[Klean07]

I currently average around £1,000 a year on advertising which comprises of advert in my local rag £400 a year. A similar glossy bi monthly magazine £400 a year plus a few leaflets/business cards. I normally get my money back plus approx. 30% more on top so it works for me!
I'm constantly getting calls from companies like Yell, Yelp and other similar companies asking me to advertise with them but I find their packages to be way to expensive though I do have a free ad with both of these companies!

[Michael H Jones]

A 30% return on your adverts sounds terrible!

[Cookie]

I currently average around £1,000 a year on advertising which comprises of advert in my local rag £400 a year. A similar glossy bi monthly magazine £400 a year plus a few leaflets/business cards. I normally get my money back plus approx. 30% more on top so it works for me!
I'm constantly getting calls from companies like Yell, Yelp and other similar companies asking me to advertise with them but I find their packages to be way to expensive though I do have a free ad with both of these companies!

Are you a sole trader or do you run several vans? IMO there's nothing that beats just knocking on doors & canvassing for new business.

[Klean07]

A 30% return on your adverts sounds terrible!

That should read 50% (mistyped) that's on top of initial outlay so £500 of new business per year is a positive result imo!

[Michael H Jones]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

[Plankton]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

If it were that easy...

[Lee Pryor]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

Tell me Michael what do you think in the business world is considered a good return on investment? I can tell you that a 50% return especially within a 12 month period of the initial spend is considered very good.

[Stoots]

It's no secret that I have been paying canvassers this year.

Total spend since January is £6000
I've probably spent another 1k on leaflets, mags, AdWords etc.

It has increased my yearly turnover by approx 10k

Good ? Bad?
I think it's good, lowered my tax bill and grown my Income.

Next year I hope to spend double that on advertising/marketting and so on

[Slacky]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

Tell me Michael what do you think in the business world is considered a good return on investment? I can tell you that a 50% return especially within a 12 month period of the initial spend is considered very good.

R.O.I. of 50% or R.O.I. on advertising investment. Two separate things.

[Shrek]

I used to spend about 2 grand a year , now it’s about 1 grand a year . I also get companies ringing me up asking me to advertise with them , but Iv got enough work now so I don’t need anymore.

[robbo333]

Any advertising spend that produces a profit (over a reasonable time span) and increases a 'stable' turnover is good.
The trick is to find out which advertising method works the best for YOU...that's the 'million dollar' question.
Leaflets, canvassing, van signage, facebook, Google Adwords, Google Business Plus, word of mouth, referrals, posters, tv, radio...the list is endless!
You have to find out what works best for YOU (trial and error). And it will be different, depending upon location, types of customer, what you are trying to achieve, blah, blah, blah
Once you find the magic formula, then go for it... 

[dazmond]

£160 van sign writing.thats it this year.i still have business cards and leaflets i had printed a few years ago and they will probably last me another few years yet!

i find i dont need to do anything apart from go out and work.its all word of mouth and recommendations these days with the odd job by people seeing my van.

[Klean07]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

Tell me Michael what do you think in the business world is considered a good return on investment? I can tell you that a 50% return especially within a 12 month period of the initial spend is considered very good.

Thanks for that Lee!

[Mike Halliday]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

Tell me Michael what do you think in the business world is considered a good return on investment? I can tell you that a 50% return especially within a 12 month period of the initial spend is considered very good.

What are you actually meaning? That if you spend £100 and get a 50% return you get £150 worth of business from that initial £100?

 so you go out and clean windows and make £150 but a £100 of that pays for the marketing that created that business so you have worked £150 of time for £50.

And from that £50 you have to pay all your other business expenses.

If I spend £100 on creating work then that work has to be worth a minimum of £400 otherwise why pay the £100 in the first place.

BUT,!!!....... to contradict myself this does not make an allowance for the residual value of a customers, once that customer returns without any cost of marketing then the figures change.  But residual value is a gamble,  you don’t know if  they will return or stay with you

[Og]

About 14k in last twelve months.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Sounds like you're working out your ROI rate on turnover. Try working it out against  profit minus your advertising cost.  Take into consideration your cost including paying yourself for your labour

[Johnny B]

I have never spent money on advertising if you exclude a couple of hundred home produced leaflets that I cobbled up as an experiment 6 years ago.

I canvassed all my initial customers, and my business grew from there.

I have a facebook page and am a member of a local 'do you know' facebook page which has gleaned a good number of customers.

I'm also approached regularly on the street, and get phones calls almost daily now from others to whom I have been recommended.

My van is not sign written either, so my personal experience is one of just doing a decent job for a fair price and the work will find you.

John.

[Stoots]

Sorry, that's still bad - surely you mean 500%?

Tell me Michael what do you think in the business world is considered a good return on investment? I can tell you that a 50% return especially within a 12 month period of the initial spend is considered very good.

What are you actually meaning? That if you spend £100 and get a 50% return you get £150 worth of business from that initial £100?

 so you go out and clean windows and make £150 but a £100 of that pays for the marketing that created that business so you have worked £150 of time for £50.

And from that £50 you have to pay all your other business expenses.

If I spend £100 on creating work then that work has to be worth a minimum of £400 otherwise why pay the £100 in the first place.

BUT,!!!....... to contradict myself this does not make an allowance for the residual value of a customers, once that customer returns without any cost of marketing then the figures change.  But residual value is a gamble,  you don’t know if  they will return or stay with you

You can't compare window cleaning with one off services such as carpets or pressure washing. Even if they become regulars, twice as year carpets is not the same as 4 weekly windows that you can have for years

Spend 100 quid and gain 150 of work is amazing return. My return is more like spend 100 quid and get 50 of work. Retention rates vary from 20-50% long term. 

[Dry Clean]

£160 van sign writing.thats it this year.i still have business cards and leaflets i had printed a few years ago and they will probably last me another few years yet!

i find i dont need to do anything apart from go out and work.its all word of mouth and recommendations these days with the odd job by people seeing my van.

Agreed,  compact domestic work more or less becomes self sustaining when the round gets to a certain size.