Just curious to know if any of you have thank you cards printed with a company logo that you use for customers or correspondence. I am having business cards printed up with a foil die stamp and the printer told me that if I wan’t anything else printed with my logo I should do it now so I don’t have to pay additional set up fees.
I decided to get some cards printed with my logo on front and blank on the inside with my web address at the bottom. I thought I could use them for correspondence and thank you cards.
I am also using them to send my business card to architects and designers to explain a little bit about what I do and who I am.
J.P.
Replies
just last month my wife read then showed me an article in a biz mag about a huge company that got started in a guys basement ... he had a few "rules" he folowed then and still does now.
Everyone get's a Thank U card.
went out that weekend and bought a stack of basic blanks. Have already sent a couple. Am now looking for excuses to send them.
I just write a simple note saying Thanks for whatever ... and include 2 business cards.
Since I love to get my cards out there ... it's a habit I'll be able to keep.
old car sales manager got me in the habit of card passing .... it started as a game .. now it's an obsession!
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
I think it is a great idea. I found these thank you cards when you open them up a hand comes out with your business card.. It really attracts attention....
Can't agree more! Got an offer in the junk mail pile from a company offering them. No junk there. We've actually had some thank yous for the thank you cards.
Do you have the companies name?
If you send someone a bid and they decide to go elsewhere do you still send them a card and say thanks for considering me?I have alot of people who would like for me to do work for them but many times can't commit the funds. I have been making a list and am planning on sending them a card any way with my info just so they won't forget me in case they change their mind.It doesn't take long to write a short note however I am on the fence as to wether or not I should be spending my time/money on a "lost cause".Since I switched from being a carpenter to a furnnituremaker I am trying to be a little more pro active in my marketing strategy. My wife always tells me "From one you meet others". So I am trying to keep an open mind about folks who I think are just looking.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
your wife's a smart woman.
SHG
Yes, I try and remember to thank her for all of the sage advice she has given me over the years. She can't cook but has an amazing business sense and a good instinct/intuition. Plus she's good lookin too! I am lucky.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
"If you send someone a bid and they decide to go elsewhere do you still send them a card and say thanks for considering me?"
Haven't had occasion to do such since the ThankU Card idea ... but I will.
any way possible to stay fresh in their minds. Plus ... who's to say they won't fire the guy one week into the project ... stranger things have happened. Or ... their guy is now overbooked and their best friend needs some work done.
Any excuse to remind people who I am and what I do.
plus ... bet if for some reason the project didn't go thru ... or they did fire the guy ... the "stigma" of now calling U back is kinda removed ... gives them a face saving reason to make that call back.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
I wan't to appear professional without being pushy or seem desperate. I like the idea of a handwritten note and a couple of cards in case something does go foul with their other choice.For me it is easy to write people off, but I know that just giving someone a simple courteousy of saying thanks for thinking of me may provide future business, or at least that is what I am told.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
If you send someone a bid and they decide to go elsewhere do you still send them a card and say thanks for considering me?
YES!!! It's called the "Thanks for nothing response". No joking, I've been in sales forever, and you will not be forgotten if you send a thank you just for being considered.
And you can believe that you will most likely be the ONLY business sending a thank you, whether or not you garner the business....really stands out in a potential customer's mind. It's simply being more professional than the next guy.
After being a carpenter for so many years it is difficult to put on a new hat. I never had to sell my business before, work just happened. Now I find myself on the total opposite end of the spectrum working more at sales than my craft.With this new business I am trying to develop a more professional vocabulary and explore new and better ways of communicating what I do to people.Thanks for the post.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
JP, according to the "Business Etiquette for Dummies" by Sue Fox, there should be five different types of paper in the stationery drawer:
1) Corporate letterhead 8 1/2 x 11(high rag content, Logo, business name, address, tel #, fax and email if appropriate.
2)Plain paper of same quality for letters longer than a page (no logos).
3)Monarch Paper 7 1/4 x 10 1/5 high rag content for personal business letters: They are printed with th person's name, but not the company's name. They have the business address on it.
4)Correspondence cards: small typically 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 nonfoldable cards for personal messages, announcements and thank you notes. They have: person's name, not business name and they have the business address.
5) business cards.
That is a great reference book for Dummy Carpenters. It's a good read even if you don't follow every detail.
blue
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
Thanks for the reference. Don't have the money in the budget for letterhead yet but plan on be getting it in about 6 months. Just starting out with business cards invoices and correspondence cards for now.When you decided to start your new venture did you go out and purchase a full spectrum of stationary?I've tried to keep the printing budget within the $500 or less range, but found that quality custom printing can be rather costly. However I am trying this time to have a more professional presentation of my services. Something a little better than a $20 stack of cards from Office Max.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
Jp, I'm in the process right now of developing all our retail marketing materials including all the above mentioned stationery. We also will be ordering many different types of day to day products like notepads with our name, logo and numbers on it.
Instead of just handing out cards, hand out notepads too. Your name then starts spreading like the pollen in the winds.
Prior to our involvement with retail sales, we hardly did any marketing to the builders. For the most point it would be pointless. We did however occasionally give the better Superintendents a gift card, usually a dinner for two at a nice resturant. We also offered the better superintendents a positioin in our company too, when we'd hear that they might be leaving their companies. You'd be surprised at how many were thankful for the offer.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
Have you developed a marketing plan? It seems to be the most neglected portion of the business plan for people in the trades.That is why this time I have decided to get my act together, have a plan, and try and execute it.I like the idea for the pads. I have also considered pencils, but not until the stationary is printed.I have only spoken to a few builders and one guy told me I charge too much and no one will pay that much for my services. I just thanked him and went on my way. Obviously he was not my market.I think the biggest challenges of starting any business is getting the word out to those wo truly will use or need your services. Sometimes it is hard to take some of the negative talk.I will still send that guy a Thank You though.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
I order my business cards laminated with a calendar printed on the back. It's a keeper, rather than a tosser. I have people asking me for business cards when the new year comes in. They've been carrying my old one around with them for a year !
500 calendar cards cost about $100 from an outfit called The Mines Press. If anyone wants their contact info, I'll dig it out.
I send a lot of Thank You cards, and people thank me for them and tell me it's refreshing to get something like that. Rare.
Greg
one guy told me I charge too much and no one will pay that much for my services
It's probably true. When you're dealing with the builders, you have to understand that you are the wholesaler and they are the retailer. If you try to charge them retail, you probably won't ever get a job.
I have dual rates for my carpentry. I charge $65 per hour to builders, and $95 per hour for retail clients for the same crew/tooling.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
blue,I thought I was giving this guy a deal for a set of stairs when I told him I was only charging $45.00/hour. My shop time is $55. I had a set price per rise for treads and per foot for the rail but said extras were billed at $45/hour. He was ok with the stair price but balked at the hourly. Or maybe he thought my pricing was too high all around but chose to make a point of my hourly rate.Anyway I didn't waste much of his time. Just smiled and went on.I am going to try and stick with architects and remodeling contractors. The folks who do historic restorations have more of a need for what I do than the new home builder anyway. J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
I don't send as many as i should... but even if i get good service for anyone .. elevator repair co ect... then i try to send em a note... thank'n them and brag'n on the guy who did the work...
I use to be in kinda marketing/consulting/promotions... I helped people in professional sports and the music industry... traveled all over the country..hung out with famous people made sure things were where they were supposed to be... and made sure the people who needed to meet people met em... anyway in over 3 years of no job description and be'n where someone needed to be anywhere in the country and do'n 5 peoples jobs make'n stuff happen when no one else had a clue... I got one thats ONE thankyou card it was from the head of a winston cup team whos wife and her friends i'd taken to a concert/backstage that we were doing on a race weekend... and it wasn't even trouble for me to do it... vs what i did on a normal deal... but it still sticks in my mind everytime I think ... should i or should i not send a thank-you... you will never go wrong sending one... someone like me might still remember it 10 years later....and have good thoughts of you
pony
It seems sometimes that the simplest of gestures, like a note saying thanks, can make quite an impression.I'm trying to turn over a new leaf with this business. Be more active in the promotion and selling of my work, and keeping in touch with past/future clients.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
I am big personally on thank you cards and professionally, as well. We use blank, logo'd cards for many things...keep in touch, thank you, birthday to clients, etc.
It's my experience that the little extra 'human' touch pays off with client relationships.
Just think.....that 2 minutes writing that card could pay off in a referral for you!
-c
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. ~ Rumi
This is my first attempt at a true marketing plan for my business. As I stated before I never marketed myself because I didn't really have to.I'm trying to get started on the right foot this time and have some materials in place to help with the business, even if it is just a card.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
It's a great start! A marketing plan that is put together with planning and forethought is the first step. Being mercenary about executing it is the next step. The best advice I've ever heard is to make an "appointment with yourself" to do it. Put your marketing efforts on a calendar and then "make it so", but it's hard and we have to make time.
Not that you asked my opinion....;)
I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Happy to be "tapped"
-c
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. ~ Rumi
This is the first time I have set out with a business plan and a specific marketing plan. I think that your right when you say make an "appointment with yourself". Execution is critical because it lets you know if what you are doing is working.So, do you have a plan? How many times do you review what you are doing with your marketing/business plan and revise or update it?J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
For a business like yours, I suspect that the marketing plan would be heavy on guerilla marketing, with straight advertising a smaller portion of the plan. Guerilla marketing takes even more "malice and forethought" to execute, because advertising is straight up: you pay for it.
Ask yourself some questions and then go from there to develop the plan.
Do you do advertising? Does it work in customer acquisition?
The first thing I would do is determine how much business I wanted to do. Then determine how to go about finding those customers and drive the business forward.
Your biggest pull-through is past clients..do you have a referral plan with them?
How have your past customers found you? What the most successful lead sourc that you have?
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. ~ Rumi
For me I am trying to use as much "Free" advertising as possible. I have contacted the local papers and spoken to the editors to see if they were interested in doing a piece on a local craftsman. So far the response has been yes. It is just a matter of timing for them and me. I am in the process of designing and building my new shop right now and would like to have the articles come out when I have the new shop ready.I am also working with the local historical society to see if they have any interest in having me give seminars on period furniture construction techniques.I am trying to get the word out locally of my "expertise" to make what I do seem to have more of an impact. I want people to understand that what I do is a real business and the craft itself is more than a hobby.I think sometimes a carefully crafted image can do alot for the perception of ones business, especially one such as mine where there are not a whole lot of people who understand handmade furniture, the process of comissioning such work, and what is involved in the whole process.J.P.
http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com