In case you missed the news because you were out pounding nails, the housing market has started to recover. Sales rose in all four regions for the 3rd time in a row in June, which hasn’t happened since the boom in 2004. Once people start building confidence in the market, they’ll be calling you for the job they’d been putting off. What does this mean for you? You need to stay visible.

Website Awareness

Website presence is a big plus. It will give your company added exposure. Consumers like to see your work. This is the perfect medium to show before and after pictures of past projects. If you don’t want to mess with domains and piecing it together from scratch, try a turnkey website offered through companies like Homestead. It’s an easy way to get your site up and running fast. Get a magnetic sign for your truck’s door and include your website.

Google Search

Getting around Google’s search rankings is another way to reach potential customers when they enter keywords to search for local businesses.

Log into Google and see if you’re listed by typing your business name and town or keywords and your location, e.g. electrical contractors in Sarasota, Fl. The results will show a map and the local businesses will always come first. Are you listed?

If you’re not in the local database, you’re missing out on some free business.

Here are the easy steps to get you in that local directory:

• Go here and submit your company’s information.
• In two weeks, you’ll receive a letter from Google with your pin number. Enter the pin number in the URL they give you.
• Log into your new Google account, where you can enter your company’s contact information, services, special niches, coupons, specials and hours of operation.

Realtor Referral

Right now, I have 5 contractors working on my new (old) home. I’ve got an electrical contractor, painting contractor, a general contractor that’s helping me with a thousand small jobs, and two bathroom contractors who are partners.

Why am I telling you this? Because three of those contractors were highly recommended to me by my realtor – and I didn’t shop around. Stay visible by networking with realtors. Attend their weekly meetings. If you don’t know where and when the meetings are, then call a realtor and ask.

Take a Walk

Canvas neighborhoods. I’m not talking about door-to-door sales because that’s annoying.  But if you have a niche, like roofing, painting, siding, windows, fencing, etc, and you can see from the street that a house desperately needs work in any of those areas, approach the homeowner and say, “I noticed your roof is missing some tiles, which might indicate the roof is nearing its lifespan… lucky for you, I work in this area a lot and specialize in roofing.” Treat the homeowner with concern about their problem and it won’t seem like a sales call. You never know, a harmless conversation about a certain flaw like missing tiles could turn into a big job for you.

Thank You

Don’t forget to write thank you letters!

So we have a market that encourages remodeling, however hesitant consumers are to spend, and an Internet that is fast becoming a home improvement tool in its own right. This combination has spawned a major rise in online referral services. These companies, such as CalFinder, offer homeowners an online resource on a smorgasbord of home improvement topics and an easy-to-use link to contractors in a given area. You, the contractor, pay to have these homeowners connected to your company, in the form of their contact information.

Working with these Internet leads can be a bit tricky, requiring more work on your part than traditional leads. As Dave Lupberger pointed out in a related post for Qualified Remodeler, an Internet lead will likely fall short, in terms of information provided, when compared with traditional referrals. Unless you work with a service like CalFinder that pre-qualifies every lead, you generally won’t have a personal view of the homeowner, you won’t know how serious they are, you won’t know their budget situation, and you won’t know when they want to start.

What you will have is their contact information, which is something to work with. Homeowners are generally serious about wanting to remodel, but they may be very hesitant, given today’s economy, to jump right in. Therefore Internet leads may require a little work on your part, some more aggressive marketing. Lupberger put it very nicely when he stressed the importance of developing “a good marketing pipeline.”

You note and keep track of homeowners, Internet-lead or not, that have expressed interest in your services in the past. You then be sure to make regular contact (every few months at least) with these prospects, by way of marketing tools like company newsletters, new project notifications, open houses, and more. The idea is to engrain your company’s name and services into the minds of these homeowners, so that when they are ready to remodel, it is your name that will first come to mind, and your phone that will ring.

Of course when you get a homeowner’s contact information, do not simply send them your next quarterly newsletter. Be sure to make contact with them, offer free estimates and start building a professional relationship with them. Online referrals allow you to specify the region or areas which your company services.

You know the neighborhoods and relative income levels of your best past clients. You can use this a priori knowledge, combined with a lead’s contact information, as clues to who your best prospects are likely to be. But in this day and age it is unwise to ignore any lead, especially as personal referrals give way to Internet leads as a major marketing source. Develop your pipeline and work to expand it; these are the benefits of Internet leads and your task at hand.

That means that contractor-seeking homeowners are likely bombarded with lines like, “We do quality work” or “I have years of experience” or “I am honest, I work for you!” Nowadays it takes more than a smile and a handshake to get work. It takes some creative selling. So the question becomes: What is your unique selling proposition? Your USP?

The USP is not new to marketing. Today a number of businesses and corporations search for and use their USP to the fullest extent. And in a highly competitive market it is vital that you realize and utilize your company’s unique selling point. A recent post from Qualified Remodeler offered some good advice for contractors seeking out their own USP.

That advice includes something that many of you are likely already doing — contacting past clients. But instead of contacting them simply to maintain a relationship and check on past work (an increasingly important approach in its own right), you can use them as a marketing research tool. Surely there is some reason that those past clients chose you in the first place; something about your company that somehow appealed to them more than your competition.

So the deal is to call some of your favorite, most successful clients past, of course check up on the finished project and offer any assistance needed, but also schedule a rendezvous (i.e., dinner, lunch, etc.) where you can probe them as to why they hired you. As Qualified Remodeler suggests, do this with about five of your favorite clients and look for a theme to arise, the odds are good that you will find one. This may very well by your company USP.

Of course you can also search within. Your competitive bids and quality of work will speak for themselves. Is there anything else you have to offer? Perhaps some specialized skill that you can capitalize on? It could be a unique work method that ensures fast work without sacrificing quality. In what ways are you inventive? How do you go about your work differently than the competition?

Your unique selling proposition lies below the surface and only you can know it. It may seem a bit difficult to come by at first, but once you’ve grasped it, it will be as easy as A-B-C. Just don’t forget to include past clients in the search. They will be your most informative and valuable resources during your search. Surely it is past clients who can best reveal exactly what it is about you that will appeal to future clients.

Low bidding is not without its pitfalls, however, and it is vital that no contractor bid lower than his or her means allow, especially within the realm of remodeling.

Pitfall #1: Losing Potential

Low bidding can easily lead to taking a loss. A contractor, in the oft mad drive for work, might look at a job — quickly measuring up the job and the homeowner — and feel confident enough to bid lower than normal for the work. The general gamble here is that the job will run smoothly and according to plan, despite experience of the opposite. We often counsel homeowners to be prepared for just about anything when “opening up” their home. In this case, the same advice is useful for remodelers seeking to outbid the next guy — simply having work does not necessarily spell success.

Pitfall #2: Labor and Manpower

Labor is another key issue. You, the contractor, are responsible for paying your employees, whether the job is over budget or not. Low bidding combined with unforeseen circumstances can spell disaster for your job, finances, reputation, and that all-important relationship with employees. Furthermore, should circumstances send the job behind schedule, you won’t have the resource to recruit the manpower to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.

Pitfall #3: Reputation

Reputation. Low bidding is often looked sternly upon by other contractors and trades within the community. It may seem like the short road to ongoing work, but in the long run it can be more damaging than helpful. In tough economic times all contractors are forced to lower their bids, there is no denying that; we all have mouths to feed, and that includes homeowners. But on top of all the other risks involved in low bidding, which can also hurt your reputation, tarnishing the company name is not one to ignore.

Pitfall #4: The Gamble

The basic summation of the pitfalls of low bidding is that it is a gamble, and a risky one. I imagine there are several contractors throughout the construction world for whom this practice has been successful, but I would venture that these are few and far between. I personally have seen low bidding become the downfall of two separate contractors, one to the tune of millions of dollars in losses and owed debts.

Again, at this time we all have to sacrifice, homeowner and contractor alike, but be wary of the pitfalls of low bidding. This, unfortunately, is no 4-bit video game.

Yet canvassing is not easy work, and successful programs require trained canvassers (often the contractor personally) to be effective. That is why many didn’t think too much of it during the housing boom when competition existed more between homeowners trying to find quality contractors than between contractors trying to find work. But now the tables have turned and competition abounds in the home improvement market, and door-to-door lead generation has its unique benefits and requirements, such as:

1. Instant leads. You never know who awaits behind the next door, especially these days when the need for home repair is growing as yesterday’s homes age. The economy is weak but homeowners still want to remodel and repair, they just tend to be indecisive about it, enough so to hesitate in making the call to a contractor. But if a contractor knocked on the front door?
2. The trained eye. Hitting the streets can be an eye opening experience. As you stroll up to a house you might see a sagging gutter, peeling paint, or a shoddy roof. Immediately you know how to angle your pitch. You can focus simply on what the house needs to generate your leads, leads which would have gone unfound but for the art of canvassing.
3. Determination. Door-to-door lead generation requires a healthy dose of perseverance. In many cases, realizing a lead will require one or several call-backs, not to mention knocking on a heck of a lot of doors.
4. Training. While you, the contractor, may have the trained eye to see potential problems (see #2), it is hard to work on a job and canvass at the same time. Therefore, you’ll want to hire some canvassers to do the legwork. It is vital that these employees have some training — continuing from day to day — in generating leads and interacting with potential clients. Take the time to train, it will usually still be cheaper than buying print or TV advertising.
5. Permits. Some communities, cities, and neighborhoods require permits to canvass in their area. This is often little more than a technicality but one you should definitely pay attention to before hitting the streets.
6. Tracking. In order to effectively canvass and to improve on your methods as you get started in door-to-door generation, keep close watch on the numbers: where you’re going, how you’re doing, and what percentage of leads are generated from the canvassing.
7. Considering professional help. There are specialists who’ve been helping companies set up canvassing programs for years. Depending on your situation and the size of your company and service area, it may be worth your cost and effort if you’re new at this to get a little professional push in the right direction.
8. Community. Finally, if nothing else, going door to door gets you out into the community, getting to know potential clients. In tough times a relationship and word-of-mouth can be the difference between a working contractor and an out-of-work contractor.

Many homeowners who received remodeling bids a year ago are finding that the same project today would cost thousands less.

Take for example Michael Perkocha and Tina Stott from Oakland, who just purchased a bungalow for $630,000. Last year they were getting quotes in the $250,000 range and decided to postpone remodeling because they couldn’t afford it. This January they got quotes ranging from $102,000 to $170,000 and ended up going with a contractor whose bid was $129,000. That’s a $121,000 savings!

Such deep discounts allowed them to upgrade their flooring from laminate to oak and upgrade their countertops from Formica to granite. They’re also able to add crown moldings and energy efficient windows.

Besides saving a huge chunk of money, the work is almost complete at three months, opposed to the six months they had figured on, and they’re under budget. These are huge marketing points for contractors: big savings, ahead of schedule, and under budget.

At the beginning of the year, Jack Schocker decided it was time to remodel his vacation condo in Sarasota Florida. He got estimates for replacing a couple cabinets in the kitchen that were damaged by water from the condo next door. After talking with one of the contractors he realized that for less than $30,000, he could completely redo the kitchen and remodel two bathrooms. He and his wife were going to redo everything anyway in a few years down the road. So, even though they hadn’t planned on a total redo so soon, with prices so low they decided to take advantage of the times and do the big remodel.

The word is getting around and making homeowners think, labor costs are down by 10 to 20 percent, prices for materials like lumber, steel, and copper are down, contractors are readily available, and the job gets done faster…hmm, maybe remodeling now would be a smart investment.

Homeowners who are remodeling this year are able to spend less, get a higher level of quality, and enjoy their new remodel much more quickly, and this is what contractors need to get across to homeowners. If you’re bidding a small job like Jack Schoker’s replacement cabinets in Sarasota, it pays off to mention that you can completely redo their kitchen at XYZ dollars.

Resource:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/garden/23renovation.html?pagewanted=3&_r=4&emc=eta1

For some time we’ve been keeping an eye on Jonathan Sweet and his remodeling blog, The Sweet Spot. As senior editor for Professional Remodeler, Sweet keeps a close eye on the state of remodeling these days. And he does good work in disseminating not only his opinion of the times and trends, but solid information as well.

One recent post deals with the 14 most popular remodeler marketing tactics, as opposed to those remodelers are largely ignoring. The most popular tactic? Job/truck signs, while billboards and telemarketing tie for the least popular. It is an interesting and telling list, certainly worth a look.

Online referral services serve a number of purposes. For the contractor, it is essentially a new form of advertising — contractors typically pay to be included on the list. For the homeowner, online services help expedite the contractor-finding process by doing a lot of the legwork. That includes such laborious tasks as:

• License verification
• Background checks
• Referral verification (the service calls references themselves)
• Insurance verification

Many also provide feedback from previous customers and make getting free estimates from these contractors a simple form-filling process.

Add to that the fact that many services are free, and the appeal is not hard to realize. Still, as Remodeling Guy points out, that doesn’t necessarily make online referral services a foolproof option. While the verification services provided are useful, and probably effective in general, it would not be too difficult for a dishonest contractor to get around these obstacles.

That is why the online referral service should not free the homeowner from all research obligations. It is important to remember that many of these services make money off the contractors — a good reason to let some mediocrity slip through the cracks. Now, there are plenty of online services out there; the rise of the online referral service will inevitably spawn even more hungry entrepreneurs to the cause. Therefore, it becomes necessary to effectively research the researcher, for homeowners to spend a few hours looking into the referral services themselves.

So while online referral services are an ever more effective way to reach homeowners and potentially gain some serious business, they are unlikely to be as easy for contractors as paying a fee and reaping the benefits. Well-researched homeowners will still judge by personality, although being on their list (narrowed down by the online service) will certainly help the cause.

In addition, when it comes to researching the same advice applies to contractors looking to advertise within this rising trend. It would be unwise to place your bets with a service that has had a negative reaction around the web.

Such a question can be easy or difficult. Take remodeling contractors; for you the answer is probably simple — expansion. The reason being that remodeling inherently involves many different facets of construction from carpentry to electrical to plumbing and more. Being able to offer experience, knowledge, and advice in many of these areas is a big plus.

However, if you offer a unique service, one which sets you apart from the field, then specialization may be your best route. Say you’re a custom tile setter or mason with your own formula for creativity, something that is a valuable selling point. It makes sense that you would want to hone that skill and accentuate it during interviews.

At the same time homeowners and their remodels can be very fluid things, changing as the days go by. While it is generally accepted that a well-planned remodel is the smoothest remodel, that is not always how it goes. Therefore an extensive list of skills and services, including a heightened ability to think on your feet, may be the best way to go.

Another way to expand your offerings is to expand your knowledge of new building products, especially the eco-friendly ones. As remodeling gets greener than ever, there are a lot of well-hyped products coming out to fill the need for better energy efficiency. So in these tough times, if you do have free time on your hands, feel free to spend it researching appliances, building products, and other trends that are dominating trade shows and expos. Today’s remodeling homeowners are bound to have more questions regarding the quality and longevity of these new products. Can you answer them?

According to the marketing gurus of the world, anytime a logo is scraped, it sends a mix of messages to your customers and clients. On the positive side, this change says the company is forward thinking, willing to refresh their message and therefore able to broaden or narrow its appeal. This all demonstrates that your company is open to changing with the times.

The downside of a logo change can suggest instability within the company. Is new management on board and can we get the same service we’re used to? To consumers who are not familiar with the company, they may believe the change represents a brand new organization entirely.

Millions of dollars are invested into brand marketing. It takes time for consumers to connect the dots. Throwing the old logo over board is a risky step. Company advertising on vehicles, shirts, hats, and billboards may all be wiped out or slowly fazed out. Rebranding can be harder than you think. From altering graphics and mission statements to changing front line customer service and sales staff, this is all in play and must be considered.

Industry giants like Microsoft and Nike have never feared change. Both have made several tweaks to their iconic logos but never lost touch with its core symbol. We identify the “swoosh” even though it’s been shrunk, streamlined, and modernized. Ultimately, that could be the difference we’re talking about. These logos have evolved with fresh images but at the same time, they continue to embrace their past.

Sources:

http://thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/changing-a-logo/

http://marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=23409