ANYONE WHO SPECIALIZES IN MARKETING OR ANY BUSINESS OWNERs.......?

Question

I need any EXPERT advice...

My fiance and I are getting married in August. We told my parents this last November, and we could not get a straight answer as to what they were contributing financially. We were so stressed, and figured that WE would pay for the wedding ourselves without their help. So...here we are the beginning of June, and my parents finally say they will pay for the reception. Keep in mind that we were not asking for a specific number at the beginning, just a price range, and IF they could put down between 3 and 6k....

My fiance owns his own company, and since we couldnt get a straight answer from my parents as to how much could be put down...he passed up an opportunity to advertise in our local phone book.....since he was going to attempt to pay for the wedding ourselves.....

He is so extremely stressed and so livid with my parents that he does not want to have anything to do with them or even be involved in the wedding. It has been a rollercoaster ride with a million ups and downs...with me getting so frustrated w/ my parents and demanding answers and trying not to be out of line.....but really how hard is it to give an estimate for your daughters reception???

We need to know how to advertise, since the phone book option is out....he is starting his own website soon, but he insists that advertising consists of a combination of things, not just having a website.....his business is construction and home restoration. ANY ADVICE.....this situation is SOOOO messed up....

We also are 3 months pregnant on top of this.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

I used to sell Yellow Pages actually and with his type of business, I honestly don't think it is going to hurt you too much. Most contractors do not advertise in the yellow pages. There is more of a movement to go on-line. I would not recommend direct mailers because the return on that is about 1%.  Possible suggestion: are there any local magizines that are popular that might help your husband gain exposure? It's really about getting your name out there. In the construction business- which I currently work in equipment sales- most people go to people they know or can rely on. So good luck! Don't stress too much about missing that opportunity.

Enjoy your wedding and new family!

Answer 3

First the phone book is only one part of an overall marketing plan and frankly not as good as it used to be. Besides the fact that more people use the internet to find goods and services now, myself included, it's not going to close your business. Secondly which yellow pages? There are so many of these companys out there is ridiculous. I use the yellow pages to keep the telephone out of the clutter of my desk. Don't sweat it.

You should consider taking that money that would have been spent and using it to purchase advertising on this site:

http://www.yellowpages.com/

For one thing you will start reaching people that don't waste time picking up a book.

Spend some of your money to actually promote the site:

https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_...

http://advertising.yahoo.com/

Don't break the bank to do any of these. Salespeople will tell you they are the best but spread your money out in as many areas as possible to max eyeballs. Smaller ads in a lot of places is better then one big one in one place.

In Houston there are many subdivision newsletters and magazines that are very reasonable to advertise in that can be targeted to specific areas in town. Advertising in these will not bunch you up with compt like in the yellow pages.

Look into Val Pack. They offer reasonable rates to include an ad in a mailing. They have a website you can contact.

Finally don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call some current cust for referrals. Offer them something in return for say 3 people to call. Nothing big. Maybe a 20 gift certificate to a rest in the area if any of the ref uses your husband.

As far as the wedding goes I think we both know why there is a prob with it and your family. Your knocked up and not married and your parents are prob very upset about that. OK so you don't understand. You will as you start down the path of being a parent. But I digress.

Since money is tight I'd like to ask you to consider a better solution. Having a big wedding and reception so a bunch of freeloaders can come and feed their faces on your dime isn't my idea of romantic but that's what they do and it will be.

Why not take the money you would spend on all this and use it to combine everything, wedding, reception and honeymoon into one?

Take the money and fly everyone someplace and hold the wedding there. Maybe Hawaii/Vegas wherever. I'm not talking everyone but the people you really need. Mother father both sides, Maid of honor/hubby and best man/spouse.

You pick up the air fights, hotel rooms, and food for a weekend and get married over the weekend. You and your new hubby can stay longer but the wedding party is there only for the weekend.

Now you really max the money from your parents and his parents and whatever you are kicking in.

Do you really care if Joe your second cousin sees you get married?

You can use:

http://priceline.com

to bid on your hotel. We get 4 star rooms for 50USD as opposed to 200plus other ways. We have never been disappointed with what we got.

My wife and I got married this way and frankly I would do it again in a heartbeat. Financially we are prob ahead but it was sub more fun and rememberable then some stuffy church. We got married on the beach at sunset and have some great pictures. Everybody had a great time.

Good luck.

Hey if your husband want a website. Take a look at this:

http://coffeecup.com

its cheap and he can have a nice website for very little money.

Answer 4

He should consider joining a local business networking group such as BNI or LeTip.  They meet weekly and allow only one member per profession (so your fiancee would be the only Home Restoration/Construction person).  Members get to know each other well and are encouraged to generate business referrals for other members they like and trust.  Word-of-mouth marketing is probably the most cost-effective way to promote your business.

Answer 5

You must be mortified. Disowning your parents because he won't get to advertise in the yellow pages for a year?

He needs to grow up and relax. Who gets this mad when they don't get money they were never entitled to or even promised? It sounds like putting up a few thousand dollars for your wedding is very difficult for your parents. I don't imagine you have a dowry, so there is no reason for everyone being so angry with your folks about this -- getting frustrated with the fact they were slow to answer probably didn't go unnoticed by them, either. (The slow answer likely WAS your answer.) I actually think you and he should apologize.

He also needs to understand that-- assuming you live on planet Earth-- the renovations/construction section in the phone book is huge. Tossing his name in won't make the critical difference to his business except perhaps with people over 65 who still use the yellow pages, and at that crowding it will be as much by chance as anything else. These days it's all about a web presence and one-to-one communication like creative flyering, addressed ad mail, going door-to-door, plus radio and television advertising, and so on. He can put an ad on a bus stop, even. Marketing is intended for creating familiarity with a company, so that when a person is ready to buy you don't seem too new or too alien.

Over time, his work will speak for itself and his reputation will determine his fate. It takes time to build a business people will trust, especially when we're talking about the dollars and life-disruption of construction and renovation and an industry where there is so much competition.

Answer 6

First, you are truly mistaken, it is not your parents responsibility to pay for your wedding, you both should be grateful and not livid, not many parents help with their kids weddings anymore, that has been long gone.  As other ways to advertise, (if he has an actual location), he can put it on google maps for free and it will bring him local customers. Also yellowpages.com has a free limited listing, other ways would be getting a magnetic sign for your cars and listing your company on related businesses sites.

Answer 7

I am a previous business owner -- had a Homecare Agency for several years.  In my opinion the yellow pages really aren't the greatest things - esp. any more.  I haven't used yellow pages personally for years, resorting to the internet even when I need something local or for our parents who live in another state.

My best source of advertising was with a web page that I put together myself and got into high rankings.  Received clients off of that - just have to know how to get yourself ranked and what key words, etc. to use. Also having a nice web page.  I HIGHLY recommend that your fiance get on the ball and get his website done.  I look for websites for most people that I do business with - I want to find out a bit about them before hiring them and the internet is a good way to do it.   I'm 54 and use the internet constantly for ourself and for our elderly parent.  So you can be assured that younger people are relying on it even more.

He could also send out flyers door to door. Would have more of an impact if he could include his website on those flyers so potential clients could view before calling. Give out discounts to people.  Go every where in the community and leave flyers/ brochures - make sure these are nicely and professionally done as well as business cards.   Think of who can use the services he provides - how about retirees who may have trouble keeping up their home - leave info at Pharmacy counters, libraries, senior citizen centers, that sort of thing.  

Find the areas in your town where alot of elderly people still live in their own home.  You'll bet there's a market there.

Talk to tons of people and see about doing presentations to certain target groups.  Again you need to leave them something - so again the brochures, discount coupons, business cards.  

Again, I wouldn't stress out about the phone book.  I was in the yellow pages when I had my business and never tracked one single client to the ad in there.  Years ago it probably was different, but now I throw away all those yellow books - they take up way too much space.

One more bit of advice - good luck on the wedding. You both have a ton going on with a pregnancy, wedding, new business - too much.   Make peace with your parents - it is the best thing to do - just make peace and move on with your plans . To remain mad does nothing but cause tons of more stress.

Good luck!

Answer 8

If I understand your basic question, it is "How can my husband advertise his construction business besides using the local telephone directory?"

First off, there are several ways to advertise that require no paid media at all.

1. Painted or Magnetic signs - these can go right on his work vehicle. So wherever your husband is working or driving, he can promote his business. Perhaps he can get his employees to apply the same signs to their vehicles during the work week.

2. Crew Workwear - Perhaps his construction crew can wear t-shirts or baseball caps with the name of your husband's business printed on them. He could insist that his workers wear them while on the job, which could help brand his business. He could also hand them out to clients. One thing to remember though: you don't want the work crew wearing the company t-shirt while getting drunk at the local beer joint - that could create a bad image for your husband's business.

3. Business Cards - Your husband should always have a ready supply of these on hand - in the glovebox of his vehicle, in his office, in his shirt pocket. Some of the best advertising consists of word-of-mouth.

4. Construction Site Signage - Consider having signs made up for posting at the job site. This is a great, inexpensive way to promote your construction business. Passers by are always curious to know what is going on at a construction site - they'll slow down, walk by, or sometimes even stop to ask questions about the project. Your husband will want to invest in having a nice looking logo done for such a sign, as it may be the first impression he has with a potential client.

5. Of course, a company web site is also very important. A presence on the Web gives a business a chance to explain so much more about their business than a simple business card can. Depending on the nature of your husband's business, he could use it to post project photos, before and after photos, customer testimonials, etc.

Congratulations on your nuptials and good luck with your baby.

a web site is very important for any business these days. A web site will allow your husband to explain more about his business than a simple business card or brochure.