I started my first business in 1994.  Having just completed a six year tour in the United States Marine Corps and with only a high school education, I had no clue what I was doing.    Not only was I completely oblivious to running a company, but I just so happened to choose a business with competitors on nearly every street corner. Years later, I had over 150 employees and revenues in excess of three million dollars a year.  I am now co-owner of several corporations.

So how does one start a business and succeed when no one knows who you are and your competitors have a strong hold on the small market you’re trying to serve?  Advertise!  On almost a daily basis I hear about another crime scene cleanup company that’s just not making enough money to stay in business.  Or, I hear about how much competition there is and no one can make a decent living.  If you or your company falls into either of these categories; either not making enough money or too much competition, please read on.

Most of us know that a successful business must possess the following two qualities:

• Be a better business than your competition
• Provide a price that is competitive with your competition

Ok, so you say, “I’ve done both.  Why am I not able to keep my head above water?”.

How is the general public made aware of your competitive edge?  Are you in the phone book, have an internet site, advertise in the local newspaper, use Google AdWords?  All of these are extremely important, but can be as equally worthless.

When I created my first company, I had no advertising budget.  I created fliers on my computer, listing all the reasons why I was better than my competition, and mailed them to prospective clients.  No fancy letterhead.  No expensive ads. Not even a business card to my name.  But, I got business because I stressed the importance of who I was and why I was better than everyone else.

Take a look at the following advertising methods.  How are they helping your business?

• Yellow Pages (local phone directory).  All of your competitors are in there.  How does your ad stand out?  How does your ad provide a sense of comfort and assurance to a prospective client?
  
• Your website.  Are you ranked in the top 10 of Google, Bing or Yahoo for key industry search terms?  If not, your website is not selling your business.  How does the text read under your header on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP)?  Anything good that might grab a reader’s attention or does it just read “We provide crime scene cleanup services to individuals who are in need of a biohazard remediation company”. I bet most of your competitor’s websites have the same text under their heading as well.
• AdWords.  Do you have any idea how many jobs you’ve received from Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing?  I know for a fact, very few!  If you have received work from this type of advertising, does it cover the $2,200 you spend each year for the clicks to your website?

Think of all the money you spend on advertising.  Now, think of how effective your advertising is.  If you don’t spend money on advertising, you are probably a company that will soon be out of business.  Sure, you can do what I did and send out fliers, but at some point you will have to advertise and advertise effectively.

If you don’t have a huge advertising budget, think of advertising on sites like www.cleanupdirectory.com, www.CTS-Directory.com or www.dmoz.org.  Most smaller directories charge less than $100 per year and provide a much broader choice of features than do the larger more expensive services.  Conduct your own search of the internet and find sites that allow you to post information about your company for free.

The bottom line is you must advertise and your advertising must be effective. If you want the world to know that you’re a better company and offer a more competitive rate than others in your industry, you have to find a way to get the word out.  Start looking at your current advertising efforts and begin making changes accordingly.  If you are currently advertising on an internet directory, take full advantage of all of the features that may be available.  If banner ads are permitted, use them.  If you have 2,000 words of text available to describe your business, use all 2,000 words.  If you can upload images and documents, do so.

Should you have any questions about what you can do to improve your chances of success in the crime scene cleanup industry, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment.

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