Do you know who you are?
Strange rhetorical question, right? But as a business owner, can you legitimately answer this question? What is your business known for, and what do you do different and better than your competition? I’ve worked with hundreds of businesses in a wide variety of industries, and it’s amazing how many businesses have different logos on sales collateral, two separate tag lines on their website and brochure, or even messaging that is inconsistent with why they are different.
In order to remain profitable as a business or capture a larger market share, it is absolutely necessary to develop a single message and unique selling point to distinguish your services or products from that of your competition. Simply put, a unique selling point is the answer to the question, “Why should I buy from you?” If your company has yet to develop one, it’s important that you follow three key steps of brand positioning:
Step One: Understand your target audience’s perception of your industry and brand.
We recently tackled the process of brand positioning with one of our clients, Advanced Roofing Specialists (ARS). Most homeowners have either dealt with or heard horror stories pertaining to “roofers”. There is a stereotype out there that a crew of guys will show up with no shirt on, dump the materials in your yard, trample over your lawn and flowers, leave scraps of shingles and nails scattered throughout your yard, and get the job done when they get around to it.
With the current state of the economy, many people are trying to pinch pennies, and “fly by night” roofers are getting more consideration for jobs than they justifiably should.
Step Two: Determine how you want your brand to be perceived.
Advanced Roofing Specialists has a very experienced crew that pride themselves on professionalism, cleanliness, and doing the job right the first time. With over 50 years of collective experience, full insurance to cover any unlikely but potential issues, and an obsession with being prompt, ARS is the exception to the roofing industry, not the rule.
So, who is Advanced Roofing Specialists, and how can they combat the cheap guys without any insurance that don’t stand behind their work?
We needed to think about what means the most to people that need a new roof and what motivates them to use one company over another.
Who is Advanced Roofing Specialists? They are a company driven on providing long term, high quality roofing with a promise of prompt service throughout the roofing process and long after.
I have a hunch that a lot of people out there associate these words “cost” and “price” with the same meaning, but I promise you they are worlds apart! Let’s say I have a budget for a used car of $18,000 and have my eye on a certain type of car. I find one on Craig’s List for $15,000 when most others are between $17,000 and $20,000. It’s a great price on the surface but let’s talk about the potential costs involved. Initially, I’ll save $3,000 on the purchase price — which is fantastic! After doing further research, I learn this highly discounted price has gotten in three accidents, has three different types of tires on it, has never had an oil change, and has a small chip in the windshield. Now let’s add up the potential costs: $1500 for new tires, $750 for new rims, $1100 for a new radiator that was cracked in one of the accidents, and a new windshield costing $650, all within 6 months of purchase. Your PRICE was $15,000 but your COST was $15,000 plus $4,000 (and that was only in the first 6 months of owning the vehicle). Don’t you think it would’ve made more sense to buy one of the more “expensive” vehicles for $18,000 and saved yourself a lot of time, money, and anger?
This same battle of COST vs. PRICE is something we want to highlight with Advanced Roofing Specialists. Although the price of partnering with ARS may be higher than some estimates, there is no doubt that the cost will be much less in the long term, both monetarily and in saving time.
Step Three: Implement messaging into marketing and sales pitch
Our research and brainstorming by our amazing staff at BPM led us to the tagline of “Raising the roofing standards, so you don’t have to worry” which has been implemented into their advertising and marketing materials. ARS’ sales team has also been instructed on how to better communicate the value in ARS while talking with potential customers. Check out ARS online at www.roofinggreenbay.com.
If your business needs help determining who you really are, give us a call and let’s talk. Brand positioning is both fun and rewarding!
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