I was checking Marketwatch the other day, as I have some money invested in the stock market.
And since I was using a Chrome browser at the time and was not a subscriber to Marketwatch, I was forced to endure advertisements.
Which I loathe.
In fact, most of the time, I go out of my way to avoid these little 5 to 10 second intrusions into my day.
I use the Brave browser when watching YouTube videos. Which, if you don’t know allows you to avoid website ads and YouTube commercials. And, I don’t subscribe to any network television.
So, I avoid being blasted by commercials most of the time.
But this time was different.
Since almost everything I write, read, do, or talk about is related to towing, Google’s spies showed me an ad for a towing company.
Here’s the problem, though: It was a display, and the towing company was more than fifteen hundred miles from my location.
I’m in Missouri, and the towing company was in California!
Do you think that was a cost-effective way to market their services?
They might as well have been selling their services door to door.
Now, in full disclosure, the ad was part of a Yelp marketing program.
Which is just one of the reasons why I suggest you know exactly what you’re getting before jumping on their bandwagon.
But, hey, Google ain’t no better if you let them run your ad campaigns.
If you’re running an “out of the box” Google ad without adjusting the targeting, you’re wasting money.
Because their default settings will show your ads in five locations.
- Google Search
- Google Maps
- YouTube
- Gmail
- Partner Websites
Sure, Google Search and Google Maps are fine, but why on Earth would you want to advertise on YouTube, Gmail, and Partner Websites?
If you’re a towing company owner, you don’t.
Think about it.
People go to YouTube to search for how to do something or to waste time watching Shorts.
If they see an ad for a product that might solve a problem they didn’t know they had, sure, they might click on it and check it out.
But, if a guy needs help because of a car breakdown, the first place he’s going to go is Google. And search, “tow truck near me.”
Same goes for Gmail.
People use Gmail to send emails.
Rarely, if ever, do they even consider what’s in the “Promotions” tab.
And don’t get me started with Partner websites.
If your ads appear on Partner websites, you could be advertising towing services to people who are looking for pet supplies, women’s clothing, or bread-making supplies.
The way to ensure you’re getting the best bang for your marketing dollars is a search campaign that targets motorists who are searching for your services, WHEN THEY NEED IT.
Besides the no-brainer of targeting an area you serve, you’ll want to remove as much friction as possible.
What that means is don’t make them go to a landing page to find your number.
The harder you make it for them to call you, the more motivated they’ll be to just click away and conduct another search.
Now, here’s something else.
If you, the business owner, are taking on the task of running your own ad campaign, it’s not the best use of your time.
Yes, Your focus should be on getting out of the truck.
I applaud you for that.
But plopping your butt down in front of your computer trying to Frankenstein together an ad campaign is not the highest, best use of your time.
And it’s not going to get you the best ROI– in terms of your time spent and dollars invested.
You should be focused on your team and growing your business locally.
Are you making the rounds drumming up business?
Do you have a manual in place?
Are you conducting regular meetings to motivate and lift up your people, giving them appreciation when it’s due?
Are you networking so you always have prospective employees to tap into?
Just like it’s a waste of time to focus on what’s happening in the White House or Ukraine, it’s a waste of time if you’re engaged in activities that keep you from fully supporting your team.
And by that I mean training, motivating, and rewarding your people so they provide the best service to more and more customers.
You need a team of tow truck operators, dispatchers, and other support personnel who have a vested interest in seeing the business prosper well into the future.
You can’t be everywhere at once.
If that’s not what you’re doing…
Well, I blame myself.
Why?
Because you jumped on my email list with the intent of learning something to help you grow your business.
And if you’re still engaged in work avoidance rather than doing the tasks mentioned above, then I haven’t done my job to motivate you.
So, here goes.
Winning isn’t about doing everything all at once or being everywhere at once. It’s about making the right decisions consistently over a long period of time.
Don Archer
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