How to “Kick Start” a Newly Established Computer Repair Business …part 1

One of the most effective ways to introduce a new business to the marketplace is by using the Yellow Pages directory. The computer repair business is an excellent candidate for this service.

Most people who consult the Yellow Pages are browsing for a product or service. They do not have a particular business in mind and can be easily influenced by what they see in the directory. In others words they are shoppers.

If they preferred a particular business, they would consult the White Pages directory. The second fact of Yellow Pages advertising is, “Of the minority (the browsers), they do have a business in mind, but are ready to be persuaded by a competitor”. Loyal customers do not shop in the Yellow Pages.

A savvy business owner can instantly grab a large portion of the pie by creating a great Yellow Pages ad. So how do we craft an effective advertisement and steal business from the opposition? The print ad professionals tell us the headline is the most important quality in Yellow Pages advertising.

Create a great headline and you will get the phone ringing off the hook. Look in any Yellow Book and you will never see many great headlines.

In fact, a great number have their business name as the headline. Think like a consumer and calculate the outcome of placing your business name as the headline? The advertiser is simply chucking away money as the Yellow Pages browser has probably no knowledge of your business name.

Another common blunder is displaying the business location as the headline. Surely, a business has more to offer than merely the location of the business. What we need in the headline is a benefit driven, attention getting banner that will light up the business like a beacon.

Every business is unique in some way, so the challenge is to offer the customer a unique selling point or USP. The ad must make a proposition to the customer. It should say, “Buy my services and you will get a specific benefit.” The offer must be one your competitors cannot match. Colgate created a USP that helped build a billion dollar giant, “It cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth.”

What is a good USP for a computer repair business? As an example, how about, “Your Business Computer Problems Permanently Solved at a Low Monthly Cost.” Then you might add, “New customers get a 20% discount on labor if you mention this ad”. Then state you have a service scheme for preferred customers …which would prompt more questions.

How to Convert Your Casual Consumers into Long Term Customers

Long term customer relationships mean a more predictable income and greater profits. One easy way to create a long term relationship is by a computer service contract or “Service Block” agreement. The "Service Block" is when you pre-sell say, ten hours of your labor at a reduced rate.

Your casual rate may be $75 per hour. Your "Service Block" rate would be $650 per PC for 10 hours a year. To work out how effective this document could become in the ideal world ....multiply every computer serviced in the last 12 months by the service block rate. If you attended say 200 computers in the year, multiply the "Service Block" of $650 x 200 = $130,000 income.

Having a computer service contract in your vehicle is an excellent way to obtain long term clients. The above calculation is not a silly example when you figure out ...it only means four different computers a week. Supporting networks would get you in contact with a large number of PCs.

In addition, there are sales of new equipment to add to your income. Computer service contracts also mean getting paid while on vacation. Working only with casual customers means you are penalized when going on vacation. The cost of the holiday plus the income you lose.

Testing Yellow Pages Headlines

In this page we are discussing Yellow Pages advertising. In order to create a great ad we need a brilliant headline to attract business. So how can we run a test to check that the headline does its job?

The headline is essentially a classified advertisement. What we do is place a phone number after the headline. Then we check to see if the ad makes “sense” and if anyone would call the number.

Let us check an ad that has used the location as the headline. How about: “Timbuktu ph:555 6677”? No, it fails miserably as it would not work as a classified ad or headline.

How about: "Your Business Computer Problems Permanently Solved at a Low Monthly Cost" ph: 555 7766”? Yes, the classified ad would arouse interest and entice the reader to find out more about the service.