Re: I’m scratching my head on this… - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on July 16, 2006 at 10:06:52:
Joe:
An interesting observation, but while I’m curious as to the cause, I won’t let it bother me too much either.
While not for RE, I’ve done mail soliciations, and flyers distributed by “free magazines”, and I’ve been told 1% to be a great response rate, and typically, it goes down from there. If you get one or two calls, that may be typical, based on the numbers you cited.
Then, it depends on the economy of your area. If its not a bad market, I wouldn’t expect myself or friends of mine to call a stranger from a flyer from a gas station pump. In the NYC area, I’ve been told that “we buy houses ads” in the newspapers, or flyers posted in churches, supermarkets, laundromats draw almost NO responses. And responses are usually from people who have no idea what “we buy houses” means, and call on something totally unrealted.
Someone who was doing this business in my area solicit attorneys who folks with these problems would normally consult, and feel comfortable after referred by an attorney.
In fact, I see flyers with phone tags in my area for cleaning, babysitting, contracting services of all kinds. And sometimes I see flyers up for weeks, wrinkled by weathering, and NO phone tags ripped off, thinking that maybe the ad wasn’t done right, or there’s no demand for the service. In fact, I pulled phone tags off flyers when I noticed a few tags taken already, and curious enough to call to see what the service was about. In my book, having tags taken would be a plus.
As to wondering WHO took, them, one can only speculate. Usually, low paid station attendants work the pumps or the cahs register for self service, and you might just want to pay the man or girl a few bucks to report back to you who’s been ripping the tags off, and pay him extra if he can chat with a customer taking a tag. Or you can hang around yourself if you have the time.
I’ve been told that using store help can be a cheap way of marketing. A friend started a line “tea”, and was fortunate enough to get supermarket shelf space for it. For some reaon it was not selling, so he asked the stock boys if they knew why.
He was told the other tea guys would shove his stuff to the back of the shelf, and put their stuff in front. So for ten or twenty bucks a week, he asked the stock boys to push the other guy’s stuff to the back, and his to the front, and sales picked up quite dramatically.
In many businesses, store help can be a good source of referral, marketing observation, putting in a good word, and you’re surprised at homw little it costs for them to do it for you, since it’s extra money for them.
Frank Chin
