I need some more work than I am getting at the present. But not a lot, I am a small timer and want to stay that way. I wanted to work mostly in one county. My advertizing other than word of mouth has been very poor. But I probably got what I paid for ! I suspect that I can't compete with the big boys with a web site. There must be something out there that can help get a small business recognized in a compact location.
What works for you?

News paper add, but limited because of the short time people see them. Yard sign. When there is a fund raiser for the Boy Scouts I donate a free mole job. Do you have the customer base to hold you to one county, do you do more that just catch the normal animals? JMO

I would never consider myself one of the big boys but do consider a website an absolute must. It might be less expensive than you think for the return you get.

The other thing that worked well for me is to offer a $25 referral fee to all the pest control companies for their wildlife jobs. Some of the leads from the pest control guys are cold calls but most are their quarterly customers. If you have money for a quarterly pest contract you aren't calling to price check you are calling to schedule and get the problem taken care of.

Just got a referral from a pest guy yesterday. Woman say "So and so from so and so gave me two numbers: someone cheap and someone who's not cheap but he's the best and I want the best." Think that referral fee isn't priced into the job?

One more thing I do that might help in your situation: Clover leafing: I had a door hanger made that describes my services and holds a business card size magnet with my name and logo on it. When I get a job in a neighborhood I wouldn't mind working in again the neighbor on each side and the two across the street get a door hanger. Works well for mole work.

A very simple and effective advertising method is to make 3 x 5 cards about specific services and put them up at bulletin boards along with your business cards. When I first started, we used this method and it generated about 1/3 of my calls the first two years.

IMHO most people get into this work with excellent animal control skills, mediocre building home repair skills and a poor concept of marketing and running a business. Me thinks this is back asswards.

Bob,I think that a nice neat web page can beat the "big boys". Tell your customers what you just told us. You prefer to stay in one

county, hence you can offer fantastic service at a reasonable price. You know what you like to see in a web site so that's what you

need in yours. We aren't afraid to include more personal stuff and the customers eat it up. I think a web site is the best bang for

the buck.

Thanks for the help. I got a few new ideas

Plus many people nowadays use the internet...even the older ones

direct mail can work good only if targeted to the right audience and I also use yard signs....If your yard sign can't be read in FULL at 45 mph then you have too much on it