Do Contractors Understand Branding

woodmagman

Is branding just for the big boys........

Cole

Hell no, or it shouldnt be.

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woodmagman

You have the loudest logo on here, don't hell no me...I bet its on everything you own.

ruskent

Everyone should brand their business. Do most contractors? NO

Do I? Yes

Cole

Oh it is, on everything and I mean everything.

I will get toilet paper for new homes made, with my logo on the sheets.

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woodmagman

I realize to most the definition is literal, to others obscure, but just in case I am in kangaroo country , my implied definition of branding is: A traditional advertising method used to create an acquired response from a target audience based on cumulative impressions and positive reinforcement. These ads are not purchase for the sole purpose generating a click or visitor. They are geared towards increased product or company name awareness and lifelong customers.

woodmagman

I do like the johnny paper idea, I do not know why it has not caught on..

dougchips

100% of the marketing training that I have received does not promote branding. My company name is on all of our marketing peices....but it takes up less space than ANY other item.

Here is a perfect example of branding that I saw today at a trade show.

A flight of stairs at the Boston trade center, maybe 30 steps tall and 3 sections wide on every other step "Pella Viewed To Be The Best". This as did not tell me what Pella does, it does not tell me what Pella can do for me, it does not make me think that I should call Pella.....what was Pella's goal? Branding, great now I know if I am ever asked who is viewed to be the best.

Branding works if you have a giant budget. Since my marketing budget is not giant my marketing is focused on what we can do for people.

1-800-54 giant---big branding that works because we hear the ad 3 times every single day....not in my budget.

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Mike Finley

I have to cry bull sh!t.

99.99% of contractors including even those that say they are branding, aren't... don't know what it really is... and can't afford to do it.

99.99% of all contractors who advertise their business at all do it in a mentality of 1:1 - spend money - get the phone to ring in response.

wackman

When I think of branding and the usefulness of it, I just think of name recognition. I definitely don't have the budget for big advertising but just having a few signs and word of mouth I've had people say "oh, I've heard of you guys".

In fact I just had a guy today call and say he heard we had a home for sale and when he heard our name as the builder he though "I've heard of them" and decided he wanted to come look at one of our homes. Before we were done walking through it he said he wanted to make an offer and he wants to add a bunch of upgrades. I hadn't even gotten to listing this home on ANYTHING, just a sign out front and we're still 45 days from completion. If he had never heard of us I doubt he would have come.

He actually said it was because of our name and the feelings/thoughts that he associated with it.

vinylguy

i can see the feelings and thoughts he had with a name like wackman!

George Z

You can be the major brand in a small community,
definitely arround your jobsites.
You can be the dominant brand to people looking in the search engines.
"You guys are everywhere" is a common comment we hear.

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DamionR

Everyones right and wrong on this one

People mistake branding for advertising. Sure... being the "name brand" in somethign defintly turns into leads sales and revenue... but it's a direct effect.

Here's my thoughts...


Branding is good for you ONLY if you can be the market leader... and everyone is a potential client for you. For example.. everyone wipes their nose. That's why we buy Kleenex.. not facial tissue.

But with us - not everyone needs a new roof (some don't own the home, etc.), or whatever we offer.

Branding is also good if a prospect can make a impulse buy based on the brand. Hotels are a good example of this. When I pull off the highway and am looking for a hotel... I'll most likely pick the Hilton or Days Inn over Bob's Cheapo Hotel... simply because the "branding" has driven me to expect the type of hotel I want to stay in. I don't know what I'll be sleeping in at Bob's Cheapo Hotel.

Hope this helps a bit!

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Mike Finley

Pretty close to my thinking.

I don't agree that you have to have a universally appealing product to brand it - I'm guessing about a couple hundred thousand employees in the field of advertising would tie you up and stuff you in a closet if you tried to convince them of that!

Branding is really nothing more than - creating a mind awareness such as when a person is in the market for *** they instantly think of company XYZ before all others.

The simple test for branding is walk up to 20 people on a public street and ask them to tell you the name of a company who could supply them with ***. Those companies have branded themselves.

I've often said on these forums that in a small town you don't have to do much advertising, all you should really be doing is branding. It's so easy to do, there is no noise, no competition to speak of, all you have to do is keep yourself somewhere close to peoples memories so when it comes time to enter into the market to buy what you sell, they think of you.

A stupid, low tech thing like a billboard permanetly rented year round with your company logo and simply "We will be there when you need us" and your phone number is more powerful in a small town than just about anything else you can think of.

Ed the Roofer

I don't have to be Coca-Cola to achieve and maximize my companys branding in the local communities where I choose to work. Branding is T.O.M.A. also, Top Of Mind Awareness.

That is initiated and kept ongoing through continuous repetetive name recognition efforts. They could be purely for achieving the Brand awareness or they could be a part or whole of your marketing efforts.

I have been told uncountable times by customers who call in for a request for an estimate, that; "Are you the only Roofing Contractor who does any work in the area?"

That is because they recognize my company name from every job sign which is always placed at every home we work on. That is because I do saturation mailers. Even if they do notneed a roof at this time, the odds are that they will sometime in the future. I have high visibility and continual recognition. The local nespaper did a TOMA research survey several years back, and out of the surveys completed, I had a significant awareness among people who probably were not even in the market for researching contractors to provide them with a new roof. I came up as the # 1 most recognized roofing contractor, eclipsing the sum total of all other roofing contractors listed.

Ed

lusori

I definatly need to work on my branding. But explaining to your boss why it's important is very frustrating. They never get it why they are getting more work when you brand better.

I need to get the company name out there.

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AtlanticWBConst

I'm late on this thread, but....

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AtlanticWBConst

Interesting information Ed. Thanks for sharing that. It sounds like you spend a decent amount on your advertising....Is that the case?

Just curious.

(FWIW - We have never advertised, but are busy by word of mouth...thus, I am not familiar with all the costs and the results of what advertising in different ways- can produce......that is why I ask)

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Ed the Roofer

I have to keep my companys name and image at the forefront of the public eye.

As a roofing contractor, I MUST sell at least 2 jobs per week to keep my crew busy full time. If I were a remodeling contractor who performed jobs of longer duration, I would be able to rely soley on word of mouth referrals.

Hence, the continuous and repetetive company visibility.

Ed

AtlanticWBConst

Point clearly understood...

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