Don't Even Bother

I can only shake my head when I see the many examples of "marketing" that seem not just useless, but counter-productive.

How many times have you past a rickety old pickup truck with a business name and phone number stenciled (badly) on the side?

Or received a flyer in your mailbox that's filled with mistakes, bad design, or is simply not appealing?

Or passed a business (convenience stores are bad for this) with posters and other POS materials literally covering every bare surface?

What a waste of effort. How many leads does the pickup driver ever get from people who see his truck? Even if he's exposed to thousands of people every day, I really doubt that many:
a.) Make a note of his name and number
b.) Don't mind the fact that his trunk is a junker, that his sign is badly made...
and actually make a phone call.

Maybe I'm an exception, but my first thought as a consumer would be "This guy isn't a professional. Even if I'm looking for the cheapest option available, who knows if he's going to rip me off or something." It's not fair to judge like this, but it's reality.

For something like this, the best option is obviously to make a small investment in better materials, vehicle repairs, or similar. But if this isn't possible, maybe Mr. Pickup shouldn't even bother promoting the fact that this his company vehicle. Who knows what other marketing tactics he could do (or afford), but this one's clearly not for him.

This should be pretty obvious, but it seems like the majority of small businesses make these mistakes.

Cost isn't the real issue. There are plenty of really good ways to promote a brand that are absolutely free (or cheap). If you can't make the leap from "free but good" to "pricey but better", don't try to go halfway (ending up at something like "cheap but... cheap").

I think a lot of business people (using the term loosely) are under the mistaken impression that their prospective customers don't care about image.