QUESTION:

I want to market to homeowners in a specific town about my curbside recycling business.  How should I go about this? The only thing I can think of is door hangers and standing on corners with signs. The town has rules about signs being put up. Any suggestions?

ANSWER:

by Naomi Kokubo, Cofounder of LavaMind

Here are 12 ideas on how you can reach home owners:

  1. You can mail flier to each home — if they won’t let you hang one on the door
  2. Word of mouth is a great way — ask satisfied clients if they know of anyone else they can refer you to
  3. Plug into your kids schools — there are networks of parents and newsletters that you can use to get the word out
  4. Incentives also work wonders — offer friends and clients a reward for each new customer they bring you
  5. Go to local churches and ask if you can leave your fliers with them
  6. Get on sites like Yelp and AngiesList and have friends and former clients write favorable reviews of your business
  7. Advertise in the “service” section of CraigsList
  8. Advertise in the Yellow Pages — yes these still drive sales
  9. Put up your profile on LinkedIn and connect with business people in the community
  10. Put up a profile on Facebook and connect with your friends — make sure your profile highlights your business
  11. Go to local community organizations, especially ones that relate to your business, and see if there’s a way you can introduce your service to their members
  12. Lastly, if you’re a “green” business, plug into environmental organizations and have them recommend your business

This should be a good starting point.  I hope this helps!