question about promoting your business

ronano

I thought it was the most appropriate forum if not mod i apologise and please move.

I'm running a walking tour and want to promote it by handing out leaflets on the street to tourists. I've a few questions about it

1. Is it legal to do so?
2. Can i do it near bus routes coming in from the airport/outside tourist shops such as carroll,trinity and temple bar and the likes?

move to marketing forum?

YellowSheep

As far as I know you need a permit to do so, as per the new litter law. Check the county council site for info. Cheers Oliver

SKYDOG

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0109/litter.html

"Those who want to distribute free promotional material will have to apply for a licence, which costs €250 per event."

Good luck with the tour anyway!

ronano

thanks for the link i found it while googling and tracked down info about the permit and it said

'A permit shall not be granted for the following classes of advertising material (a) leaflets or (b) any material which in the opinion of an appointed person is likely to cause significant litter pollution.'

which leaves me screwed for out and about promoting tis a pity

515

Sandwich board? Pretty girls in tight t-shirts with your details on them? Someone in a costume relevant to your tour? Busker singing songs about the tour?

Leaflets are pretty ineffective anyway I would have thought.

narkymarky

Following on from 515's message. Driving through Belfast last Friday and saw three or four 'couples' at various city centre traffic lights and pedestrian crossings dressed in white jeans and tops wearing double sided sandwich boards advertising a seat sale by Irelands national airline (the one that lost its CEO this week). Really stood out - looked like they had all been dropped off in one central point and were radiating out - viral marketing on foot. God knows how many rush hour drivers, busses and pedestrians they passed. As far as I could see they were not handing anything out.

SKYDOG

Narky and 515 have a point, I totally ignore leaflets that are handed to me and most time avoid receiving them, the ones that i do take i quickly bin them. something a bit more impact might get you more attention, but it could cost you more.

chillywilly

when i was interrailing I always picked up info on tours etc in the hostels so go round to hostels/hotels/b&bs etc and ask if you can leave your flyers at the front desk.

ronano

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies,i'll look into the other ways of promotion but i'm unsure how much sandwich boards etc would work for walking tour. I've got leaflets in hotels,hostels,tourism centres but business is not great. I'm on the internet etc too

Tav

You mentioned that you have the leaflets in hostels etc. but ARE you Really sure that these are still there? Are you checking the stock and display on regular basis or did you just do one drop?
Also do you have them displayed in Dublin Tourist Centre?

antoinolachtnai

I presume you are paying some sort of kickback to the hotels, hostels, etc?

ronano

got them in the tourism offices around the city and they've disappeared from one or two but overall they're still in the hostels and hotels. I'm not paying any kickback,god i wouldn't half mind it if i even knew how to go about suc h things lol. Business is picking up more as come into the 'warmer' summer months.

antoinolachtnai

At the very least, you need to give the front-line staff some tickets for the walking tour and encourage them to come along and see what it's all about.

If they don't know the product, there is just no way they can recommend it.

After that, you could consider giving them a voucher marked with their name or identification number and when a few of those vouchers are presented, you send them down some money, or buy them some drinks, or whatever.

Bluetooth1

Have a look at www.bluetoothadvertising.ie . I have one in my car sending out adds for some of my websites .

Bluetooth1

Bluetooth1 wrote: »

Have a look at www.bluetoothadvertising.ie . I have one in my car sending out adds for some of my websites .

Are there that many people who walk around with bluetooth switched on other than business people who require it on the go??? I'd think not. Not one for a walking tour in my opinion but then again, who knows!!!

What's the USP of the walking tour? I suggest a theme to go with it. Maybe dress up as Vikings or something to grab peoples attention. I could not think of anything more boring than a walking tour if that's all you say it is, you have to give a bit more detail as to what it will consist of and try and use something related to the tour to get attention. You shouldn't have to pay to promote this tour, you really should be able to do it yourself.

PS:A walking tour is also environmentally friendly so think outside the box and don't use leaflets as that goes againt environmentally friendly nature.

Bellies

The Entrepreneur, I think that this walking tour would obviously depend on the area. Considering that the author of this post is "Dubtony" I'm thinking that they are from Dublin?:D

With a title name as "The Entrepreneur" you surprise by asking whats the USP of a walking tour?? Surely, you could see the opportunity that lies here? I'm sure if you looked at the stats, and the amount of tourists flocking to the city centre in search of a bit of history could potentially be a gold mine!!

I've seen these "walking tours" operated in central European and seem to have approx. 20 tourists following the tour guide with a stick in the air. (This is an indicator for the ppl. at the back of the line to see where the tour guide is heading) :cool:

Think it's a good idea, but the marketing of this is critical, hostels, would be ideal, but as a previous blogger stated they have a tendancy to end up in the bin.

I know that alot of the B&B's down South here have alot of flyers advertising this type of material. Would be good, to touch base with Failte Ireland and get a list of the registered and (unregistered) B&B's to let them know what your doing and provide them with a direct mobile number aswell as your service!?

Tav

Bellies has a great idea about Failte Ireland and BB's! Did you try that already?

I think it would be great for you if you could befriend some of the BB and promote each other.

giddybootz

Also...if you drive any sort of vehicle you should get it wrapped with your info or if you can afford to do so get a few of the airport taxis to have signs on the side of their vehicles. You pay for the signs (either vinyl stickers or magnetic panals) and give each driver X amount of money a month to display these signs and keep leaflets in their taxis for passengers.

This really works. The cars act like mobile bilboards and get thousands of impressions per month. Our work vans are wrapped and we get ALOT of calls from people who saw them who want for similar on their vans/cars.

Even if you take just a few of the idea mentioned in this thread I'm sure you will see a difference to you business...Good luck!!

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

waves

You could call personally into the hotels and talk to the receptionists and concierges - concierges (in bigger hotels) work on commission so the more people they push your direction, the more money they make.

If you agree a €2 kick back on a €12 walking tour - if he sends 40 people your way in a week, he makes €80 and you get more people using you.

Have you tried getting sponsored or negotiating with restaurants along the route.... you bring in punters every morning and afternoon and they give you a kick back.

What type of tour is it?

If you did it for free - you could get sponsored by a company who were interested ............hang on!!!!

Have a great idea for you - PM me

Bellies

Use the weather to your advantage, the americans love the Irish rain, provide Green rain sheets, that you see tourists currently using.
Sponsorship is key, I'd agree with the previous post of getting cycle bikes and restaurants along the route... (Sure they'd only be crying out for business at the moment)

There is a great market for this, especially Dublin!! There are so many attractions you'd clean up.

I'd focus on the B&Bs and medium sized hotels, any of the bigger hotel chains seem to have their own tours mapped out with more renouned tour guides.

You did well here bud!!

Bellies

Lads, hold on a sec, there's no point in advertising to Taxi's. Do you know how much these magnets cost?? E200 for a coloured 2ft x2ft display and can only go on smooth surfaces on the car. (So, if you have a car with a groove in the middle of the door it can't go on it)

Get local companies to purchase the bikes! What do they get in return for their E120?

A new bike that they have paid for, with their name and number advertised on the seat cover, crossbar. License plates front and back with name.

What ever sector they're involved in, they'll get a few customers back to their cafe shop etc.. 8 couples a month spending at least 10 is E80 a month per annum is E960!!

Why do people want fancy advertising, simple adverts are probably the most effective!

Cordner

The open top bust tours of Dublin leave little books of tickets with selected hotel receptions/concierges. Each ticket is marked with a code that identifies the hotel. Just initials or a number, hand written.

So if you are charging 10e, they take payment from guest & send them along to you at the appointed time. By the code on the back of the ticket- you know what hotel has sold the tickets. So- you pop along at end of day/week & collect your cash- less 1 or 2 euros commission per ticket to the receptionist/concierge that sold them.

I know of a hotel receptionist that makes herself 30 or 40 quid per week selling the bus tickets to hotel guests. You need to target busy hotels or B&Bs that have plenty of rooms and a good tourist trade. Maybe hang out near the reception desk and find a receptionist that is outgoing and friendly, who looks like they would be good at promoting the walks. All it will cost you is the price of getting professional ticket books printed up (they dont need too much detail on them), some really good brochures to leave with the tickets, and of course the commission on an actual sale to the hotel receptionist.

Regarding offering free tours as an incentive- sorry but I would say 99% of them will not be interested. Or saying 'if you sell some tickets/ send me some business I will drop you in some chocs/wine' also doesnt really work. But- if they can see a way to earning some extra- tax free- cash- now thats a different story!

Hope this helps.

Dub6Kevin

I'd suggest looking at the way people come into the city. The various airlines have inflight magazines and need regular cheap copy to fill them as do the ferry companies.

It would be worth investing a little time in researching these magazines and making a few calls to the editors to offer an invitation for them to send someone on a tour with a view to writing a review, alternatively, commission someone to write a review (you'd get it done for a couple of hundred quid) and some decent photographs and offer them to these magazines.

If I can be any help drop me a PM.

K

giddybootz

Bellies wrote: »

Lads, hold on a sec, there's no point in advertising to Taxi's. Do you know how much these magnets cost?? E200 for a coloured 2ft x2ft display and can only go on smooth surfaces on the car. (So, if you have a car with a groove in the middle of the door it can't go on it)

Wow dunno who gave you that price but it's not that expensive at all (trust me...we make them in work )

I would go with the stickers over the magnets as they can be applied to curvey/flat/broken surfaces and imo look better too. This would be about €110 for a set of 2 vinyl door stickers (approx 2ft by 2ft)....less if you were getting a number of cars done. PM me if you want any other details.

Seriously though...just think how many people would see the taxis?!

I like the restaurant idea too btw...that could really help!

Bellies

That was the price I was give for the magnets 2ftx2ft, i've sent you a PM regarding the price of the magnets for 110e.

Axwell

Bellies wrote: »

The Entrepreneur, I think that this walking tour would obviously depend on the area. Considering that the author of this post is "Dubtony" I'm thinking that they are from Dublin?:D

The author of this post is Ronano not Dubtony :rolleyes:

With regards to marketing I think you dont have to go too overboard here with advertising on taxis and the like, they are expensive and these tourists arent going to notice them. The cheap and simple approach here would work a lot better, considering its a walking tour you have a smaller circle to operate in. Trinity, up towards Stephens Green, possibly Kildare St, Dublin Castle and the surrounding streets etc. With this in mind I think people in tshirts with flyers around Trinity and Grafton St/Stephens Green would be a better approach, possibly some sandwich boards advertising where it starts or rates etc. Generally you are trying to get people already wandering around these areas to take part in the tour. Apart from that I would go with the suggestion of maybe the hostels and some deal with them where they would send you people to get a kickback.

blue4ever

This is a bit of a long one – but it’s an area I have been curious about for a while (Dubin city tours).

I don’t think that we really do enough for our ‘walking tourists’ and let’s be frank – it’s the only way to see Dublin. In town last Saturday I was stopped twice and re-orientated both sets of individuals.

No signage – no ‘heritage trail’ (there used to be the Malton Trail – but that’s very specialist) no nothing like that at all.
Leaflets – I think its hit and miss – if you gave out 1000 in day and got a 2% take-up (great) would result in 20 people – I think the overhead for that would be costly.

I always like to familiarise myself in a city with a tour, usually open bus. I have in the past done walking tours of a city – and in the main they have been enjoyable. Some have been specialist so I fully understand where the Entrepreneur is going with the USP.

I also normally decide pretty much what I am going to do in a city before hand – an all through the internet – and that’s where I would be investing my efforts.

Last Month (March) there were 74,000 searches for the term “Dublin Tours”, 22,000 for “Dublin Sightseeing tours” and, admittedly, only 1,600 for “Dublin Walking Tours”. But lets say that the 1,600 is the 2% uptake I mentioned - that would equate to 80,000 leaflets gross - but the 1600 came looking for you and the other way around!

But they are good decent numbers at the “tours” end and there has to be a soft underbelly you can grab from there. Moreover the ‘I haven’t a clue brigade – 18,000 searches for “things to do in Dublin”.

I think that walking tours normally smack of ‘forced organisation/entertainment’, and you have to get away from that. I did a walking tour of Belfast Pubs. Now, before there is general criticism of how I spend a ‘cultural afternoon’, three pints in 8 pubs! But it was fantastic and into parts of the city I would never have found – it was also a historical based so it was really interesting – with a USP I really liked!!

There doesn’t seem to be too much competition (and some of the websites won’t be too hard to surpass). Good idea I think, get going now, find a ‘hook’ or a few of them to appeal to different market segments.

Best with it as well

Bellies

Bellies wrote: »

The Entrepreneur, I think that this walking tour would obviously depend on the area. Considering that the author of this post is "Dubtony" I'm thinking that they are from Dublin?:D

With a title name as "The Entrepreneur" you surprise by asking whats the USP of a walking tour?? Surely, you could see the opportunity that lies here? I'm sure if you looked at the stats, and the amount of tourists flocking to the city centre in search of a bit of history could potentially be a gold mine!!

Eh think again. The author is not DubTony, it´s Ronano so I stand corrected BELLIES or is it just BELLY.

blue4ever

blue4ever wrote: »

I always like to familiarise myself in a city with a tour, usually open bus. I have in the past done walking tours of a city – and in the main they have been enjoyable. Some have been specialist so I fully understand where the Entrepreneur is going with the USP.

I also normally decide pretty much what I am going to do in a city before hand – an all through the internet – and that’s where I would be investing my efforts.

blue4ever who has obviously travelled to cities knows what I am talking about. Some cities are just cities and don´t have a lot about them so I think the USP of the tour is the most essential aspect of the tour. Afterall, you could do a walking tour on the history of the Liberties and the history behind it. Other tourists may want to know about other places.

So to Ronano (NOT DUBTONY!!! BELLIES!), make sure your USP is the most critical point of this walk because if you don´t differentiate between the different tours you can potentially offer, you won´t have a market because it´s too general.

EDIT: Also, you want to look professional and you want to be an expert at what you do, so do something remarkable and differentiate and get a USP for each tour you propose to offer!

Bellies

I'm delighted that Axwell pointed that out for you earlier Entrepreneur. Whats the fascination with USP!!!??

It's a tour of the city, obviously you'll have selected the major tourist attractions around the city and have facts and figures on it. I think it's the phrase differentiation that your looking for. USP sounds so text book!
All you wanna do is stand out for your competitors and get tourists in and make cash! End of!

Axwell

Bellies wrote: »

I'm delighted that Axwell pointed that out for you earlier Entrepreneur.

No poblem :rolleyes:

Bellies

Bellies wrote: »

I'm delighted that Axwell pointed that out for you earlier Entrepreneur. Whats the fascination with USP!!!??

It's a tour of the city, obviously you'll have selected the major tourist attractions around the city and have facts and figures on it. I think it's the phrase differentiation that your looking for. USP sounds so text book!
All you wanna do is stand out for your competitors and get tourists in and make cash! End of!

If USP sounds too textbook for you then I feel really bad. USP = Unique Selling Point. Nothing really that textbook about it, it's a pretty basic phrase.

What you said in bold is basically what the USP will do so I am in fact speaking perfect sense. Off you go.

Bellies

Ah entrepreneur... I'm well aware what USP stands for kiddo, as far as I can see there is no more to add to this topic as everything is covered! However, it'll be interesting to see how you'll identify your KPI's if you ever invest in such an idea! However, you did mention that it mightn't take off afterall. As a so-called "entrepreneur" I'd question your ability to risk take as well as having the ability to spot an opportunity!! :eek::)

Bellies

Bellies wrote: »

Ah entrepreneur... I'm well aware what USP stands for kiddo, as far as I can see there is no more to add to this topic as everything is covered! However, it'll be interesting to see how you'll identify your KPI's if you ever invest in such an idea! However, you did mention that it mightn't take off afterall. As a so-called "entrepreneur" I'd question your ability to risk take as well as having the ability to spot an opportunity!! :eek::)

Who are you talking to or about? I am not the author of this thread so this is not my idea. Oh and I thought acronyms were too text book for you? Enjoy yourself "kiddo":rolleyes:

Bellies

"I could not think of anything more boring than a walking tour if that's all you say it is,"-The Entrepreneur.

It indicates that you jumped the gun, and shot down the idea! You recommended Vikings???? Why.... What's the history here with Ireland? (Apart from the obvious bit) Why not something more Irish, not Danish!?

Move on to the next Chapter of that business book your reading!

Bellies

Bellies wrote: »

"I could not think of anything more boring than a walking tour if that's all you say it is,"-The Entrepreneur.

It indicates that you jumped the gun, and shot down the idea! You recommended Vikings???? Why.... What's the history here with Ireland? (Apart from the obvious bit) Why not something more Irish, not Danish!?

Move on to the next Chapter of that business book your reading!

Look "Kiddo", trying to patronise me and put me down makes you look pathetic and slightly stupid since you were the one with the issue with my "academic" phrases, I know plenty of people who have their own business who would use the word USP as commonly as the word "rain" in Ireland but clearly you feel you need to be highly educated to use such a phrase. That's upsetting and I suggest you read a business book or two being totally honest. I also recommend you get over the fact I'm 24 years old; blatant agism doesn't do you any favours either.

I backed up my thoughts and contributed to the post and was right. Other posters agreed with what I was saying and in a roundabout way, you did too because you said this

All you wanna do is stand out for your competitors and get tourists in and make cash!

. That is what a USP is for! Christ!

You on the other hand were misinformed and completely wrong with your taxi suggestion so it may not be a bad idea at all to go read a book or two, broaden that mind a little bit yeah?

You're not going to stand out by just having a "walking tour"; it sounds as boring as anything I can think of. At least with a theme, or some form of differentiation, you can make it sound appealing and attractive to tourists or avid walkers.

OP, best of luck with the venture, get a USP, don't be boring.

Bellies

I'm 24 yrs my self, there's a PM awaiting you.

blue4ever

Bellies wrote: »

I'm 24 yrs my self, there's a PM awaiting you.

I notice our original author is no longer willing to participate in this!

If you want to dig it out over “differentiation” and USP – knock yourselves out.

I think that The E was simply trying to contribute – which has to be applauded in a time when we need input and not indifference, as opposed to “differentiation” or USP’s

boomshackala

Hey Bellies
The E speaks the truth. When I get into my hotel or hostel, and I see something that gets me excited by the sounds of it, I'll be called to action (i.e booking your tour).
Get in the shoes of your target audience and see what makes them tick. You're 24, so you might be able to appeal to people of that age, finding quirky, excitng and 'cool' things for them to see. Thats just an example. You may want to go for the 60 somethings.

The point of this is, design a tour targeting a niche, make a catchy name for it, and have hotel workers as another poster suggest, sell the tours for you. You got to factor in a cost of sales into your ticket.

I think you will need to take this on board to be successful, if you havent done already. No amount of advertising is going to call people to action on a banal proposition, not saying your's is obviously, I don't know
Maybe you have a well targeted and branded tour already? Why not share details with us?

delllat

having to dress like a viking would lose at least 50% of your target audience,just because theyre tourists doesnt mean they want to walk around looking like knobs :rolleyes:

and the TLA"S are going OTT in this thread

blue4ever

delllat wrote: »

having to dress like a viking would lose at least 50% of your target audience,just because theyre tourists doesnt mean they want to walk around looking like knobs :rolleyes:

and the TLA"S are going OTT in this thread

I was going to say the same thing!!!!
The TLA’s are frightening on this one, obviously it’s the fault of the DIT (or whoever). But it’s possibly a KPI for the threat.
I think at this point a MOD should step in

Axwell

delllat wrote: »

having to dress like a viking would lose at least 50% of your target audience,just because theyre tourists doesnt mean they want to walk around looking like knobs :rolleyes:

and the TLA"S are going OTT in this thread

blue4ever wrote: »

I was going to say the same thing!!!!
The TLA’s are frightening on this one, obviously it’s the fault of the DIT (or whoever). But it’s possibly a KPI for the threat.
I think at this point a MOD should step in

You two are gas you remind me of the irish appentice one night where a fella was using all these abbreviations he had learned in college and Dr Bill told him less of the crap talk and get to the point...

TLA's ..KPI...OTT ..DIT...MOD....and dont forget the USP's...put down the marketing books from college lads and get to the point lol..lmao..

delllat

delllat wrote: »

having to dress like a viking would lose at least 50% of your target audience,just because theyre tourists doesnt mean they want to walk around looking like knobs :rolleyes:

and the TLA"S are going OTT in this thread

I never said that, I was simply trying to emphasise the point of being different. If you actually read what I said correctly, you would notice that I was implying that someone else dresses like a "knob" (as you so elequently put it) to get ATTENTION!!!!!

Good to see another healthy contribution by you though Dellat, you're as sharp as they come.

delllat

Deleted User wrote: »

I never said that, I was simply trying to emphasise the point of being different. If you actually read what I said correctly, you would notice that I was implying that someone else dresses like a "knob" (as you so elequently put it) to get ATTENTION!!!!!

Good to see another healthy contribution by you though Dellat, you're as sharp as they come.

your ideas are worse than useless, they are handicapped i would even say and u hate it when people tell you that :rolleyes:,go back to school or where ever because u have no place in the real world

Go and talk to your "heavily involved in politics" daddy and maybe he can find something for you to do ,u might even get to dress up

Bellies

No need for MOD to step in, all is grand. I'm done here with this topic for now.

By the way did anyone see the Viking walking down O'Connell St. this afternoon looking for his USP, or was it his KPI??????

Relax it was a joke before I get bombarded with Private Mails!!:p

chillywilly

jeez everyone just chill out or have a fight to the death. its the only way IMO........but the fight has to have a USP............(kidding:P)

delllat

delllat wrote: »

your ideas are worse than useless, they are handicapped i would even say and u hate it when people tell you that :rolleyes:,go back to school or where ever because u have no place in the real world

Go and talk to your "heavily involved in politics" daddy and maybe he can find something for you to do ,u might even get to dress up

That unfortunate post of yours sums you "u" (txt speak make it easier for you to read Dellat??? :pac:) up Dellat - zero class, picking on people online won't make you a happier person, I'm contributing and helping out here, people on this forum have PM'd me and advised me to ignore you. You're nothing but a bully on a keyboard, take the keyboard away and you're naked and vulnerable.

delllat

Deleted User wrote: »

That unfortunate post of yours sums you "u" (txt speak make it easier for you to read Dellat??? :pac:) up Dellat - zero class, picking on people online won't make you a happier person, I'm contributing and helping out here, people on this forum have PM'd me and advised me to ignore you. You're nothing but a bully on a keyboard, take the keyboard away and you're naked and vulnerable.

People on this forum have pm"D me to tell me how full of ____ you are !
You U sound like ghandi talking about the good work you do in this forum,get a grip
No offense or anything but have some of the dumbest ideas ive ever heard,its probably not your fault though

the really ironic moronic thing about it is you call yourself "the entrepreneur"

its the equivalent of someone with a 1" dick going around calling himself "the porn star"

Sonnenblumen

delllat wrote: »

your ideas are worse than useless, they are handicapped i would even say and u hate it when people tell you that :rolleyes:,go back to school or where ever because u have no place in the real world

Go and talk to your "heavily involved in politics" daddy and maybe he can find something for you to do ,u might even get to dress up

This post contains offensive comment steeped in prejudice which would not be tolerated in the workplace never mind on a business discussion forum.

Your assessment of another poster's ideas as 'handicapped' and a clear inference that they 'have no place in the real world' is reprehensible and could leave you in very difficult position in a work environment.

Intolerance and prejudice is a very effective way to alienate neutrals, no matter what value you believe your contributions to be.:mad:

Axwell

delllat wrote: »

your ideas are worse than useless, they are handicapped i would even say and u hate it when people tell you that :rolleyes:,go back to school or where ever because u have no place in the real world

Go and talk to your "heavily involved in politics" daddy and maybe he can find something for you to do ,u might even get to dress up

Tell that to the viking bus tour which is always busy and to the people on it who you think look like knobs..for looking like a knob they seem happy to hand over their money...