Cash rich/time poor mums can I pick your brains?

[thehouseofmirth]

I?m setting up an errand business and I want to market myself to busy families in Wimbledon/Wandsworth and surrounding areas who either need a bit of regular extra help to keep their lives on an even keel or someone reliable to help with one-off emergencies (like taking the cat to the vet when you can?t or don?t want to take time off work etc). I want to provide a really, friendly and local service; a bit of an alternative the ?lifestyle management? and concierge services which already exist but which I know some people find a bit off-putting.

I don?t really fancy trudging the streets putting leaflets through doors so I wondered where you would look if you wanted to use a service like mine or if you have any other feedback to help me reach my target audience, or in general ?

Sounds a good idea. Would you charge a joining fee? I can imagine using the service, but not all the time. Good luck, it sounds good!

No there's no joining fee. Just an hourly or per job rate depending on the task. If you'd like more info then please CAT me.

For research purposes would you mind telling me what kinds of things do you think you'd use a service like mine for

Hi I think its not just Mums who have this problem of cash rich time poor when I was single it was 10 times worse and i would have loved a service like that .. Now I've got an AP. I would try places like Gyms to advertise

Good idea. Thanks!

I look at the library and postoffice office notice boards when looking for a local service. I advise use typed, neat notices - I find sloppy hand-written ones really off-putting. I also feel more comfortable when a home phone no is given as well as a mobile.

Thanks Smileymoo. Which is your local Post Office? Ours doesn't have a noticeboard.

have you tried corporate intranet sites? i used to work at Deloitte and they had an advertising board.

mumsnet has a small business board.

maybe contact the nct contact person for raynes park and ask her to advertise your services either in her regular emails or in the Gas & Air mag.

i would use this kind of service for things like, having someone be in the house during the day for deliveries/establishing services/arranging tradesmen to fix things/arranging emergency childcare.

hope that helps! i know you've helped me with my school questions.

I agree with Juliette re: targeting people other than mums as well. As a mum, I now have much more time to do my own errands than I did when I was without kids and working full-time.

i would use your services but wouldn't know where to look!

the biggest thing for me would be trustworthiness. i would want to know that you wouldn't talk to people about my stuff / whatever it is and know that you wouldn't abuse whatever trust i'd put in you. i'm a very private person tho!

Hmm. I'm a bit concerned that you can't be bothered to do the leaflet drop, to be honest. Are you really committed to this kind of business/running your own business? It's hard work and you do have to put the effort in.

And given that you've chosen two very precise areas, leaflet dropping is the most accurate way to target your prospective audience. You need to do it (or pay someone else to) and then do it again at regular intervals.

I would suggest that around school holidays and in the run up to Christmas are very good times to do it - when we working parents are likely to be most stressed and most in need of help.

you can put a notice in the Kingston Road post office.

im surprised too that you wouldnt leaflet - in october i think would be a good time.

good luck!

I don't live in your area, although I used to, but can offer some general feedback. I'm probably in your target market - busy working mum without absolutely no time to spare and struggling to keep it all together. The sort of thing I would pay for is someone to be at home waiting for plumber/gas man/delivery man, someone to collect my dry cleaning before its disposed of, collect from post office etc. I would absolutely love someone for that emergency when your train is cancelled and you know you will not me home when you planned and you need someone to be around for teenagers-who-can-only-be-on-their-own-for-so-long. However, two things I would look for are references (including registering with Council or some such) to convince me that you are safe and honest, and value for money. Time poor does not necessarily mean you are cash rich, and even if you are it probably means you know the value of money. So, be realistic with the costing.

Interesting to see this thread resurrected a year on! Thanks for all your input. I did get some clients last year though interestingly they were all older people, but I had to stop for a while as I was having another baby. Ready to start again now so this has been timely.

BIWI I'm not lazy but having previously worked in marketing I know that even a well-targeted leaflet drop will have a pretty low take up rate and that there can be more time-effective ways of reaching my target market.

Hi HoM,
I'm still in the process of buying a house in Raynes Park, but once we've exchanged which should be in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed), I'd be interested to see what services you offer.

Hi Rox73 so the move's happening? Excellent! Did you go for the one in West Wimbledon in the end?

My email address is [email protected]. Let me know what I can do to help.

I didn't say you were lazy - just questioned why you wouldn't invest in the most obvious way of targeting your likely users.

And if you worked in marketing, whilst there might be a low take up, at least you do know that it's effective because you're targeting only your prospective audience.

And the secret with leafletting like this is to do it regularly - say every quarter? - so that you keep it under peoples' noses until they have a need for it.

BIWI I probably will do a leaflet (have done them in the past) but am still keen to hear from those who might use a service like this about where they would actively look, or indeed whether they would only consider using someone on personal recommendation.

for me it has to be personal recommendation. a leaflet through my door gets thrown in the bin - recycle bin. i HATE leaflets with a passion.

unless it's a takeaway menu

Hi THOM

Have you considered a small ad in a mag like "SW Families"? Its not as expensive as the local lifestyle mags in Wimbledon and Wandsworth but its bang on for your audience. There would be very little wastage against your core audience (ABC1 Women with kids, I'm assuming?) and it is distributed widely in our area. It is also picked up for free by the consumer so advertisers benefit from a perceived 'altruistic' halo.

If you are trying to target an affluent audience (ie the kind of people who are going to have the money to spend on service like this during a recession) you need to give your messaging a gilt-edge feel. Anything thrown together will be ignored and this audience, according to Nielsen, are particularly resilient to sales and advertising messages.

You also need to consider your rates of cut-through. Most leaflets wind up in the bin so whilst they are targeted, their consideration levels are notoriously low. Most post office/corner shop windows are already canvasing services from your sector (although your offering may be different, to a consumer they will probably 'view' the same).

If you fancy chatting some more over a coffee, I'd be happy to help. I spent many years working my way up in a media agency and would be happy to share what I know!

Jo xx