Advertising ?

It very much depends on what type of surveying you prefer. I just do commercial sites for select clients, so when I started my business I sent a dignified announcement card to the key people I wanted for clients, like title officers, real estate attorneys, architects, and commercial brokers and owners. Everything since then has been from referrals, which is the gold standard because the calls I get have been in essence pre-screened. I've never been in the Yellow Pages and I wouldn't be on the Internet if I could get Google to de-list me.

So, it all depends on what niche you want. If you want to do lot surveys, or construction surveying, that takes an entirely different approach.

Some will tell you to forget the yellow pages but I say make sure you're there -- lots of people still use the yellow pages. The other best advice for a new survey outfit is to make sure you introduce yourself and provide contact data to the other surveyors in your area. It may seem counter-intuitive but they will likely be a source of good referrals for you. They may send you the jobs or the clients they don't want, but hey, that's the dues you gotta pay. I've found conventional advertising -- ads in the newspaper etc., business cards in coffee shops and so forth to be a source of annoying and unproductive phone calls from people who just want to talk and who never will end up hiring either you or a competitor to actually do anything. Also, it's a good idea to get a website up and running. Like business cards, it's something you're just expected to have these days. And I find that people will use it to hunt for you.

> Hello,
> I'm putting a survey business together and am at the marketing stage. I believe there are generally accepted ethics when it comes to advertising for surveying and engineering, not sure what the nuts and bolts of this means. I would appreciate your help with this and any advice on marketing in general. Thank you,

Use a Real Name here, and post your contact info (phone and email is enough) ... unless you troll a lot you might be surprised at the Good clients it can bring.
and some Old ones from other times and places can find you too.

on that note... your good name is the key to many things in life. Use it!
good luck!

Peter

I started my business in the recession. I played with different forms of advertising. What worked for me is to be part of the community. Make your face seen. Let everyone know who you are. Go to Chamber of Commerce meetings. Find out what your prospective clients do in the mornings and do what they do. I am in a small town and all of the business owning men eat breakfast at the same place. When you do a job? Make sure it's a good job and make your client proud they hired you.

I agree with the website idea. I have a simple one-page site, but it gets my name on the web and I get a lot of business from it. I get local and out-of-town clients who just do a google search for surveyors in my area.

I advertise in the yellow pages. I used to pay for an ad now I'm just in there every year and don't pay anything.

I also support local school (even though I home school hmmm) events each year. I truly love sports and believe they do a lot for students.

I run radio ad here now and then. Generally a few thousand a year worth of ads. It pays off with a couple survey jobs and people get your name stuck in there head so next time they need a survey they remember good ol' Giles Land Surveying. I generally will give a little advise in my ads not just an I'm here ad.

I run ads in the traders guide also from time to time. It reaches a lot of people and since I do mainly boundary, I advertise in the homes & property section. You may have something similar in your area. It's a generally cheap way to go if you can produce your own ads.

All in all I spend probably between $5000-$8000 advertising. Here is a sample ad I ran last hunting season. I wanted to grab some hunters attention.

Oh plus I have a website that could use some work. I haven't kept it up very well.

Okay edit again. this is turning into a story.

On the radio ads I get the advertising each year through the radio auction. I auction my services off. So I get a few thousand in advertising and I only end up paying my cost to do the survey plus I generally auction off several $500 to $1000 certificates to go towards a survey. So I still get money at the end of the job. It works out. The client may bid in a $500 certificate for $250 and save money on the survey that way. Check with your radio station and see if they do auctions. In my town they auction off everything from sliding glass doors to boundary surveys.

:good:

> I agree with the website idea. I have a simple one-page site, but it gets my name on the web and I get a lot of business from it.

Good advice, and it just happens that our host for this site, Wendell Harness, is a wiz at creating and hosting websites. See the "Services" link at the bottom of the screen.

Ken

Hello Bruce,
Thank you for your insight and taking the time to share this. I will certainly use this information well. I'm in Mesa but have surveyed around many parts of Arizona. Let me know if you ever need a hand. You can reach me at 480-650-7912,
Thanks Again, Paul Quagge

Thank you Cee Gee, I appreciate your input and will put it to use. I used to live in Jeffereson,Maine. Worked some with Lemuel Brown from Alna...is he still around?
Thanks, Paul

I'm putting a website together now, Thank you for your suggestion C. Billingsley.

Hello Peter,

Thank you for taking the time, although I don't know what trolling is I will start using my name more. I'm Paul Quagge from All Points Land Surveying in Mesa, Arizona...you can reach me at 480-650-7912. Thanks Again Peter, Paul

Thank you for taking the time and effort to put your post together. I appreciate it and will try to use some of your ideas...I've seen bucks jumping over fences like that in Maine, quite a sight...Again Thank you for your interest, Respectfully, Paul

Hello davis, Thanks for your input, I've been visiting realty offices trying to introduce myself....Thanks Again, Paul

Paul:

Wow, Lem Brown, I haven't heard that name for years, but I used to see his acolytes George Ferguson and Bob Bills from time to time. Lem was always highly regarded when I was working in the Augusta area -- I think I may have met him once or twice.Sadly, a Google search tells me he passed away about a year ago.

Let me begin by saying I appreciate your willingness to reach out to others in the profession. At one time or another almost every problem has been solved. Why not learn from those who have solved it rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

The problem is your question. What sort of advertising is best is not at all the right question with which to lead.

Who is your target client? What do they do? How much money do they make? Where do they shop? What advertising do they see? What advertising is most likely to make them respond? How can I effectively reach that audience?

Those are just a few of a very long list of questions. The analogy I like to use is advertising is like going hunting. You are hunting for business/clients. The question of what sort of gun and ammo to take along with where and when to go are dictated by your quarry. Until you answer the basic question(s) about your target market and your ability to serve that market, everything else is pure speculation.

Do some more work on identifying your client base. Then you should be able to come up with a better plan on how to reach them.

Larry P

AND MARY!

😉

Thanks Larry P for sharing. I appreciate your advice as always. Your right about the nature of my question which I will try to do a better job with. In general I try to keep my requests short and to the point.I do not go overboard with commentary or politics, its got me in trouble in the past. I value the input returned here at this forum and do not take it for granted. Thanks Again, Paul

A lot of people will say to use the yellow pages but I'm not so sure. We have a surveyor near me who also happens to have a PHD in economics. He was tired of being pestered about being in the yellow pages, so he decided to run a full page add for one year,with a new phone number just for that add. I cant remember how much it cost him to do this but he said that at the end of the year he cancelled the add. He had gotten one phone call on that number and it was a wrong number. Word of mouth will get you further than anything else I do believe.