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Helmarion
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Can anyone advise please on the best places to advertise as a registered builder in dept 50 Normandy ?

My husband is a registered builder and so far we have only advertised with Anglo info normandy, but after a few customers deciding not to go ahead with projects need to pick up some work and wondered if anyone had any good ideas?

Many thanks Karen

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All I can suggest is that you put business cards in local shops (English food shop?) and bars. Sign write your van and park it in builders' merchants car parks regularly (we did this unintentionally with a borrowed van, and had a queue when we appeared from the shop!) and advertise in French News and Connextion. You could also leave leaflets on cars parked in shopping centres.

We have been really luckly and the majority of our work has been by word of mouth and recommendations, but you have to get your first jobs somehow...........!

You could also hang about in bars, which I did when I first started my gardening micro several years ago. The woman running the bar gave me a job one day and then recommended me to holiday home owners who popped in!

Good luck.

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[quote user="tetley"]can I ask  those of you with english plated cars, how do you feel about being 'leafleted'?  We are thinking about putting flyers on Brit reg cars in super/brico marches.  Don't know if it would offend to be targetted?[/quote]In theory at least (although not in practice) anybody with a Brit reg car wouldn't be a resident as they have to change to French plates after one month - that is the law.[Www]
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[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="tetley"]can I ask  those of you with english plated cars, how do you feel about being 'leafleted'?  We are thinking about putting flyers on Brit reg cars in super/brico marches.  Don't know if it would offend to be targetted?[/quote]In theory at least (although not in practice) anybody with a Brit reg car wouldn't be a resident as they have to change to French plates after one month - that is the law.[Www][/quote]

Plenty of second home owners, though. They'll have UK plates and may need a builder [;-)]

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We advertise in les Pages Jaunes, not cheap, but we have had a lot of response locally from it and in fact, have more french clients than ever before.It will be too late now for this year but if you contact them in October they will put you in for next year, expect to pay about 800 - 1000€ for basic advert. As for flyers on parked cars, most people don't even bother to read them and just chuck them down when we sat and watched our Fest Noz advertising go that way.
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[quote user="Cjlaws"][quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="tetley"]can I ask  those of you with english plated cars, how do you feel about being 'leafleted'?  We are thinking about putting flyers on Brit reg cars in super/brico marches.  Don't know if it would offend to be targetted?[/quote]In theory at least (although not in practice) anybody with a Brit reg car wouldn't be a resident as they have to change to French plates after one month - that is the law.[Www][/quote]
Plenty of second home owners, though. They'll have UK plates and may need a builder [;-)]
[/quote]

Target hire cars as well as a lot of us fly and hire. I wouldnt mind finding your leaflets on my windscreen put would also want some recommendtions of your work.[:)]

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sorry Karen for hijacking your thread slightly.  We also are going through a 'quiet' spell, lots of quotes out, but everyone wants to wait for spring.

We have put cards up in local bricomarche, and have handed them out to people we know.  And we have advertised on the business pages of the forums.  Have been thinking about going along to the local mairie and speaking to the scary lady at reception!!

This is only our second winter season in france and my husband registered for work Jan 06, he has had steady work for most of last year, but work has come to an end until March.  Is Jan/Feb generally a quiet time for those of you in the building trade out here?  Back in Uk he worked all the time, except for weather conditions of course.  I am going off thread again!!!!!

 

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I used to leaflet UK-reg cars in my area with details about a guidebook - as they were absolutely the target market.  I used to lurk sometimes and watch the reactions.  Nobody *ever* threw one away.  In fact I once saw a woman pinch a leaflet from the windscreen of a parked car she was walking past on her way to her own!

I'd have thought an English leaflet on UK-reg cars would be worthwhile off-season for you, when the second-homeowners are likely to be there.  It'd be a waste of resources during July/August and other holiday times though.
Maybe your local DIY/building materials shops would put a leaflet on their notice board near the cash desk too?

It doesn't preclude you taking a Yellow Pages ad to advertise yourself to French customers.

Angela

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[quote user="Val_2"]And the french pay up or even beforehand sometimes!!![/quote]

Luckily we've never had a problems over payment with any of our customers, English, French or Dutch - they've all been great and paid the deposit just before work commenced and then when asked, either in stages or when job is completed. Maybe we have nicer people in Charente!

Yes, it could be worth leafletting cars in shop or builders' merchants car parks (gosh, where do the apostrophes go there??), although we have never done that - I gave a floor sanding and waxing job to someone in North London who had leafletted my car and got a superb floor!

Back on track. I had good responses to garden maintenance adverts in French News four years ago. I just placed an advert to cooincide with holidays as folks tend to come out to their new holiday home, find an acre of knee high grass and panic!

As I said, MOH hasn't needed to advertise much as his business evolved from our old business and he had built a good customer base, but if you've got funds to spare Karen try a largish advert in FN and/or Connextion for a couple of months. Be quick though with French News - I think ads have to be placed by the 21st of the preceding month.
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Thank's for all your reply's we have really been trying to find out if paying for adds in magazines newspapers was worth the expense as this varies greatly.

We have a free add on anglo info normandy but as my husband is Terence Senior he is now 42 out of 44 free adds for builders in Manche so when there were a few it worked and we had alot of enquiries we are so far down the list now it's no good. I have contacted them about paid advertising and we are looking into sign writing the van and advertising with other magazines.

Thankyou all for your ideas, we have also contacted old customers for references and this has been good with lovely recomendations from happy satisfied customers to include in adds.

We have been very lucky not to have to pay for advertising until now as we have been registered for 4 years so we shouldn't complain !

All the best Karen p.s we are in dept 50   

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When business slows down, for whatever reason, that is exactly the time to advertise - it sounds obvious, but it is surprising how many people will happily and freely advertise when they do not need to, but as soon as things get a bit tght then advertising is the first cut-back rather than the essential investment it shoud be.

There is a free monthly mini-mag aimed at the Anglophone community in 50/14/61 which seems to have reasonable distribution. It is called The Rendezvous. Should be worth looking at.

Also of course, there is Living France, French Property News etc. I even saw a small ad for a Normandy-based business in the current issue of the British mag House Beautiful.

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Karen

In addition to the many wise and useful tips you've been given,

1. The best form of advertising is by personal recommendations.

2. Create a corporate image. If you've got a vehicle, having it professionally 'signed' is likely to attract a lot more potential customers than a single advert in any magazine. Keep your vehicle immaculate and consider extending your image to include your logo / name / business / etc onto your work clothing.

3. Pouring money into advertising is like throwing money into a big hole. If you want to advertise via the press / media / Yellow Pages, ensure you have a follow up system in place where you can analyse where exactly you are getting results from.

4. If you're going to have a web site, make sure it looks professional and all the links work before you launch it. There is nothing more frustrating than going to a site to be confronted by "Under Construction".

5. Have you placed an ad on Artisan Anglais http://www.artisan-anglais.com/

Good Luck

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Again a big thankyou for all your advise, yes we are going to advertise in the Rendezvous magazine and have contacted someone to sign write the van.

We have work upto March but then its very slow so fingers crossed we will be able to generate some work for then we even have 2 large jobs booked in for next year (both repeat customers ) And a roofing job in August, it is just to keep us going until then.

Also the person who e-mailed me via private message i tried to e-mail you back but my e-mail was returned. So please e-mail me direct if possible [email protected]

All the best Karen. 

   

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Hi Helmarion,

we have an english builder in this dept (23) and he has on his van in both english and french all the work he can do plus his tel/and reg/number.

also he has all his info in the local mairie office,

All the new brits and the ones that have been here a while have to go to the mariie's for forms for any building work and so its a good free place to have your adds, (provided you are 100% legal)

The add on the van is working for you every time your outside of your own front door.

When I had my own company I had an hand cart with all the info ref what the company did, I got more work through that add than I did for adds on 7 seven vans running all over the place,

The reason I got more work this way was because the hand cart didnt move fast and you had time to read the adds, ask your self "the last vehicle you 've seen with an add on it" what was it saying??? and did you have time to get the tel/number ?

I hope this helps ,good luck.

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[quote user="tetley"]can I ask  those of you with english plated cars, how do you feel about being 'leafleted'?  We are thinking about putting flyers on Brit reg cars in super/brico marches.  Don't know if it would offend to be targetted?[/quote]

I hate having my car leafleted.  Usually I am about to drive out before I notice it. Grrrrrrrrrrr. [:@]

For freebies, our baker allows people to put small ads in her door window - maybe yours does the same?  Those where you tear a phone number off a strip.

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