In 1977, my Dad opened the scrap yard where I work today — his marketing & branding lessons.

He's a smart guy.

If you haven’t read my story, here’s a quick recap.

I went to college to study history but couldn’t get a research job in a museum after graduating.

So, I started doing all of the marketing for my brother’s scrap yard (that my Dad started) 2012.

Recently, I wanted to discover what marketing strategies my Dad used in the 1970s and 1980s.

My goal was to see what did/didn’t work and how those strategies relate to the ones I use today for the same company.

Below are questions I asked my Dad about the beginning of his company:

How It All Started:

What inspired you to start the scrapyard business in the 1970s, and what were your initial goals?

I graduated from Rutgers University and commenced a short lived accounting career, I knew then what my fellow workers were making, what their bosses were making and what their bosses were making.

I knew it was not enough to spend years climbing the corporate ladder to make a regulated amount.

I had been in business previously, I knew that an hourly, daily, weekly stipend was not for me.

I borrowed a thousand dollars from my mother, combined it with what I had, and struck out to make my fortune.

Describe the landscape of the scrap yard industry during that time in New Jersey.

A scrap yard or junkyard at that time was significantly different from some of the recycling centers of today.

Usually they were run by old timers who had attended the school of hard knocks, they made money the old fashioned way, often by skimming weight.

Alloys were never discussed, scrap consisted more of iron and steel, copper, aluminum and brass: no high grades, no specialty metals, no rare earth.

Old School Marketing Strategies:

What key marketing strategies did you use when you started your business?

Material was purchased face-to-face at their facility. I had a very large flatbed, and I carried a scale, which I would tell the customers to weigh themselves on to verify accuracy.

My business saying at the time was “Scrap Yard on Wheels!”

I started sending out pre-printed postcards. They cost $0.13 to buy, and it cost me $0.15 to have my message printed. I bought lists of addresses, and I would have my wife go through the phone book to acquire names and addresses.

How did you identify and reach your target audience without digital tools?

Initially, I went door to door; I did not have a permanent location at that time. Once I rented a large warehouse, I started advertising in the local papers. And back then it may sound archaic now, but we used the Yellow Pages.

Advertising was always expensive. I acquired two “1-800” numbers and ran them in all my ads. One was for a free call, the other a free fax number.

There was no internet, no texting, no emails, we used fax machines.

My 1-800 fax number allowed people from all over to send me their information. They did not realize I was a small recycling center; they saw my 1-800 number and sent me their information.

Soon, I started to advertise in trade journals in addition to my Yellow Page ads.

Could you share some of the most effective marketing tactics you used?

The free ability for someone to call or fax me, direct mailers, I had my truck fully detailed, including the roof of the car with the words we buy scrap computers and the 1-800 number.

We were able to read the truck roof from over 40 stories up.

Your Challenges During Growth:

Were there any unconventional or unique marketing tactics you tried that worked surprisingly well?

The 800 numbers were the hit, and combined with a fax machine, they made my small business appear significantly larger than it actually was.

I also landed a large corporate job, which I kept for twenty years.

Having a large satisfied corporate customer who did not mind giving you excellent references was also very instrumental in growth.

Building on Customer Relationships:

How did you build and maintain relationships with your customers?

Excellent service, prompt payment, and reasonable accommodations were always the way to satisfy and keep customers.

Can you share a memorable story about interacting with a customer that had a significant impact on your business?

It was very long ago that a customer brought me a handful of printed circuit boards. He said there was gold on the boards and asked if I had purchased them.