New Business IT Consulting - OzBargain Approved Advertising Methods

knk on 05/02/2016 - 10:40
Last edited 05/02/2016 - 10:41

Hi guys,

I'd like to start by saying this isn't a plug for my business, I'm just looking for ideas.

So I've recently given my employer the flick and have been working for myself for the last 6 months. Managed to secure a few contracts with smaller companies to give me something stable however now I'm looking to build up and get some more business.

I'm marketing my business (it's just me) as an outsourced IT department or general ad-hoc IT support for businesses in Melbourne / Vic. Primarily looking to service businesses, however at this stage I'm quiet so I'd be happy to do residential or just about anything. That said my hourly rates are geared to business and at the lowest level I'm willing to go to still scare some residential customers off.

I've tried the following avenues of advertising with varying success:

Adwords - Did get some work however the cost vs benefit was terrible.

Facebook ads - I did try a limited run over the last week, 0 calls!

Local paper - When I was in Uni I had an ad in the classifieds for computer repairs and received a fair amount of work. Well that's not the case anymore, no one uses the paper and an ad across 7 different councils over the last month got me 2 phone calls from residential customers who didn't want to pay what I was charging. Booked in for 3 months, there goes $700.

Signwriting - I had my work car signwritten last week, time will tell.

Quoting websites - Overall quite good, generally get a job from 1 in 4 quotes and there's minimal investment in time.

Ideas:

Flyers - Currently having Flyers printed which will be distributed by someone local. I also have a friend who'll be dumping some Flyers or Business cards across some business parks for me.

Serviced office - Renting out a serviced office for a few months to get my name out there / get the business of those around me. Long shot?

A Frame Trailer: Already have a trailer, steel and a welder so I could just whip up an A frame for it have it signwritten and park it somewhere. I imagine the legality of this is sketchy. It would probably end up stolen too.

Linkedin: I have quite a few contacts from my old employer on there, while I can't / won't take any of their clients I could possibly market to people who have moved on to other roles. I still do contract work for my old employer and feel this may damage the relationship though.

Education & Work

Comments

  • scotty on 05/02/2016 - 12:09
    +1

    I don't really have any new idea but it might not be a good idea to post your service on OzBargain, as IT support contracts are most likely under incomparable services which shouldn't be posted here.

    If you are focusing on the business market I think it's usually about who you know (or who knows you). Network like crazy I guess? Participate in relevant LinkedIn groups or post value-add comments on small business forums to gain recognitions.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 12:13

      Hi Scotty,

      I don't have any intention of posting services on Ozbargain, just wanting to get a feel for what everyone would recommend as a good investment advertising wise.

      Networking via linkedin is a bit risky, could potentially lose some income from my old employer if it sours the relationship. May wait till that work inevitably dries up before going the linkedin route.

      Cheers

  • Looking4Bargians on 05/02/2016 - 15:08

    I am in same boat. I have started my business but not sure and not getting idea how to capture the market.

    Infact i am also doing Business IT Consultancy and ad-hoc IT Support.

    In which area of Melbourne you are ?

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 15:10

      I'll shoot you a PM.

  • rgr on 05/02/2016 - 15:29

    the best kind of marketing would be inbound, i.e. getting people to come to you as opposed to the other way around. something like optimising your website with SEO work would be good, as well as being seen as a contributor and active member of the field. this could be in the form of writing articles and publishing to linkedin, twitter and the like. but in this particular industry, word of mouth also plays a huge role.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 15:34

      Yeah I agree word of mouth is probably the best way to go, but I need a kickstart somewhere hey. I could try some SEO but I really just don't see me getting a whole lot of inquiries from this considering how saturated the market is.

  • rgr on 05/02/2016 - 15:32

    serviced office thing is a bad idea, you should look at getting a spot at co-working buildings.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 15:34

      That'd be cheaper too, did look into that at one stage and I'll revisit it.

      The problem is I'd imagine these spaces aren't the quietest and working from home is honestly a better environment. While I'm networking it's great, when I'm taking a support call not so much.

      • rgr on 05/02/2016 - 15:46
        +1

        I think they have meeting rooms available as well.

        http://www.hubaustralia.com/location/melbourne/

        • knk on 05/02/2016 - 15:57

          Looks neat, I always figured those were more for creative types though. Web developers, marketing, graphic design and the like.

        • Looking4Bargians on 05/02/2016 - 16:50
          +1

          @knk: And they are expensive too. Can stuff up the budget..you know what i mean.

  • mskeggs on 05/02/2016 - 18:05
    +1

    Referrals beat any other marketing in this scenario.
    Call your existing clients and ask who they know that might need your services. 9 times out of 10 you'll draw a blank, but now you have planted a seed in their mind that will bloom next time their (for example) packaging supplier says they are having IT issues. Or their cousin Dave the architect mentions at the BBQ he isn't looking forward to the upcoming PC upgrades he has to do etc.
    When you finish up a job, mention you are really growing the business and are looking for new clients.
    Look for local online and offline networking opportunities. In my community, the local chamber of commerce is very keen to cross promote their members (but realise this means you need to get you sign writing etc from a local in return).
    Volunteer groups are also good places to meet local networks. People in Rotary and Lions Club are always keen to recommend "the bloke I know at Rotary who is great at small business IT".
    Consider some narrower, targeted offers too.
    If I get a flyer saying general business IT support it goes in the bin. If I get a flyer that says "New point of sale software that automatically updates your Website storefront inventory levels from $499" I will pause, consider if I need that service and whether paying $500 so I don't have to fuss around with separate inventory databases is worth it, and may well call the number. For example.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 18:18

      The referral side of things I have sorted, or at least as well as I can.

      Your thoughts on narrower more targeted offers are interesting and you make a good point about targeting the advertising so people will actually call.

  • Clear on 05/02/2016 - 19:10

    From my experience a good website and surprisingly a good Linkedin profile has lead my work to gain some fairly good contracts with some enterprise-level businesses. There are plenty of MSPs out there that have big clients in one state and are looking to contract out people in other states to service the clients.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 20:19

      Yeah I'll give some linkedin marketing a shot. Can't hurt and it's free.

  • honeydew on 05/02/2016 - 19:58

    Have you thought about consulting within schools? I don't know if it's something you'd be interested in or can even do in your state but apparently word of mouth is all you need. Staff transfer schools, etc.

    • knk on 05/02/2016 - 20:20

      I'd be quite interested in that but I don't have that word of mouth connection with anyone.

      • honeydew on 05/02/2016 - 20:55

        I guess what I meant is that once you do a lot of advertising to schools and get 1 as a customer, you may no longer need advertise to other schools as word of mouth might happen. To get that one school might be tough though. Google the school's number and basically cold calling. Prepare an email to send, a website too?

        • knk on 05/02/2016 - 21:16

          Website side of things is all set up, you're right the first one would be the most difficult. I'd imagine this would be something which is advertised for so I may keep an eye out for contract work.

          Geez I hate cold calling but I've got nothing to lose. I'll try some of the methods you guys have given next week and see how I go.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2016 - 07:31
    +1

    Social selling via linked in
    Write thought leading sharp articles
    Industry networking events
    Speaking events
    Partnering

    I can consult many more Ideas ;)

  • hashkent on 06/02/2016 - 12:01

    Have you thought of offering a monthly recurring service for X hours per year or month of support work? That way you get recurring income and can offer a peice of mind to the business owners?

    Some things I'd recommend:
    1) find bookkeepers / accounting / other business professional services and see if they are interested in promoting you to their clients for a cut/commission. Just add some fat to your prices to cover this.
    2) find service providers like ISPs or small web hosts that might want to refer your service to their clients.
    3) I'm not sure what your skill set is in but go learn office 365 and sell / promote those services. Signup with a partner like Ingham Micro and you can make recurring monthly income and charge for support!

    • knk on 06/02/2016 - 14:02

      I have a few retainers in place as you've described already, that's the goal…to get more!

      I already am fairly proficient in 365, however getting friendly with a wholesaler isn't a half bad idea :).

      • hashkent on 06/02/2016 - 19:28

        Get a website going and start promoting that on online and with flyers.

        • knk on 06/02/2016 - 20:20

          Flyers I picked up today so I will look at getting those distributed.

          The website was up and running however as mentioned above the promoting is difficult. I've tried ad words however the return on investment was terrible and I didn't skimp. SEO is another Avenue I could look down however Id need to do this myself as agencies can become quite costly.

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