All your marketing should speak in a unified voice. This is not a new concept, but one we at National Home & Garden find ourselves telling people over and over again. A contractor must be able to project a cohesive vision of what value their firm offers. We call this positioning your brand.
Why is a unified position important? Because without it, you’re wasting money. If you buy marketing that doesn’t fit your positioning, you could even do damage.
Let’s think about car brands. Car companies are so good at positioning themselves, that consumers instinctively understand what each brand brings to the table just from hearing their names. Toyota means reliable quality at a middle-class price. Mercedes-Benz is known for precision engineering and luxury.
How do they convey this value? Through years of aligned advertising, Toyota became synonymous with their “total quality management” strategy. When Mercedes-Benz needs a voiceover artist, it calls on Jon Hamm to lend that “Mad Men” sophistication.
Your contracting business should be no different. The first step: Finding your brand position.
Find Your Position
Think about what your customers value in your service. Did they come to you because you had the lowest quote? Do they know how smoothly your jobs go? Were they impressed by your portfolio of beautiful projects?
The value that your customers find in your services define your brand. Value is not purely about price, although price does play a role. It also encompassed the customer’s perceived benefit from your service. That’s determined not just by your services, but by how your marketing conveys that benefit.
Let’s go back to the car analogy to think about your marketing.
What Car Do You Sell?
Now comes the hard part, evaluating your own business. It’s critical to take an honest look at how your business makes its money. There’s nothing wrong with serving the low-end of the market if it achieves the goals you set for yourself. The most important thing is accurately understanding where you are positioned so you can align your marketing to that position.
A Toyota Contractor
The Toyota is the middle of the road option for the middle class and cost-conscious upper class.
Your firm offers standardized solutions at a price point that doesn’t break the bank. Your projects don’t offer all bells and whistles and very little customization.
The Toyota contractor makes their money being the reliable option that most people can afford. The clients value that they know exactly what they’re going to get and can trust you to deliver. The bid will be a critical part of the job.
A Mercedes Contractor
The Mercedes contractor deals mostly with upper-middle-class clients and middle-class clients who are “buying up.” A lot of them are buying more than they should for the prestige and to reward themselves.
Your firm plays up the luxury angle of your home services, focusing on all the bells and whistles that you can provide. You want your firm to seems like a “splurge” for the client, because they’re either used to splurging on themselves or looking to do just that the one time a year they do.
A Bugatti Contractor
At this level, your home contracting begins to get away from emphasizing function.
It’s expected the client will get extravagance without having to spell it out.
Here, the contractor emphasizes their vision as well as their ability to see the client’s vision to fruition.
You don’t just build a patio or pool or landscape or kitchen, you create art they can use.
How to Use Your Positioning
Which type of contractor are you? Figuring it out is just the first step in creating a marketing program that works.
Contact us and we’ll help you find your niche and build a custom marketing plan that works.