I know i sound like a broken record on these similar type threads, but i'd have to say what ever u can afford to spend on a web site, spend it. Obviously gear is the priority. It doesn't have to be an all singing and dancing affair, even if it is just a single page with contact details will be sufficient. Your not going to be going for MCG works, so a single contact page for the domestics will be ample, and set a budget for an ad-words campaign for the first 6 months, because a new website will be lost against the established sites when Google searches. Ad-words are the adverts in the pink boxes right at the top of the search results page. That's what we did to start and the amount of inquiries we got through the website was unreal. A budget could be as little as £5 a day, if you target the town your in with key words, to start with (e.g 'scaffolding burnley') as apposed to a larger catchment zone ( e.g 'scaffolding lancasahire') the price each time someone clicks on your ad-words link is not as much as the more popular words, maybe 50p a click for smaller , less popular keyword searches. If that makes sense.
A lot of people are to lazy nowadays to do the leg work, so Google rules, everything is searched through t'internet, especially domestic jobs.
Something else we did was register for every free trade website, contact website, or anything else that did cost anything to register on but was a platform to advertise the business and market the brand. If it doesn't cost owt only time, what've you got to lose, bar a couple of hours watching porn in the evening? We got quite a bit of work through rated people, free to register, but you pay for leads off there, so u can pick and choose what you want to go for, obviously other people can buy the leads as well so you've still got to win the work based on being the cheapest.
Flyers are a good idea as well, cost Fck all and you can leave them on trade counters, pinned on notice boards in chippies, barbers or anywhere where people wait around. How often have you been sat there waiting for something/one and you read any old sh1te. Will raisee you leads directly but gets the brand awareness up as well, In 6 months time, after Gladis had been down the hairdressers getting blue rinsed, she picked up a flyer of your 'because you never know' and she's just phoned to say her sons going to replace the back gutter over my conservatory, and he needs a scaffold to do it. No expiry date on a flyer with contact details on.
Over time we've put more and more into the website until launching a new one last month. All singing and dancing now.
HELLO, you still awake??
If you need a hand with content, let me know, i'll happily draft some shizzle for thee, not to bad with the old creative description............ some people like to call it bullsh1t, but as the old adage goes ' you say tomato, i say .....................rounded red fruit, the perfect accompaniment to any salad or garnish'
