Marketing Tips: Stretch Your Marketing Budget

The ubiquity of soft drink and motor vehicle ads tells part of the story about why those companies are so successful. But, let's face it: Most small businesses don't have a lot of money to spend on marketing. That means you have to make every penny count!

Here are some simple tips to help you stretch your marketing budget—so you can draw in more customers without breaking the bank!

• First and foremost, if something is working, stick with it. Don't abandon older methods just because you're bored with them. If something you're doing still has legs, if it's still drawing in customers, milk it for all it's worth!
• Don't over-present yourself. You may be tempted to spend a load of money on four-color brochures or fancy embossing like Fortune 500 companies. Sure, it looks great, but it's far more effective to employ a well-designed piece that fits comfortably within your budget.
• Use modular pieces. Consider using groups of promotional literature that can be assembled (e.g., into a packet or folder) from individual pieces. That way, you can customize your presentation without having to create a specific piece for each application. Having a modular system also allows you to hand out individual pieces as needed, so you're not wasting an entire, expensive piece in a situation in which it's not required.
• Get maximum mileage out of existing content. Images, copy, and sometimes even layouts generated for one promotion can often be repurposed in other pieces to significantly reduced creative costs and effort. You don't have to reinvent the wheel for every project!
• Use outside creatives judiciously. If you can handle projects internally, you can save a lot of money. Of course, if you don't have a creative bone in your body, getting outside help can be crucial. But make sure that you hire talent whose portfolio—and fees—are appropriate for your needs. If you do use contractors, you can save money by taking advantage of discounts and avoiding late charges by paying invoices on time. You might also foster goodwill that can result in better service and reduced prices on future projects.

"You've got to spend money to make money," the old saying goes. But if you're smart about your marketing strategies, you don't have to spend a lot of money!

Americans Growing Indifferent to Dangerous Driving Behaviors

You've probably read some of the many pieces published recently noting the decline in the number of miles that Americans drive (here's one). While this development is probably a good thing in terms of safety statistics and our environmental health, you might think that it spells the end of traffic school. On the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth! Our primary mission has always been traffic safety education, and a new report from AAA makes it apparent that that's never been more necessary.

An recent analysis of survey data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that Americans are now less likely to perceive a serious threat from dangerous driving behaviors than they were a few years ago. And while traffic crash fatalities had been on the decline in recent years, the decreased concern is accompanied by an estimated 5.3% increase in annual fatalities—totaling more than 34,000 in 2012.

Some of the dangerous behaviors over which survey respondents' concern has dwindled over the previous four years include:

• The number of people who believe driving after drinking is a serious threat declined from a near universal 90% in 2009 to 69% in 2012.
• The number of people who consider drowsy driving a very serious threat declined from 71% in 2009 to 46% in 2012.
• The number of people who believe that texting or emailing while driving is a very serious threat declined from 87% in 2009 to 81% in 2012. The number of people who admit to texting while driving increased from 21% to 26% during the same period.
• The number of people who consider red-light running to be completely unacceptable declined from 77% in 2009 to 70% in 2012. Over a third (38%) admitted to running a red light within the previous month.

It's clear that the traffic safety education industry still has quite a bit of teaching to do! Make sure you're discussing these extremely hazardous behaviors—and their potentially deadly consequences—with your students in class. And take every opportunity to advocate for safer driving behaviors. You might just save a life!

"Licensed" or "Approved"?

Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) is writing to remind you that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) does not allow you to market your traffic violator school (TVS) as "DMV-Approved". Rather, TVSs are licensed by the DMV, and must be advertised that way on your website(s) and in all other marketing materials.

Please check your website(s) for this language. If you are currently advertising your TVS as "DMV-Approved," you must have this changed to "DMV-Licensed." Have your Web designer take care of these edits. Or, if you have obtained a website through TSC, please e-mail Chris Kalili to request an update to the site.

Note that if this situation is not verified and corrected, as needed, you will be marked as non-compliant on the next regulatory review of your website! Please take a moment to check your site and ensure that the appropriate edits are made.

Update: Sizzlin' Summer Sales Competition

A month ago, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) wrote to announce its Sizzlin' Summer Sales Competition. The goal of the contest is simple: Increase your number of paid registrations and the percentage of students purchasing Completion Trackers during the competition period (vs. similar statistics from the previous month). The two affiliates with the greatest improvement in each of these two categories will win great cash prizes.

Progress Report

The top performers for the halfway point of the contest (July) are:

Registrations

1. A Driving Ed. Trainers: +144%
2. Newport Driving School: +32%

Completion Trackers

1. Prestige Driving and Traffic School: +210%
2. Nice and Easy Traffic School: +29%

It's Not Too Late!

In the original announcement, we shared some marketing tips that could help you to boost your numbers. And as you can see, those who have been picking up the phones have seen a significant increase in sign-ups and in sales of Completion Trackers.

If you could use some extra income these days—and let's face it, who couldn't?—follow our tips for success. And if you boost your performance enough, you could earn yourself a prize at the end of the contest to boot!

New York Name Change

Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) is providing official notification to our affiliates (delivery agencies) that we are, as the sponsoring agency of your New York State Department of Motor Vehicles-approved Accident Prevention Course and for the programs that we offer at the corporate level in New York, now operating under the name "www.LowCostAccidentPrevention.com."

From this point forward, "www.LowCostAccidentPrevention.com" will appear (along with "Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc.") as the sponsoring agency on all of your paperwork, including receipts, student workbooks, classroom postings, attendance credit slips, and advertising.

We have updated TSC's ASAP™ Web service that you use to manage your classes and generate classroom materials to reflect this change. Be sure that you use these new materials, and note your sponsoring agency as "www.LowCostAccidentPrevention.com," from now on.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact Donna (via email or by calling 800 . 252 . 9951).

Sizzlin' Summer Sales Competition

Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) is excited to announce its first affiliate contest, affording you the opportunity to earn over $350 in prizes!

All established California affiliates will have the chance to participate in an eight-week competition that will award four valuable cash prizes for being one of the most improved affiliates.

The goal is simple: Increase your number of paid registrations and the percentage of students purchasing Completion Trackers during the competition period (vs. similar statistics from the previous month). The two affiliates with the greatest improvement in each of these two categories will win the prizes.

Marketing Tips

At TSC, we want to help you to boost your sales and realize your business goals. We, therefore, offer the following suggestions that have proven effective for our corporate-level traffic schools:

• Direct Phone Registrations: When students call for information, be sure to capture those registrations immediately by signing them up for a course while you have them on the phone. (You can do this even for Internet-based students, rather than letting them register themselves later—if they ever return to your site.) We have found that this simple tactic can lift registration rates by roughly 15%.
• Offer the Completion Tracker During Registration: Upsell the Completion Tracker while you have the student on the phone. We have found that doing so boosts sales of the Completion Tracker service by approximately 20%. 

Contest Details

• The competition will run for two months, from July 1 through August 31, 2013.
• Orders generated during the competition period will be compared against similar statistics from the period of June 1 through June 30, 2013.
• First- and second prizes will be awarded to the affiliates with…
• the largest percentage increase in paid registrations of traffic violator school (TVS) students.
• the largest percentage increase in the rate of TVS students who purchase a Completion Tracker with their tuition.
• The winners of the contest will be contacted by Chris Kalili in September 2013, and checks will be issued to them, by TSC, for the amount of the prizes.
• This contest is open to established California affiliates (those on the DMV's OLSIS list of approved TVS course providers as of April 1, 2013) of TSC.
• Participation in the contest is optional, however all eligible affiliates are automatically enrolled.

Best of luck, and have fun!

New Virginia Laws for 2013

The latest legislative session produced statutory revisions that provide for enhanced penalties for drivers who send or read text-based messages while operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving is one of the most important safety issues currently facing regulators, traffic safety experts, and drivers themselves, and it's unsurprising to see revisions of this nature as awareness about the issue grows. Indeed, a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truckers who text message while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or to get into a near-wreck than undistracted drivers!

Virginia law already makes it illegal for anyone to operate a motor vehicle while using a handheld personal communications device to send or read a text message or e-mail. Exceptions are made for the operators of emergency vehicles, for the reporting of an emergency, if the vehicle is lawfully parked or stopped, and for navigation or digital dispatch systems.

Under the new regulations, texting is now a primary enforcement violation (rather than secondary), meaning that a driver may be stopped for this offense alone. And the penalties have been expanded:  A first offense is punishable by a fine of $125 (up from $20), and second or subsequent offenses are punishable by a fine of $250 (up from $50). Further, drivers who are convicted of reckless driving face a mandatory minimum $500 fine if they were texting at the time of the offense. These changes take effect July 1, 2013.

This information has already been updated in the curriculum materials for your Internet-based program, and no action is required on your part. Of course, enhanced penalties aside, we encourage you to stress to students that—for the sake of their safety and the safety of others with whom they share the road—they should never text or engage in other distracting activities while they are driving.

Welcome, California Affiliates!

We at Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., would like to take this opportunity to welcome our California affiliates to the TSC Affiliate News Weblog/Newsletter. We'll be posting periodically to keep you up-to-date on new products and developments at TSC headquarters, to offer helpful suggestions on managing and marketing your traffic school, and to inform you of industry related information that could affect you and your operations.

Because the blog is ultimately intended as a means to disseminate useful information to you, our affiliates, we're open to your input. Feel free to add a comment to any article you see here (comments are moderated).

Now Available: TLSAE Online and Driver's Permit Online

A few posts back, we promised that Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) was developing several exciting new products. We're back now to introduce our two newest offerings: the Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE) Course Online and the Driver's Permit Test Online!

Exciting New Products

TLSAE Course Online

Drivers who have never held a regular driver's license in any state, country, or jurisdiction, must complete a TLSAE course before applying for a temporary driving permit (restricted driver's license) in the state of Florida. As well, drivers under the age of 21 who receive a notice of suspension for driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.02 to 0.05 must complete a TLSAE course in order to reinstate their driver license on a hardship basis.

TSC has offered affiliates its classroom-based TLSAE curriculum for a number of years, and affiliates have been able to purchase an Internet TLSAE course through us as well. But this development will transfer TSC's high-quality classroom to curriculum to an Internet-based format. Now you'll be able to offer the same great TSC TLSAE course that you're accustomed to teaching in the classroom via the Internet!

Driver's Permit Test Online

Unlicensed drivers under the age of 18 who have completed an online TLSAE course now have the option of taking their Driver's Permit Test via the Internet. Our students love the ease and convenience of completing their driver's permit test online! The flexibility and convenience of this option allows them to skip the congestion, long lines, and waiting at their local DHSMV office. Instead, they're able to relax and pass the test from the comfort of their own home.

Great Package Options

We've also combined these products (along with our Practice Permit Test) into some helpful, money-saving packages. By offering these great package options, you can sell yourself as a convenient, one-stop source of authoritative information for young drivers!

How to Get These Programs

We're rolling out these new products to you just as fast as we can! Justin, our Web designer, will be contacting you shortly to discuss the transition to these new products.

The advantage to this change—aside from superior products for your students—is that you'll get your money right away! TSC subtracts the "seal" costs from each transaction, but all other money goes directly into your business account at the time of sale. You no longer have to wait for a check for payment from TSC for these products.

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and this year it couldn't come soon enough. A report recently published by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) hints at a spike in motorcycle deaths in 2012. Based on the preliminary data provided, GHSA projects that the number of motorcyclist traffic fatalities in the United States increased about 9 percent from 2011 to 2012. A variety of reasons for this upsurge have been suggested, but the fact remains that, in the words of GHSA's deputy executive director, Jonathan Adkins, "This is a bad situation that is getting worse."

Motorcyclists have the same rights and privileges as any other motor vehicle on the roadway. But make sure you stress to your traffic school students that they must safely "share the road" with motorcycles. Motorcycles are often overlooked by drivers. Motorcycles' smaller size makes them hard to see in the first place, and it makes it difficult to accurately judge their distance and speed. Quick acceleration and the need to frequently adjust lane position also make motorcycles challenging to track. But because most automobile-motorcycle crashes are caused by a motorist's failure to detect a motorcycle in traffic, it's easy to see why greater vigilance is vital.

Drivers are encouraged to:

• Check mirrors frequently, and always check blind spots before changing lanes.
• Watch for oncoming cyclists when making left turns.
• Expand following distances when behind a motorcycle. Motorcyclists may need to adjust their speed or location within their lane.
• Allow motorcyclists a full lane width. Do not share the lane.
• Avoid distracted driving. It's always dangerous, but motorcycles require even greater attention from motorists.

Traffic Safety Marketing, a communications resource sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shares downloadable resources related to motorcycle safety. Let's get the word out!