It is not hard to leave the house these days and in your travels spot a car magnet on someone's vehicle. You may have been thinking of it already, but is a car sign the right way for you to promote your business?
As a small business owner, you should always be thinking of ways to expand your marketing reach for the smallest investment. Seems like a car sign would be an easy to way to gain exposure for your business, while just driving around town running errands.
And of course you can write off that expense and consider writing off some or all of your vehicle maintenance and/or ownership costs as a marketing tool. Talk to your accountant, or look at Sandy Botkin's book for some guidelines on this.
But before you open a new tab and start browsing for car sign offers on the web, here are a few things to consider:
1) Is a car sign appropriate for your business?
Certainly don't invest in one if your market is so niche that marketing to the masses is just not good dollars spent. Catering only to specific departments within large corporations, or really any high-level business activity that executives have to sign off on as a cost expenditure, does not make sense to promote on your Saturn.
2) How's the condition of your car?
If you are planning to upgrade in the next year or two and your car is starting to reveal signs of well-used vehicle, reconsider advertising on it until you are really excited and proud of your car. Remember that in this case, people will be looking at your vehicle as an extension of your business and if it doesn't impress, neither will you or your company.
3) Attempt to pique curiosity, but deliver the necessary info to obtain new customers.
Don't let your sign get lost in super-fancy design or gimmick where people can't locate essential information like your website and/or phone number.
And finally,
4) Consider whether or not you really want that sort of ongoing attention.
This highlights something I teach in "Entrepreneurship 101" - when you are a small business owner, you are always essentially promoting yourself.
You of course should always be carrying business cards and be ready to tell people what great service or product you provide when you are anywhere from the gym to the dry cleaners. Thus is follows that walking around in a baseball cap and dirty sweatshirt can be a deterrent for new business.
So before you pimp your car out as a billboard for your business, consider whether or not you are ready to be promoting yourself every time you go to the grocery store. If you are excited about this prospect, then go for it! You will take that enthusiasm with you in most scenarios and be very attractive to prospective clients.
If you get a sign up that you are really proud of, send me a photo. I always love to see what all of you are up to. Happy signing!
