# Valpak Advertising



## John464

Those of you who have used the Valpak coupons to promote your business I would like to hear what suggestions you may have that have worked for your tree care company. I just put a deposit down for 3 zones, 30,000 homes, for 4 months = 120,000 coupons being mailed. It is very expensive, but I feel it will be worth it. I have about a week to finalize my ad. Any help or tips would be appreciated.

What was your incentive/coupon?

Out of every zone you sent out an average of how many new customers did you acquire?

Did you use two color ad or full color?

what did you list in your ad that set you apart from your competition?

do you recommend advertisting with Valpak again?


----------



## ASD

tryed it one big wast of $$$$$$$$$$$$

but then it is the first thing i through out when i get the mail so i don't know y i tryed it:bang: :bang:


----------



## maxburton

I haven't tried it, but when I checked it out it seemed like a bad fit for a company that isn't doing the low bid thing.


----------



## Xtra

John,
Valpak isn't something you want to use for our area.
You'll get a lot of bargain hunters. You'd get a better return on investment using local newspapers.


----------



## l2edneck

ASD said:


> tryed it one big wast of $$$$$$$$$$$$
> 
> but then it is the first thing i through out when i get the mail so i don't know y i tryed it:bang: :bang:




+1


----------



## John464

Hmmm. I realize there will be a lot of bargain shoppers, there always is. Especially this time of year. This effects my gas card and wear and tear on company car, but my sales associates are strictly commission based. The more estimates we do the more jobs will be booked.

The idea I like behind the Valpak coupons is that most atleast open the packet and flip through each coupon picking out ones they may have a need for. Each coupon is the same size so every advertiser recieves equal exposure for those that open up the packet. 

I believe it will also generate sales based on the perception of savings in what the consumer believes is competive rates for the requesting service. When you present to a consumer that they are given a special rate/coupon they may feel less inclined to shop around. 

"I am geting $200 off because I have a coupon" 

Think of how many times you are lead to purchase by a coupon and ended up spending more than you originally planned?

Out of 120,000 coupons being mailed I need to close on atleast approx 5 jobs w/ an average profit margin of $1,000. My sales team is very good so I have faith that I will atleast cover my costs & we get the brand marketing from this. It is a risk that I feel confident in taking.

I know of a few companies that have used this form of advertising for over a year to increase sales volume w/ great results. If it wasnt profitable for them they would have stopped after the first month.

So nobody here has had this work for them? No jobs at all? You didnt even cover your costs? Is that the fault of your marketing approach of your ad or was it the form of advertising?


----------



## PeteS

I'm currently advertising with valpak, although I think that next month will be my last. Your basically targeting a bargain oriented customer which works if you're a lowballer but hurts if you're middle of the road. Also the quantity of calls I received was low considering the price of the advertsing. I agree that a newspaper ad might be more beneficial. Good luck.


----------



## Xtra

Since marketing/advertising was my past profession (16+ yrs before getting into the tree biz) and we're both from NJ, I could give you some tips & tricks, but bottom line . . . if ValPaks worked, there would be other similiar service trades advertising in them. 

Instead invest in your own small regional direct mail campaign on your own postcard. I think you'll get a much better return.


----------



## jonseredbred

Xtra said:


> Instead invest in your own small regional direct mail campaign on your own postcard. I think you'll get a much better return.



best advice on the web, right here.


----------



## Manco

Think about it, if you opened a packet full of coupons and took the time to look through all of them, and decided to get an estimate from a tree service, wouldn't you also get another estimate to see how the rates compare? An open invitation for someone to beat your price. You might even be generating work for someone else ?
Price shoppers aren't who you want to work for. Give your best price up front and stick with it. Granted , high prices don't equal the best value always, but price shoppers usually end up with what they pay for. Sorry, got off topic a little.
Would you use a coupon for a doctor to have knee surgery? This time of year is notoriously slow for tree work anyway. Most of the customers I get are older or have no kids. Which equals no debt after Christmas:hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## PeteS

That is a good idea. Someone in another thread also suggested refrigerator magnets.


----------



## Manco

Did you say in one of your posts you would need 1,000.00 profit margin for each job you got ? I wish I could average that !


----------



## ponderosatree

Anyone use Valpak recently? With the economy down and phonebook advertising rather useless I'm looking for other means to advertise my company. My company is certainly a top tier tree company and our prices reflect that so I'm wondering if it's worth it. 

PROS
Targets our areas pretty well. Affluent, rich folks that live in the hills.

CONS
Expensive and probably wastes our time with cheapskates and tire kickers. 

Anyone have anything good to say about them?


----------



## arborscape

*RE: Valpak ads*



ponderosatree said:


> Anyone use Valpak recently? With the economy down and phonebook advertising rather useless I'm looking for other means to advertise my company. My company is certainly a top tier tree company and our prices reflect that so I'm wondering if it's worth it.
> 
> PROS
> Targets our areas pretty well. Affluent, rich folks that live in the hills.
> 
> CONS
> Expensive and probably wastes our time with cheapskates and tire kickers.
> 
> Anyone have anything good to say about them?



I think it's a good channel for a more generalized service (lawn care, pizza)
ie. something that most people will buy. Every area is different. We tried it in Denver metro and didn't break even. My view is that there are enough positive cash flow communications strategies in our market to not waste time on it. However, I've found that every new customer is an opportunity to build word of mouth, add them to our postcard list etc. thus providing some comfort (cold comfort!) when a promotion bombs.


----------



## arborscape

Xtra said:


> Since marketing/advertising was my past profession (16+ yrs before getting into the tree biz) and we're both from NJ, I could give you some tips & tricks, but bottom line . . . if ValPaks worked, there would be other similiar service trades advertising in them.
> 
> Instead invest in your own small regional direct mail campaign on your own postcard. I think you'll get a much better return.



Agree!


----------



## mckeetree

TreeCo said:


> I tried the coupon packs ten years ago. I don't like the kind of calls they generate.



Me either. You just get a bunch of jackazz tire kickers.


----------

