Question about advertising a new business

The One Doctor

Hi all,

Not sure if this question is relevant here as it seems to be all high powered stuff here, but though I'd ask anyway.

I work as a professional furniture upcycler and restorer (and other stuff such as custom small wood sculpture) in a small company. I have my own workshop at home and am building up an online presence.

But what's the best way of actually getting customers? I'm sharing my projects on Instagram, Twitter and my personal Facebook, but somehow I think that'll be a slow way to get clients in. Since I have a small workshop I can't do more than two or three projects a week, but honestly I don't want much money anyway.

I suspect a business Facebook account is the best way to go, along with word of mouth, but I'm open to suggestions.

For reference, I'll be restoring and/or repainting chairs, tables, kitchen fixtures, fireplaces, bannisters etc. Will also be doing classes etc as I'm s qualified trainer.

Advice welcome!

whiskeyman

Would it be an idea to get a stall in a flea market or similar where you had photos of 'before' and 'after' / examples of your projects?
Or perhaps there's upcycling fairs?
You need to find out where your customers are and show them your products / services. I would have thought such people who attend these markets would be interested in this.

is_that_so

The One Doctor wrote: »

Hi all,

Not sure if this question is relevant here as it seems to be all high powered stuff here, but though I'd ask anyway.

I work as a professional furniture upcycler and restorer (and other stuff such as custom small wood sculpture) in a small company. I have my own workshop at home and am building up an online presence.

But what's the best way of actually getting customers? I'm sharing my projects on Instagram, Twitter and my personal Facebook, but somehow I think that'll be a slow way to get clients in. Since I have a small workshop I can't do more than two or three projects a week, but honestly I don't want much money anyway.

I suspect a business Facebook account is the best way to go, along with word of mouth, but I'm open to suggestions.

For reference, I'll be restoring and/or repainting chairs, tables, kitchen fixtures, fireplaces, bannisters etc. Will also be doing classes etc as I'm s qualified trainer.

Advice welcome!

Yeah, all the social media stuff but you don't say whether you have a website. That's a must and gives you control over content. Look at Pinterest as well. Stick a testimonial page on your site and get people to to give you reviews on Google. Look out for events, fairs and similar, where you might be able to get a stall. Have you looked at radio advertising? There's also local sponsorship, like say a kids' GAA team with your name on it. What about Youtube videos of what you do? Finally set up a Google Ads account and use it to see what exactly people are searching for. Best of luck to you.

The One Doctor

is_that_so wrote: »

Yeah, all the social media stuff but you don't say whether you have a website. That's a must and gives you control over content. Look at Pinterest as well. Stick a testimonial page on your site and get people to to give you reviews on Google. Look out for events, fairs and similar, where you might be able to get a stall. Have you looked at radio advertising? There's also local sponsorship, like say a kids' GAA team with your name on it. What about Youtube videos of what you do? Finally set up a Google Ads account and use it to see what exactly people are searching for. Best of luck to you.

I don't have a website but I've worked in IT for years so building one isn't a problem. I'll do the research.

is_that_so

The One Doctor wrote: »

I don't have a website but I've worked in IT for years so building one isn't a problem. I'll do the research.

I'd avoid building from scratch, been there done that!:p Most hosting providers offer tools and templates to save you the work and there are generally plenty of good portfolio options and then there's Wordpress. Check this out as well.

https://leandomainsearch.com/

ironclaw

Ditto on the advice above but I'd also be looking at the two ends of your supply chain. Where are people dumping old items that you can upcycle? And where is your market buying such items? If you can get items in, you can then sell them at the other end.

tricky D

The One Doctor wrote: »

I don't have a website but I've worked in IT for years so building one isn't a problem. I'll do the research.

Careful on this. IT and Web can be quite different. IT will help building a website but running a web presence is mainly marketing.


For upcycling, the more specific the genre you have the better Social Media groups will perform. A friend does 60s/70s retro furniture and this works for him. He also does a lot of selling through adverts.ie which reflects the more localised market.


For restoration, I would go more to search. It is more of a discretionary service so building up a social media presence waiting for leads is not efficient compared to way search leads get picked up.


Do get yourself a website and feed your instagram, pinterest etc. as you have the advantages of a visual subject matter (before-after) and stories (Antiques Roadshow stuff). I looked at upholstery websites a few years back and there was good potential for trumping the competition if you executed your web presence better.



Definitely look at Google Ads and beyond. The tools they have provide so much digital marketing intel.

Reborn2020

The One Doctor wrote: »

Hi all,

Not sure if this question is relevant here as it seems to be all high powered stuff here, but though I'd ask anyway.

I work as a professional furniture upcycler and restorer (and other stuff such as custom small wood sculpture) in a small company. I have my own workshop at home and am building up an online presence.

But what's the best way of actually getting customers? I'm sharing my projects on Instagram, Twitter and my personal Facebook, but somehow I think that'll be a slow way to get clients in. Since I have a small workshop I can't do more than two or three projects a week, but honestly I don't want much money anyway.

I suspect a business Facebook account is the best way to go, along with word of mouth, but I'm open to suggestions.

For reference, I'll be restoring and/or repainting chairs, tables, kitchen fixtures, fireplaces, bannisters etc. Will also be doing classes etc as I'm s qualified trainer.

Advice welcome!

Hi - Pinterest is definitely the way to go for you. Make sure you link your website and shopping options to it and use 'rich pins' - this is where you can information about the images.

tricky D

Bear in mind that Pinterest is ~80% female audience which needs to considered when designing a campaign. Such a skewed demographic has its pros and cons.