Advertising? Unprofessional? Unethical?

I'm sure there's lots of opinions on this, but here's mine:

There was a gent that use to post a lot here.?ÿ He's a fellow surveyor and a friend of mine.?ÿ He figured advertising was a good idea so he picked up a couple of spots of a couple of radio stations.?ÿ He did get results...

Most of them were from folks wanting to talk his ear off and glean free advice.?ÿ They were almost exclusively from folks that had never hired a surveyor before and were generally appalled at the cost of having their property surveyed.

I've only been surveying for 50 years so my experience might be limited.?ÿ But I never made much money performing residential lot surveys for fences or arguments with neighbors.?ÿ Most of them were a big pain in the butt and the client always squealed at the cost.?ÿ And I believe that is the kind of attention a surveyor would generate by appealing to the general consumer through advertising.?ÿ?ÿ

If other surveyors want to get into it I don't have a problem with that.?ÿ It's just not for me.?ÿ Although perfectly legal in my state, I view it as cheesy and approaching improper but not unethical.

Advertising isn't unethical.?ÿ Boastful claims, such as calling yourself the best, is.

It's a double edge sword.?ÿ You get more traffic, but half or maybe more, are window shoppers and those looking for the lowest price.?ÿ

Well, I've only been surveying for 44 years and the only advertising we have ever done is in the Yellow Pages. Remember them??ÿ Oh, I have a small sign in front of my office but that's it. Advertising doesn't seem to be geared toward municipal or corporate business, if that is what you want. For that you will need to put boots on the ground.?ÿ

I wouldn't say its unprofessional but there are rules and standards you should consider.?ÿ?ÿ

In Washington WAC 196-27a-020 addresses advertising among other things and it was a healthy read this morning. Thank You.?ÿ

• Registrants may advertise professional services only in ways that are representative of their qualifications, experience and capabilities.

I agree with Paden, unless you want to spend part of your day on the phone with disgruntled neighbor's, keep it on the low down.?ÿ Join a church, attend Lions and Kiwanis clubs or other respectable organizations would be my advice. If you are a good person business will find you.?ÿ

@daniel-ralph

Hey, I just got a phone book in the mail the other day.?ÿ I was shocked.?ÿ Not quite the same as the old days, this one was in magazine form.

As for advertising, the only things I have done through the local high school and chamber.?ÿ Not so much for the advertising since my cliental is more the engineering type but it was a good community thing.

Google "land surveyors near me."

When in business we ƒ??marketedƒ? clients like a tent preacher for the first few years. And that was it. When I owned the business and to this day 70-80% of the clients are at least 20 years old (all nationwide production builders). Never advertised and wished for an unlisted number. ?????ÿ

Years ago I had a small bold listing in the Yellow Pages, but dropped it when it seemed pointless.?ÿ I suppose I'm still listed in whatever phone books -- digital or otherwise -- might still exist, but I no longer pay for the privilege.

I do have a 15-second spot on the local NPR station that runs once a month.?ÿ I do it mostly to support the station, and don't know or care much if it's ever generated any business.

I might feel differently about advertising if homeowners were my main target market, but that's not the case.?ÿ The kind of corporate and public agency clients I prefer know where to look when they need a land surveyor without me having to shout at them.

Where I worked there were always more customers than we wanted to serve asking for our services.

Do a couple "support the community" type things each year that generate zero new work.?ÿ No need to advertise or even pass out business cards after all my time in service.?ÿ ?ÿWhat I get tired of hearing is,"Was wondering if you are still working or are you retired?"

Know who you want to work for and market to them. To meet your goals, you need to be producing deliverables- . Talking to Melvin about the fence line fight isnƒ??t where you want to sink your time. You only have so much of it. Big carrot or little carrot?

Ironic to think that advertising is unethical when the largest advertising platform - Google - uses geopositioning which is part of the surveying field, in their search algorithms.?ÿ

The little people need help, too.?ÿ They don't have a clue if a job is worth $500 or $5000.?ÿ But, if they have access to the number you mention as a possible range, you are in business right then.

?ÿ

BTW, have never had one of the little people request to see my tax returns for the past three years before agreeing to hire me.

During the 1980s and before, advertising was fairly limited to business cards and yellow pages and a sign in front of the office.

After that, it sorta blew up and nothing was off-limits. Tv Commercials, radio adds, adds in papers and magazines and trade magazines and handouts and billboards and signs behind planes and most anything that did not enter into what was not a fact.

I've never had more than business cards and word of mouth since I started in the late 1960s. People heard what I could do and where I worked got called.

0.02

@paden-cash Exactly what Paden said, plus I accept survey projects through referrals only. I know I'm missing out on some surveys, but I'm also bypassing the, "I have a lot west of Tucson and what will you charge me to survey it?"

@holy-cow the occasional ƒ??little guy clientƒ? does come along- the question is about business model- advertisement brings contacts, but as mentioned by others, what ratio of contacts/viable jobs to you want to manage? 4:1 or 30:1 - itƒ??s your time.... your experience works for you due to a myriad of conditions -Not the least of which is the longevity of your company and your time in the greater community youƒ??re involved in. ?ÿAnd the dynamics of that community in itself. Every business needs to seriously consider who they intend to cater to and how much time do they have to ƒ??wasteƒ??

@rankin_file

Back in the early days I made the rounds in several adjacent counties having face-to-face meetings with title company people, attorneys, lenders, real estate brokers, county employees in key roles, so forth and so on.?ÿ That turned out to be the single biggest waste of time I ever committed.?ÿ A common discussion point was, "We normally call on XYZ LLC if we ever need anything.?ÿ Their last survey cost us $XXX.?ÿ Can you assure us you could do every job for far less than that?"?ÿ All the discussion in the world was going to turn into being a bottom feeder or they would stay with what was familiar.?ÿ I allowed them to stay with what was familiar.?ÿ The county people were the best aids of the bunch.?ÿ They would add my name and contact number to the short list they handed out upon request.?ÿ A typical call resulting from that was, "We called ABC and EFD and they didn't return our call.?ÿ We called GHF and they said they might get to it in eight weeks.?ÿ We need it done within two weeks.?ÿ Can you do it?"

@holy-cow I can definitely appreciate what youƒ??re saying.

This thread reminds of a story from a local surveyor. Van who has a PHD in economics as well as being a surveyor. After being pestered for years about it, he took out a full page add in the yellow pages. For his add he got a new phone number just so he could track how well the add worked. Apparently that line rang once the whole year that the add was in the yellow pages and it was a wrong number.?ÿ

Everyone needs a Survey.

Few know they need a Survey.

Fewer want to pay for a survey unless it's required to accomplish some goal such as construction, a subdivision, or required for a transaction or refinance.

It's not like selling cars, a person can own and possess real property without a survey (even if unwise) but a car is needed to get from point A to point B.