Nimble on the Web
The marketing around tax credits shows just how fast messages must change in an online world. For instance, no sooner was the ink dry on the ARRA than Cardinal Builders had a red banner at the top of its home page announcing that the composite windows it carries qualify for tax credits. As interest developed, the company was able to change site content overnight to add its dollar-for-dollar discount to the educational material and site links.
Vice president of operations Michael Lelasher says that he chose the Web as his focus — “Our website is our pitch book” — because that’s where anyone in Central Ohio who is curious about energy tax credits would go to get information. “They may not even know they need windows or that they can get a tax credit for them,” he says. “I want them to go into Google, type in ‘tax credit,’ and we show up.”
Cardinal Builders’ heavily optimized site appears on the first page of Google’s organic search results. This March, unique visitors more than tripled: from 518 a year ago to 1,780 this year. The caveat: There are four other window companies on the first page of search results when Central Ohio residents go online and search on “energy tax credits.”
While individual window replacement companies look for ways to get public attention, the Metal Roofing Alliance, an industry group of manufacturers and contractors, put together an integrated vertical marketing campaign using TV and radio commercials, plus Facebook and Twitter pages, to drive traffic to the group’s site. Besides links to the Energy Star page on qualifying metal roofs and to an IRS page, visitors can type in their ZIP code to connect with a roofing contractor in their area. “Anybody chasing that $1,500 is a competitor,” says Ryan Katz, of Congruent Media, which planned the site and the marketing campaign.
Low-Key Approach
Among those doing the chasing are more than a few full-service and design/build companies. Since a lot of the work for such companies comes from past customers or referrals, opportunities to market and sell around the tax credits may not be as obvious.
But they certainly exist. In a relationship-driven sale, an effective approach tends to be more about quality and service and less about price, though clients definitely appreciate being able to save money or upgrade components at a savings.
There are two reasons why full-service remodelers might not want to wave the price flag. One is the size of the tax credits relative to the project. Twenty-five percent savings or more may well prompt an inquiry or close a sale; 1% or 2% is unlikely to do so. In other words, no one’s going to contract for an addition or a whole-house remodel because of the $1,500 they can save on their taxes. But if they’re already interested in those projects, your ability to talk about energy tax credits and green remodeling could be persuasive.
“It’s tough to close a deal right now,” says John Sperath of Blue Ribbon Construction, in Raleigh, N.C. Which is why, he feels, “It’s important to let people know we have our ear to the ground, that we’re the professionals. It gives consumers a sense that these guys know what they’re doing.”
The other reason is that while, like anyone, affluent customers thinking about a large remodel want to save money, their first concern is finding a contractor who will design and build to their satisfaction. So price promotions may not only fail to connect, they may even damage your brand among the demographic you seek and service.
“In design/build, [price marketing] is kind of hokey,” says Bob DuBree, owner of Creative Contracting, in North Wales, Pa. “We’re going for higher-income people who are savvier than that.”
Marketing expert David Alpert, of Continuum Marketing, in Great Falls, Va., whose clients are primarily design/build contractors, suggests that the company website is an excellent place for full-service contractors to talk about not only federal energy tax credits but rebates available through states and local utilities.
“Do a little research. Pull the information together. Include all the links where they could fill out applications or get more detail.” Let your circle of influence know, he advises. But, Alpert cautions, don’t let discussion of energy tax credits overshadow your brand message. For instance, if your website is full of before and after pictures of award-winning projects, would you really want to steer visitors to a landing page informing them about energy tax credits and qualifying products? Tax credit information belongs “off to the side,” he says.
Newsletters, both print and electronic, are also a great way to get the message out. In April, for instance, Creative Contracting used its e-newsletter to inform its database of mostly past customers about energy tax credits. The message: Now’s a great time to change out old windows to new ones that qualify.
DuBree says that, as a result, his company has sold replacement windows as an add-on for a porch project and a master suite.
Recently, Ken Adams, owner of Adams Design Construction, in Madison, Wis., sent a letter to “a few hundred” clients and potential clients, talking about tax credits. Because these are people who may be doing one project after another with his company, Adams sought to position himself as an expert while at the same time avoiding anything like a hard sell. “If your goal is to try to get as many contacts as possible, you go out and beat the drums,” he says. “But if you want to be seen as a high-end service organization, you have to be more careful how you target people, and try to develop a deeper relationship with potential and existing clients.”
Adams says that the response to his letter was not necessarily what he expected. It included a customer who wanted a screened porch built and another who upped a $2,000 job to $25,000 worth of work.
