want some advise on my marketing idea

Status
Not open for further replies.

ubaidabcd

Banned
Dec 12, 2006
1,030
7
0
I know this is an affiliate forum, I tried the affiliate business for a while and haven't succeeded due to financial reasons. I'm still interested in this but am waiting until I'm financially stable to invest.

So now, I'm starting a pool cleaning business and I understand my question doesn't have anything to do with affiliate marketing, but there are many creative people here, I was only here for a short time but there is so much good information here.

My question is about my marketing, I'm having trouble thinking of a company name and a slogan. I'm hoping to get some suggestions, although if this thread is deleted since it's not on topic I understand. It's just hard to find any marketing/advertising forums.

These are the two I've settled on:

"Pool-Ease"
"Pool in trouble?!?!?! Call the Pool-Ease!"

I liked that one in the beginning but realized it sounds too much like repair which is not what I'm doing, I'm just cleaning and maintaining. So, I think I had to make the right decission.

2nd:

"Pool-Sharks"
Haven't got a slogan for this yet.

3rd:

"Pool-Aid"
I also think this sounds like repair

What do you think about those? Which one would you go with if any? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

I am going to start an affiliate/referral service, but this isn't something that I can offer nationally, correct? Since my business is local based. Do you think anybody would be interested in promoting this type of business if they're not in my location? I'm planning on offering $50 for every signup.


Thanks!
 


$50 for a signup? What are you selling? Blow Up pools?

I did some SEO work for a pool place in Dallas last summer and made a killing on Google.

Anyways, when it comes to naming a pool company - you've either got to be ULTRA CUTE (i can't even think of anything) or use your first and last name pools (ex. Dennis Alderman Pools)

Everything else is just too campy and people will have a hard time spending REAL money with you.

Just My 2 Cents
 
Anyways, when it comes to naming a pool company - you've either got to be ULTRA CUTE

Do you have some examples of names of companies that are?

I forgot to mention I was also advised "Pool-Aid", but that also sounds like repairs.
 
You know what dude? I should put my foot in my mouth. Somehow by the time my brain started functioning enough to type, I had forgotten you said that you were going to be pool cleaning.

Totally different story.

$50 is probably good for affiliates. AdWords with local GeoTargeting is a really good bet. also maybe check out yellowpages.com as well.

As far as names go... you can probably get away with campy as far as pool cleaning goes... Maybe you could call it "Cabanna Boy Pool Cleaning"

I think a pool cleaning company with a theme would be kick ass.

If you did go with your Poolice 9-1-1 theme and showed up in a cop uniform, that would get some MAD word of mouth going.

If you're some fat slob though, my advice would DEFINITELY be to hire out!

hahahaha
 
Totally different story.

$50 is probably good for affiliates. AdWords with local GeoTargeting is a really good bet. also maybe check out yellowpages.com as well.

If you did go with your Poolice 9-1-1 theme and showed up in a cop uniform, that would get some MAD word of mouth going.

If you're some fat slob though, my advice would DEFINITELY be to hire out!

hahahaha

That's exactly what I was thinking to get a unifrom with badge, etc.. and somebody suggested to also get a truck with that advertising on it and sirens. Although I don't know how that would go with the city.

I was just thinking that it sounded too much like a repair business which I'm not doing. I'm confused with what to go with, that's why I'm posting to see what advise I can get.

As for affiliates, where can I go to advertise my referral service? Where can I go to have a website built for affiliates? Where they can sign up, login and see their stats, etc..
 
I'd probably just advertise the affiliate program locally, maybe on craigslist and the newspaper.

Just let them collect the leads, and pay them on conversions. You can also buy an affiliate script and have a site set up rather cheaply, but ultimately if you're paying on sales and not leads it'd be your responsibility to pay them on qualified sales.

Someone may come along with a better idea, but that seems like the best way to go for a local affiliate program, IMO.
 
perfect pool partners - you won't have to POOL your resources just to clean your POOL
 
A Few weeks ago someone rang one of the local Radio stations and did the same thing your doing now. They got listeners to ring in with there suggestions for a new baby shop business. I think they gave away a $100 gift voucher to the winner.

Some of the names suggested were superb, plus they got some great exposure...

Give it a try..
 
Where are you located? I'm working on a model right now for doing something nationwide with repairs and service accounts. I've was in the pool biz (as a builder) for a few years and have a friend that's been doing service and repairs for 15 years. If all you are looking for is service accounts, the right local advertising should get you plenty of accounts...1-2 new signups a day isn't out of the question with a few signs at freeway exits, newspapers, and Craigslist...though it really depends on the concentration of swimming pools in your area. Here in AZ, there's a pretty high ratio of pools.
 
By the way...I wouldn't overthink the name of the company...in most cases, nobody cares what the pool company is called or what their slogan is if you do a good job cleaning the pool...there are alot of guys out there that do a shitty job and screw their customers over. Promote something like "I guarantee your pool will be clean or you don't pay"
 
By the way...I wouldn't overthink the name of the company...in most cases, nobody cares what the pool company is called or what their slogan is if you do a good job cleaning the pool...there are alot of guys out there that do a shitty job and screw their customers over. Promote something like "I guarantee your pool will be clean or you don't pay"
I disagree. He can play with the name to make it memorable and give him an advertising hook. I used to be an advertising copywriter, see...

I would go with the company name Pool Boys, and make the advertising a campy joke playing on the dirty reputation pool boys have. Two hunky guys with scoop nets in-hand look seductively at the camera. "Let's Play Pool" is your headline. Spell out your terms in the ad, but keep it light and fun.

There's your campaign, no charge. :rasta:
 
I disagree. He can play with the name to make it memorable and give him an advertising hook. I used to be an advertising copywriter, see...

I would go with the company name Pool Boys, and make the advertising a campy joke playing on the dirty reputation pool boys have. Two hunky guys with scoop nets in-hand look seductively at the camera. "Let's Play Pool" is your headline. Spell out your terms in the ad, but keep it light and fun.

There's your campaign, no charge. :rasta:

But the problem with your method is that you don't understand the market - A vast majority of pool service customers are families with kids and alot of the people making the decision on who services the pool are guys, so your idea for a campaign is going to turn off almost every potential customer you have...copywriting doesn't mean you truly know your market ;) ...you have to understand who is buying from you to know how to market to them.

The reason "catchy" doesn't matter is that with pool service, the customer is going to call the first person they look up, see on a sign, etc. once they've determined that they need service. If you fit the requirements for what they are looking for, you get a contract and as long as you do the job, they are going to be your customer as long as you own the business. A friend of mine has a pool service company that's called "A Awesome Pool Service" - it's a complete douche bag name for a pool company, but he's first in the phone book (A A for the first two letters of the name) and can't keep up with the amount of business he gets.

With pool cleaning, once you have 60-80 established clients (Here in AZ, that would come out to $6,000 - $8000 per month in profit if you know how to sell yourself to the clients), you are going to be doing the job full time and you can't take on more clients, so marketing becomes less and less of an issue. Also remember, business cards are your best friend in pool service. Leave them at every customer's house every time you service the pool so they know you were there. If you do a good job, you'll get a ton of referrals.
 
Yeah, I understand about overthinking, I'm just waiting for my class to get certified, and studying, researching etc.. so just wasting time. It's the equivalent of a lawn care business, nobody really cares about the name, etc.. it's the price and service that's the bottom line. If you google pool cleaning services, they're all low budget websites with generic names.

Service is my number one priority, I've started paying somebody to train me at the pools they maintain. I learn much more visually than in class so when I get to my c.p.o. course I should know everything.

Before I start on my own, I'm going to offer free cleaning services in my area, if they complete a survey. Hopefully if I do a good job they'll ask me to work for them. When I see that I'm confident in my work then I'll start advertising.
 
No shit, who is that jackass. Somebody needs to watch less TV.

Playing Devil's advocate here, but if you ask for advice and someone offers it to you, whether it's good or bad you may not want to call them a "jackass." It only makes you look like a jackass, jackass.
 
But the problem with your method is that you don't understand the market
Well, you don't really know whether I understand the market or not.

The point of my post was to demonstrate how a merchant can make the same selling points in a creative and humorous way, thereby being more memorable. A little style and wit never hurts, and the pool boy stereotype has lots of potential for fun.
 
A little style and wit never hurts, and the pool boy stereotype has lots of potential for fun.

The wrong style and wit can hurt big time...and playing on the pool boy thing in the pool business is something that could really hurt sales. I've seen a couple of companies try to play off of a pool girl idea (college age girls in bikinis cleaning the pool) and it failed...mostly because a wife is never going to let their husband hire a hot chick in a bikini to clean their pool. Do you seriously think a husband would hire what has the appearance of a dirty pool boy to clean their pool while he's at work and his wife sits at home with the kids? I really hope not...otherwise, marketing is probably not your bag :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.