FAO Fire Risk Assessors

[lingmoor]

How do you advertise your business and is it successful?

There are many advertising fields out there as you will know ie Yellow pages, google pay per click, business directories, referral organisations, flyers etc which I have done with various degrees of success or otherwise but most of my work is by word of mouth!

If everyone in my town that was required to have a FRA did so then things would be a wee bit better!

[jasper]

I don't think people will tell you the secrets of their success!
on my side I have found that Yell.com extra i.e. larger adverts don't seem to generate the income they cost; also when I was working for my old company and they paid for it we used telesales companies where they were paid per positive lead and the problems with this was that once I was sent up to scotland to quote for a fra and the building have been assessed 3 months previously

[patrickhamblin]

I recommend you look at the Institution of Fire Engineers Website and apply to be on the Register of Fire Risk Assessors. I have found this very beneficial.

[lingmoor]

Thanks both for taking the time to reply

I have thought about the IFE accreditation after all I am a Member of the Institution but I just wasn't sure if it was worthwhile, as others I know that have been doing this longer than me are doing well without it.

I've also done the 4 day FRA course which I believe from another thread is an advantage

Oh well I'm not doing that bad seeing I only started in October

[kurnal]

Advertising and networking is a waste of money in my experience.
People only want fire safety services when they want it- its not something you can easily generate a demand for.

Google brings in a little work, ads in two areas yellow pages led to one job in two years.
A website is essential as a resource for people to verify your presense and professionalism, but word of mouth generally keeps me 110% busy touch wood. The first two years were fairly difficult and slow at times but then it started looking after itself.

If you have any spare capacity, happy to chat anytime.

[lingmoor]

Thanks Kurnal

I have just put an ad in yellow pages for the coming year (I'm beginning to regret that already from what others have said) I now belong to a business referral organisation and have had work from that in the short time I've been a member. I managed to get a half page article in our local papers business page for free which generated nothing, I do google ppc which i've had some work from and I'm on our towns business directory on the internet....and as i've said my work mostly comes from word of mouth and recommendations.

I've had a website up and running since I started...I'm not short of work but it's quieter now than it was before christmas

[Ashley Wood]

I have also found being on the IFE register good for business. Kurnal is right regarding Yellow Pages, forget it unless you want to spend the rest of your life looking at s***y B&B's who don't pay the bill and want something for nothing! Send me an e-mail with your location, insurance and experience, it's always useful to have a list of associates.

[AnthonyB]

Recommendations, word of mouth and repeat business are important- advertising is of limited use in itself as there are (it seems) millions of people already advertising their services.

Although we have an active Sales & Marketing Department, it's the level of service and recommendation that's led our firm to expand 10x in size in 12 years - in Property management surveyors often move about and if you have kept them happy they will continue to use you and then they tell their new colleagues about you too and the portfolio thus expands