How to Sell More Used Toilets

Welcome to the first post in my new blog about marketing for small businesses in the Tampa Bay area!

One of the features I plan to offer regularly is "Windshield Wednesdays". In these posts, I'll share a picture of some outdoor advertising (usually shot from the windshield of my car) I've run across in the Tampa Bay area (good, bad, or ugly!), along with some insights or lessons that may apply to you and your small business.

My first post in this series features Layman's.

Layman's has the benefit of some prime real estate fronting US-19 in Clearwater (which carries as many as 100,000 vehicles per day according to wikipedia), and is clearly visible from both sides of US-19. That's over 36 million impressions per year! Layman's location couldn't be more perfect for outdoor advertising.

And this is the image and message that Layman's has chosen to share with it's potential customers over 30 million times per year:

Wow!

Like you, from looking at their sign, I have no idea what Layman's does, what they sell, or what they're trying to communicate to me and the other 30 million or so motorists who pass by each year. And I'm not exactly inclined to call now - are you? What a waste!

(For what it's worth, I actually stopped in to Layman's. They were closed, but from what I could discern, they seem to sell an assorted collection of used and recycled household items, namely toilets.)

For the record, I salute Layman's for trying, and wish them all the best, but I hope we can all learn from their mistake. Clearly, "Layman's Used Toilets: (727) 531-3801" would be a much more effective message to display to passers by if your advertising goal is in fact to sell used toilets, and I'm sure Layman's could do even better than that if they put their minds to it!

The moral of the story is: Put some thought into what you want to communicate to your customers with your outdoor advertising. And design your advertising, website, and marketing materials for potential new customers who don't already know who you are or what you sell.

That, my friends, is one of the many secrets to growing your small business!

Until next time,

Jeff Copeland
Tampa Bay Search - Solutions for Small Business

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