Branding Your Vehicle: The Ultimate Guide

Branding your work vehicle is an easy form of advertising that works.

Not only can throwing some vinyl graphics on your work truck gain you a few leads here and there, but it also helps to build authority and trust with your customers – two things that should be at the heart of your marketing strategy.

But just like anything else, it will only be effective if executed properly.

In this article, I discuss the many benefits of branding your vehicle and what to consider before you do. I’ll then discuss available options and offer insights that I have gained through the experience of branding my handyman truck.

The Benefits of Branding Your Work Vehicle

As a handyman or contractor, you will be driving a lot. It would be a shame to waste all of those miles when you could be promoting your company at the same time with almost zero long-term effort.

Here are a few benefits of a well-branded vehicle.

#1 – Creates Brand Recognition

Customers are more likely to hire you if they are familiar with your brand due to a psychological phenomenon known as the mere exposure effect.

By simply recognizing your company, a potential customer is more likely to choose you, even if they know nothing about you and even if you aren’t the best option.

That’s because the mere exposure effect works on a subconscious level.

By driving around a branded vehicle, you expose hundreds of people to your brand every day, slowly gaining brand awareness and recognition.

That lady in the Lexus sitting behind you at the stoplight may not need a handyman today, but if she finds you online later, she will be more likely to choose you over the competition simply because she recognizes you.

#2 – Builds Trust

I’m always talking about building trust with customers because I think it is the most influential factor in a customer’s decision on who to hire.

If a customer trusts you, they will not only be more likely to hire you, but they’ll be less likely to question your pricing or stand over your shoulder while you’re doing your job.

Simply displaying your company information on your vehicle helps demonstrate that you are serious and established. You are showing your customer that this is what you do, and you take it seriously.

Additionally, if you drive a clean and well-branded truck, customers will trust that you will treat their home in a similar manner.

#3 – Increases Authority

People make assumptions about you based on your appearance. It’s just the way humans are wired.

We do this because there’s often nothing else to rely on when judging another person’s abilities.

If we see a man in a suit and tie, we assume he’s an important business person. When we see a Dr. in a lab coat, we trust that he knows what he’s talking about regarding our health.

When you pull up to a customer’s home, and they see your well-branded work truck, they will assume you have a certain level of experience and expertise. They will be more likely to respect your knowledge and listen to what you have to say. They are also more likely to trust you and be influenced by you. Authority makes it far easier to sell your services and stand out from the competition.

#4 – Cheap Advertising

If you do it yourself, branding your vehicle can be done for a couple hundred bucks. If you get a full vehicle wrap, it might cost a couple grand.

However, high-quality vinyl stickers will last for years and reach thousands of people during that time. In addition to the benefits I just listed, they will also generate new customers.

I can remember several times customers approached me while I was parked at another customer’s home or called me and mentioned they saw my truck.

Compared to other forms of advertising, it’s very cost-effective if done well.

A good example is carpet companies. They typically do a great job advertising specials on their vans. Usually, they will have a one-room carpet cleaning special for $39.99 or something similar pasted all over their vans. Why? Because it works. They may not make money on that one room, but you can damn sure bet they’ll profit from the rest of the house and the return business.

Designing the Graphics

Now that you understand the many benefits, it’s time to design your truck branding.

Step #1 – Define a clear goal for the graphics

First off, what are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to gain new customers while driving down the highway? Are you trying to drive traffic to your website? Or are you just trying to look more professional or established when you pull up to a customer’s home?

If you are looking to gain new customers, I recommend going big with your lettering and doing a full vehicle wrap. Ideally, a customer will be able to read the lettering and get your contact information from a hundred yards away. You want to grab their attention, and don’t forget to give them a compelling reason to call you.

If you just want to look more professional to existing customers, some vinyl decals on the driver and passenger doors will do the trick just fine. In this case, you may be just trying to separate yourself from the weekend handyman without driving around a massive billboard.

Step #2 – Choose the content

There is no correct answer when it comes to putting your company info on your truck. I’ve seen people with just a name and website, and I’ve seen others with their name, logo, phone number, website, and a list of services.

If your goal is to generate new business, the most important thing is to clearly say what you do and how to contact you. If you are a handyman, the word handyman better be on your truck, especially if it’s not in your company name. It needs to be very obvious what you do and how to contact you.

Advertising a running special is a great way to get customers to take action and call you. The best way to do this is to identify a common service that your ideal customer needs but rarely gets around to doing. Gutter cleaning, carpet cleaning, painting, pressure washing, or any type of cleaning or upkeep are all excellent examples. Try to put together a deal that compels them to call you but also ends up turning a decent profit.

What are your specialties? If you specialize in particular services, consider highlighting those to attract customers for jobs that you actually want.

Step #4 – Layout the Design

If you have photoshop or a similar photo editing program, you can do this step yourself. However, if you plan on doing something advanced like a full vehicle wrap, I’d recommend having a professional do it.

That being said, here’s how I did it.

First, I took some pictures of my truck in front of a solid background with good lighting. I drove around town until I found a good spot. Then I took photos of the back and sides from about 100 feet away, so the shape of the truck wasn’t distorted.

Once I had the images, I went home and used photo editing software to insert my logo and other text that I wanted to be displayed. I messed around with it until I found a layout that looked good and achieved my goal, which was to look more professional and increase my brand awareness.

Once I had a layout that I liked, I sent the images over to a local media printing company to print the vinyl graphics I needed. They took some measurements of my truck to ensure they printed the right size, and a few days later, I picked up my vinyl and installed it myself.

The total cost was $300, and it took me about a dozen hours. Since money was tight, I didn’t mind spending the time to do this.

Vehicle Branding Options

Magnetic Car Signs

This is by far the easiest and most cost-effective way to brand your work truck or trailer. You can go to sites like vistaprint.com to design a custom car magnet.

The cost is usually $50-$100 for a sign.

Magnetic signs are a good option if you want the ability to take off the signs and drive the truck as a personal vehicle. However, I believe these look far less professional than vinyl decals. It’s a good option and is better than nothing, but I’d go with something more permanent and professional if you can afford it.

Vinyl Graphics (recommended)

This is the option that I went with, and it ended up costing me about $300. The only cost I had was printing the vinyl since I designed and installed the graphics myself.

Vinyl graphics are a semi-permanent solution that gives you the ability to look professional and established. If applied correctly, the vinyl will last up to 8 years. Mine were on my truck for over three years and had no signs of deteriorating when I removed them, despite taking my vehicle through the car wash several times.

You can easily remove vinyl graphics without damaging your vehicle, which is a nice bonus.

Custom Vehicle Wrap

If you want to go big, you can do a full vehicle wrap.

How much does a custom vehicle wrap cost?

Depending on where you live and what vehicle you are wrapping, you can expect to pay anywhere between $1,500 and $5,000 for a vehicle wrap.

Vehicle wraps aren’t cheap, but they are by far the most effective way to get attention with your vehicle branding.

Vehicle wraps also last a long time. Many installers will provide a warranty for up to seven years and say you can expect them to last at least nine years.

Reasons to avoid branding your vehicle

It’s not always worth it to brand your work vehicle, and here are a few reasons to hold off.

#1 – You are a terrible driver

If you often piss off drivers around you or suffer from road rage, you’d be better of flying under the radar.

I don’t consider myself a bad driver, but one day got too close to a jogger while making a right-hand turn. The lady quickly pulled out her phone and called the number on my truck. Since I’m a one-man show, I answered and listened to her complain about how my “employees are driving recklessly, and I should do something about it.”

#2 – You aren’t sure about which services you want to promote

If you’re just starting your handyman business, it can take a while to get your services dialed in. The last thing you want to do is promote a bunch of services you don’t want to offer long term and then have to change your signage again.

So, unless you are certain that you want to promote a specific service, you may be better off waiting until you get your ideal customers, services, and marketing strategy dialed in.

#3 – You already have too many customers

I eventually removed my vinyl decals because I no longer needed the advertising. My website eventually got to the point where it supplied me with more than enough new leads.

I also didn’t like worrying about dinging my reputation with accidental driving mistakes.

#4 – You plan to upgrade your vehicle later

When you are just starting out, it’s usually best to just use your personal vehicle until your business grows enough to justify investing in a dedicated work truck.

That way, you can invest in the ideal work vehicle before paying for expensive signage.

Conclusion

A well-branded work vehicle can help you grow your business and attract customers.

• It helps build trust and authority, making it easier to sell your services.
• It helps build brand recognition, which helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
• It’s a cost-effective advertising method for generating new leads.
• It’s relatively easy to get it done, whether you hire someone or do it yourself.

If you’re serious about growing your local service business, investing in some sort of vehicle branding is highly recommended.