prospects. ?ÿItƒ??s really a numbers game because most folks largely ignore the advertisements they get in the mail. ?ÿHowever, there are a few people who read them and of those people there may be a few that need your services. ?ÿSo the more mailings you send out the better. ?ÿHowever, it can start getting expensive, so use this method only if you have some spare money to spend on advertising. ?ÿMake sure you include an?ÿenticing?ÿoffer or discount on these mailings to get peopleƒ??s attention.
• Sandwich Boards ƒ?? An old-fashioned technique that still gets used today. ?ÿThis works best for those of you with a store-front business.
• Billboards ƒ???ÿThis is a fairly expensive advertising method with rental costs ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month for one sign in well trafficked areas. ?ÿHowever, it can be worth it as most billboards will be seen by hundreds if not thousands of people every day.
• Bench/Bus Stop Advertising ƒ???ÿAn often overlooked?ÿadvertising?ÿspace, these are often less expensive than billboards, but still help get your brand in front of countless eyes.
• Sponsorships ƒ???ÿMany local sports teams and other organizations seek small business sponsors to help fund their team and in return, theyƒ??ll promote your business. ?ÿReach out to them and see if theyƒ??d be interested in?ÿsponsorship. ?ÿThey usually require very little monetary help, but the reward you get from helping them is not only advertising, but also respect and recognition in your community.
• Vehicle Advertising ƒ???ÿThis is a popular method for many surveying shops. Since surveyors work outside and travel to serve their clients, it only makes sense to slap a car door magnet on your vehicle to get some advertising out of those miles you drive every day. ?ÿYou can even get your whole car painted if youƒ??re feeling adventurous.
• TV Commercials ƒ?? Producing your own TV commercial can no doubt be an effective way to advertise your business. ?ÿHowever, the costs associated with this can be quite high. ?ÿNot only do you need to spend money to record, edit, and produce a decent looking commercial, but you also need to buy the air time on the TV station. ?ÿThe more potential viewers you have, the higher the price. ?ÿThe rewards can be great, especially if you put together a memorable commercial.
• Radio Commercials ƒ???ÿAlong the same lines as a TV commercial, but cheaper. ?ÿRadio ads?ÿmay be more effective, for the money spent, than television because the majority of the time your audience is captive.
• Ads in Local Paper ƒ???ÿThis is a tougher sell in my book, as not only is readership in papers going down, but Iƒ??m not sure people notice the ads there too often. ?ÿHowever, you may be able to get a good deal with local papers.
• Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce ƒ???ÿMost every county or area has a local Chamber of Commerce, which is a group of business owners that helps further the interest of business owners. ?ÿThey usually hold networking events, meetings, and various functions that are exclusive to members which are great opportunities to network with fellow business owners and seek B2B opportunities.

Free Online Advertising

• Website?ÿƒ?? Your first line of?ÿadvertisement?ÿon the web is?ÿyour website. You want to make sure you sell your services clearly enough to convert first time visitors into customers and show existing customers what else you can do for them. Of course, this "free" online resource assumes you already own a website.
• Guest Posting ƒ?? If you like to write, there are countless numbers of blogs and websites that feature regular surveying-related articles. The website owner usually lets you link back to your website at the end of your article. ?ÿThis is good for SEO, and also a good way to establish yourself as an expert.
• Link Exchange ƒ???ÿReach out to other local businesses that offer different and complimentary services to your own. ?ÿAsk them if theyƒ??d be interested in exchanging links. ?ÿYou can list their business on a ƒ??recommended linksƒ? page on your website if they do the same on theirs. ?ÿThis has minimal SEO benefits, but their existing customers may then find out about your business this way and check out your website.
• Free Web Directories ƒ???ÿThere are many ways to list your business in directories online besides Yelp.?ÿSome examples include:?ÿShowMeLocal, and MerchantCircle. ?ÿThe more of these directories youƒ??re listed in, the better chance youƒ??ll have of getting found online.
• Local Directories ƒ???ÿAlong with the above mentioned free directories, you can search Google for ƒ??yourtown or yourcounty or yourstate?ÿbusiness directoryƒ? to find local business directories to list your business in. ?ÿThere are usually at least a few of these that you can find that will be willing to list your business.
• Google My Business ƒ?? Of the major search engines, Google is by far the most used, and therefore itƒ??s the one you want to get your business listed on. ?ÿFor many local based searches, Google will present Google My Business results, which can often appear at the top of the search results. ?ÿThis will also place a ƒ??markerƒ? for your business on Google maps. ?ÿYou can go here?ÿto set up your profile.
• Yelp?ÿƒ?? Yelp profiles frequently show up at the top of Google search results. ?ÿFor that reason alone your business should be on Yelp. ?ÿAlong with that, Yelp has a large active community of visitors and reviewers who can help shine a light on your business.
• LinkedIn?ÿƒ?? Best for solo consultants who do mostly B2B (business to business) work,?ÿLinkedIn is a great place to show off your qualifications and network with people who may need your services. ?ÿYou can join one of many LinkedIn groups for your local area and establish yourself as the local surveying expert.
• Twitter?ÿƒ?? Itƒ??s been around for a while and itƒ??s still useful. Try collecting the Twitter handles of your customers on your invoices or when they first contact you for service. ?ÿThen you can inform them of specials, new services, and provide value with regular tips and tricks. ?ÿThereƒ??s always the potential that they will retweet what you say to their friends which are all potential new customers.
• Facebook?ÿƒ?? ?ÿThis is still the social media site where most folks hang out. If you donƒ??t have a?ÿFacebook page for your computer business?ÿyet, you need to get one!
• QR Codes ƒ?? QR codes aren't as hot as they once were, but they are still a good marketing strategy these days. ?ÿThese are the barcode looking symbols that you may see on posters and packages. When a person scans these with their smart phone, the phone will take them to the website thatƒ??s embedded in the code.
• YouTube?ÿƒ???ÿYouTube is a surprisingly effective marketing tool that Iƒ??ve used for some of my SEO customers. ?ÿSimply create a quick video about your business, upload it to YouTube, and make sure to include a detailed description and link back to your site under the video. ?ÿYouTube videos often show up in Google search results and many people search for things directly within YouTube.
• ePress Release ƒ???ÿYou know that press release I mentioned earlier? ?ÿYou can also send an electronic copy of it to virtual press release distributors. ?ÿThese services will send it all over the net to spread the word about your business. ?ÿSome of these services include:?ÿPR-Inside,?ÿOnline PR, and PR USA?ÿ just to name a few.
• Email Newsletter ƒ???ÿA monthly or quarterly email newsletter is a great way to advertise to your existing customers. ?ÿOf course, you must provide valuable information first and foremost, but be sure to mention your services as well.
• Infographic?ÿƒ?? A popular viral trend these days are infographics. ?ÿThese are illustrations or diagrams that creatively convey a certain message. Here's an example: infographic about infographics.
• Article Marketing ƒ???ÿIf you like to write, a great way to get your business name and link out there is to write helpful articles for different article websites. ?ÿMost of these websites allow you to include a brief author description at the end of your article in which you can include the contact info for your business. ?ÿSome popular article directories include:?ÿEzine Articles,?ÿInfoBarrel, ?ÿAmazines,?ÿArticleAlley, and Idea Marketers. ?ÿA great strategy to take here is to write articles about your town or service area, this will ensure that your articles show up in search engines results for people in your area.
• Blogging ƒ???ÿBlogging is another double-edged sword in your publicity arsenal. ?ÿNot only does it provide fresh content for your customers and establishes you as an authority to prospective visitors, but it also helps with SEO, as Google continually states that they favor?ÿfresh, updated content?ÿwhen they rank websites in search results.
• HARO ƒ???ÿAnother great place to go for those of you who like to write is?ÿHARO (Help A Reporter Out). ?ÿThis is basically a website where you sign up as an expert in something (surveying, CAD, etc.) and you get the chance to be a source for a reporter looking for an experts take on whatever theyƒ??re writing about. ?ÿIf you get featured as a source, often your name and business name will be featured as well. ?ÿThere are some journalists that write for some big name publications that frequently use this service, so this is a great chance for you to get your name published in a legitimate nationally known news outlet.
• Hold a Webinar?ÿƒ?? A great way to engage the small business community in your area is to offer to host a webinar. ?ÿA webinar is basically like a seminar, but itƒ??s done completely online.?ÿ Youƒ??ll need to find a way to contact business owners (LinkedIn and Facebook are good avenues) and get them to sign up, but you only need a handful of participants to make a big impact. ?ÿThen, simply give an hour or so training class on some sort of surveying or boundary pain point, and at the end include a little plug for your services. ?ÿLewis Howes?ÿis a great resource for information on how to set up and market your webinars.
• Write an eBook?ÿƒ?? Offer a free eBook in exchange for contact info so you can add them to your newsletter mailing list. It could be something as simple as how to look up a deed or survey online.
• Start a Podcast?ÿƒ?? Not only is a podcast a great way to offer advice to other aspiring surveyors, but itƒ??s also a great way to get consulting work. Establishing yourself as an expert in your field via a podcast is a great way to increase your authority and get more clients.
• Join NSPS ?ÿƒ?? The National Society of Professional Surveyors serves as an organized way to bring surveyors and surveying businesses together under a common ethos and code of conduct. ?ÿThe association also provides its members with a listing in its directory (SEO!) and many other great benefits. ?ÿBy including the NSPS branding on your website and advertisements, you show your potential customers that youƒ??re serious about your business and that youƒ??re part of a group of other professionals.
• Join Your Local Association ƒ?? There are many regional surveying associations or societies that you can join, with similar included benefits as you'd get with NSPS. You'll likely have access to a free member directory and possibly even some local meetings, events, networking groups, and more.
• Join Associations of your clients ƒ?? What better way to get in front of your potential clients? Join their associations, which will give you more exposure to them. Here's some suggestions:
  • Three chapters of the American Society of Highway Engineers
  • Virginia Transportation & Construction Alliance
  • American Council of Engineering Companies
  • Society of American Military Engineers
  • Four regional Wireless Associations
  • Three regional gas/electric organizations
  • American Public Works Association
  • International Right of Way Association
  • A local railroad engineering association
  • Three state Land Title Associations

Paid Online Advertising

• PPC ƒ???ÿPay-per-click (PPC) is the most popular form of online advertising. ?ÿThis includes all of the ads you see on the side and top of the Google search results, as well as many of the ads you see on other websites. ?ÿ You basically bid on keywords that your ad will be targeted to, and then pay for each time someone click on your ad.
• Advanced SEO?ÿƒ?? If you happen to be in a very competitive market, say a big city like New York or San Francisco, then itƒ??s going to be pretty hard to get your business noticed in the search engines. ?ÿThatƒ??s when you may want to seek the help of a professional SEO firm. ?ÿThese guys are experts at getting websites ranked well in tough markets, but the price can be pretty steep. ?ÿMake sure to shop around and ask other business owners you trust for recommendations.
• Facebook Ads?ÿƒ?? Facebook is still the most popular kid in social media school. ?ÿThey also allow any business to create and run ads on their network. ?ÿThe best thing about these ads is that you can use Facebookƒ??s vast amount of user data to laser-target your ads to a specific group of people.
• LinkedIn Ads ƒ?? LinkedIn opened up its own ad network, which works similarly to Facebookƒ??s, but is best for targeting business customers.
• Mobile Ads?ÿƒ?? Similar to PPC ads, mobile ads appear on mobile phones, either via mobile-enabled websites, or within free apps on iPhone and Android.