Advertising a Trade Business – Online Directories, Problems and Solutions

23rd August 2024
5 Minutes Read

Advertising a trade business nowadays can be a challenging task. Most plumbers, builders, carpenters, electricians and people in other trades have found themselves having to rely on various online directories to advertise.

These directories can be helpful but they inevitably come with a number of issues. In this article we’ll talk about what these issues are, and how you can work around them by taking control of your marketing.

At The Private Postman our expertise is leaflet distribution and as such we’ll show you how leaflets can be a part of the solution for most businesses.

1. The issues with online trade directories
2. The leafleting solution
3. Keep Handy Cards
4. Other forms of advertising you can take advantage of online

The Issues with online trade directories

Listing your business on one of the dominant online trade directories will immediately show you the issues with this method of advertising.

Yes, people go to these directories when looking for the kinds of services you offer. However, when they do visit one of these websites, they will likely find you listed along with all of your local competition.

It is incredibly difficult to stand out and make the case for why any client should choose your business in particular. The worst case scenario is that you simply start trying to compete on price and over time hurt your business.

Being proactive with your advertising is also very difficult on these websites. You might be able to move your listing higher in the hierarchy via various methods, but that is a very limited way to proactively market yourself.

The solution to this situation is to gain the ability to communicate to your potential clients without being displayed next to all of your competition and become proactive with your advertising rather than passively hoping for all your business to come from an online trade directory.

The leafleting solution

Leaflets are one of the most tried and tested methods one can use to advertise to local London areas.

Leaflets allow for excellent targeting as you can have your flyers delivered to very specific neighbourhoods and postcodes. This can help you develop your business in one specific area or a variety of suitable locations around London.

They are also excellent at reaching all demographics due to the fact that all privately owned residential addresses in your selected areas are delivered to.

The typical A5 flyer gives you a lot of real estate to communicate your credentials, testimonials and images of successful projects. You can make a case for why you are the best in what you do.

People also tend to keep flyers for future reference. You can have a look at some of the statistics around leaflet distribution here.

Through the use of QR codes, you can also send people to your website via your flyer. This way you can combine the benefits of physical printed media and your digital presence with videos, image galleries and more.

Leaflets simply work and give you a lot of control over your advertising efforts.

The one downside is the fact that flyers cost money. Designing, printing and delivering can add up, and there is a definite cost of entry to leaflet delivery. For many businesses this is absolutely worth it.

However, one way you can get into advertising with leaflets without running solo campaigns is our system called “Keep Handy Cards”.

Keep Handy Cards

You can read up more on the Private Postman’s Keep Handy Card system here.

However, we’ll summarise some of the key points here.

The Keep Handy cards are leaflets, that are designed to encourage recipients to keep them. On these flyers 8 different trade businesses are listed. However there is only one business per trade.

Therefore you are not listed next to your competition. You are listed next to related businesses. One Keep Handy card could contain an electrician, a locksmith, a builder, a roofing company, a boiler repair company, a private ambulance, a veterinary clinic and a pest control company.

None of these business are in competition. Having all of these on a single card actually makes the card more valuable to keep in case on an emergency.

The goal here is to maximise exclusivity for individual businesses and incentivise the recipients to keep these cards on hand while minimising costs for each business on these cards.

You can also advertise all over London, where your most lucrative clients are located. Not only around your business postcode.

To find out more, have a look at our Keep Handy Card page.

Other forms of advertising you can take advantage of online

The fact that online trade directories come with a variety of issues most people in the trades have to solve for themselves doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be focusing on the online world at all.

There is plenty you can do online to maximise the potential of your business.

Social Media and Ads

Social media can be a very helpful tool if you use it correctly. As a local business you want to share the images of successful or ongoing projects. Communicate about new materials you are using or accreditations you’ve received. Maybe share some testimonials if you can.

You don’t need to try to compete for attention with the whole world and focus on the engagement you get on your posts from the other side of the planet.

Your social media can act as a record of your activity as a business that potential clients can find and by browsing, understand what you offer and why you are the right choice for them.

Serious potential clients will often look at your social media and the way you communicate on it, can make a big difference to their decision making.

Another very useful part of social media is the fact that you can advertise to people in very specific ways. You can focus on very narrow demographics and also select very specific areas to advertise.

Do you offer gutter cleaning and there has just been a bad storm in a South London. Why not run your ads in the areas of South London with large homes the next day?

Your website

Your website can be a fantastic tool to convince potential clients to pick up the phone and call you or ask for a quote.

You can put a large amount of information on your website and allow people to navigate through it in their own way.

You can break your website down topically to help people find the information they are looking for. You can include videos and images to help illustrate your points. You can share all your accreditations and testimonials to build trust. You can make it very easy for people to request a quote via a form.

A good website can help you inform your potential clients and turn them into paying customers. You won’t regret focusing on developing your website, getting it right and using this medium to it’s maximum potential.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a minimum quantity for your leaflet delivery?

Yes we do. It’s 5,000 leaflets per postcode. If you have less than 5,000, you will be charged for 5,000 anyway – it’s the minimum job rate. We can print 5,000 leaflets from around £90.
What do you charge per 1,000 leaflets?
How do I know my leaflets will be delivered?
The Private Postman uses a multitude of exclusive systems simultaneously, making us the only bullet-proof system on the market. GPS alone is not enough. We use three types of tracking:
- Live GPS and Data Track GPS: showing workers walking up and down all roads and paths. Proof of delivery.
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Our Postmen must pass all checks before they get paid. Our results speak for themselves, as do our reviews.
What is the average response rate for leaflet distribution?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ equation to this question. Any company who tells you there is or has a ROI calculator – beware! If there was, it would be as simple as putting in £100 into the machine and out comes £120 – we would all be billionaires.
Factors of response rates depend on a multitude of factors including:
Time of year, local competition, leaflet design, distribution company, the strategy of the drops, quality of drops, your account manager telling you the truth about your idea…Yes really, we tell it as it is, ‘both barrels’ – but always are constructive.
How long will it take to distribute my leaflets?
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Advertising a Trade Business – Online Directories, Problems and Solutions

Advertising swimming lessons in London

Advertising a Trade Business – Online Directories, Problems and Solutions

Leaflet Distribution for Dentists

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Advertising a Trade Business – Online Directories, Problems and Solutions

Other Blogs

Advertising swimming lessons in London

Advertising a Trade Business – Online Directories, Problems and Solutions

Leaflet Distribution for Dentists

Get in Touch With Us

Request a Quote…

Thank you for your form submission, your message has been received.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

Find Us

Legals