[Neil Jones]

I've just been thinking about the area I cover. I generally only advertise in my local two towns, which are fairly big but not affluent at all. I do cover a larger radius though and have customers dotted all over which I have just picked up over the years.
What i'm concerned about is that i'm 25/40 minutes from one side of Manchester to the other and potentially missing out on work in a lot of areas, especially the city centre where I never go. Now I am busy but I want to raise my job ticket and build up a really good client database whether or not they are dotted all over Manchester. I also want to try and gain a few more commercial customers, weirdly I enjoy commercial work more.
Obviously advertising in these areas is a huge outlay, couldn't even begin to think what adwords would cost for 'carpet cleaner Manchester'.
I just wanted to know what areas people cover and whether they advertise in all these areas, anyone in a similar position of living just outside a large city.

Cheers

[JandS]

I'm 20 minutes from 2 city centres, Bradford and Leeds.
I am South of both so service this area.
Have to be careful with the Bradford side as it can be a
bit, shall we say, racially tense.
Like you time taken to get to the North side can be up to
40 minutes and you need to be at least 2 miles out of the
centre for the "better" work.
Funnily enough the more affluent areas of both cities tend
to be about 5 or 6 miles North.
Never done any commercial work in either centre.

[wayne zabel]

Niel,like you I'm north of Manchester but have no inclinations to go and find work there.Cant think of a worse place to work than M/c city centre with regards to parking issues and access to properties ect ect.

I tend to stick within the Bury Metropolitan Borough area with regards to advertising but obviously do work outside this mainly from recommendations.

I often get told by customers that they would prefer to employ someone local so I have never tried advertising elsewhere.Im the same myself,if I were to employ a plumber/electrician/whatever I would get a local guy and not someone from Manchester.

[Steve Gunn]

I live in South Shields smack in the middle of Sunderland and Newcastle but find myself going to Leeds in the next couple of weeks to do a job for a client.Obviously I prefer not to travel as far but works work

[JandS]

Whereabouts in Leeds Steve??

[Neil Jones]

Wayne that's exactly what I think about working in the centre, I have no desire to and never have for them reasons, but someone must do and I bet they are charging a fair old whack for doing it.
Bury is ok though, you have some nice areas around there including Whitefield/Prestwich, I live in Oldham, I have Saddleworth and that's about it. I'm thinking of heading round to South Manchester so we'll see.

[Neil Jones]

JandS, I think Oldham is very much like Bradford.

[Steve Gunn]

City west business park and 2 other sites down there

[jasonl]

I regularly work all over Manchester ,I live 15 miles from Glossop towards Sheffield, its all about hourly rates and weekly income for me, distance no object if the price is right.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Are you still getting domestic work from Manchester? Thought you'd be suited and booted with soft hands and a comb over by now?

Shaun

[jasonl]

It will be November before I am qualified , yes I have a few letting agents all over Manchester still.

[Neil Jones]

I agree Jason, I don't mind travelling for the right money. I've got a few customers in Glossop.

[JandS]

City West.........not far from the hallowed turf.

[Chris Straker]

Try to stick to just SW, SM & KT postcodes as they are into nice areas with fair access & parking .......... do get into central London but I try to make them early on weekends, so I can get back out before the tourists flood in 

[Steve Gunn]

City West.........not far from the hallowed turf.

Long way from the hallowed turf Stadium of Light is 99.2 miles away Will be down there 28th of this month doing the job

[stuart_clark]

Steve

I will have a double cheeseburger mate with onions ! Lol