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Brian Bothun Posted: Sep 26, 2010 09:18 PM	Marketing What is everyone finding the most success in for marketing. Currently i'm advertising in the local paper and a regional paper and feel like im missing out on a lot of work going on. For the guys who have radio ads how succesful do you find that?
mason Posted: Sep 27, 2010 07:02 AM	I find that sprayfoam contractors tend to get tunnel vision nd not explore potentially lucrative markets in their areas. Fabrication shops, cold storage warehouses, fish and meat processing plants, ice houses, fiberglass shops, tank manufacturers, hot tubs, boats, flotation bouys and dozens more. You can compile a list of these companies Athe phone book and then make calls to see they use foam. Then follow up with a letter/brochure on your company and see if they will try you out. As part of my consulting business I help contractors develop marketing plans specific for their area and their expertise. contact me at masonknowles@aol.com
Posted: Sep 27, 2010 10:52 AM	Why don't you try our contractor finder for starters. Get in touch with me our give the office a call. 732-292-1108 https://sprayfoammagazine.com/cdps/foamcontractorsusa.cfm
Dean Nash Posted: Sep 27, 2010 03:49 PM	Radio & TV ads are much less expensive than you might think & with the economic climate in its current state, the public views TV & Radio ads as coming from a successful stable company. I've several customers using TV & radio with great success right now and doing so in very affordable means. The cost is largely determined by the amount of filming/editing. Mason's right though, don't forget the supporting markets, they too are excellent sources for expanding your service.
Brian Bothun Posted: Oct 01, 2010 09:28 PM	Whats the average cost for a 30 second ad? I called a few radio stations and it varied 10-12 bucks a pop. To me that seems like alot
Alex Ek Posted: Jan 19, 2011 07:18 PM	I suppose it really depends on the radio market you are in. We were quoted about $18 each 30 sec add for a three month campaign on a popular station in the Seattle market. I'll tell you though, the single best marketing tool we have is our website and using the pay per click marketing through Google. We have three sites located from the north end of the state to the south end targeting the entire population on the west half of Washington. The target market we are going for are not the tire kickers which we feel radio would flood us with. We control how much we want to spend per month on paid clicks, what content is on our site with an email or phone call and easily track our ROI. Our phones are ringing everyday with leads and we average 3-4 jobs per week from them. The other thing that works for us is to sub contract work with other insulation companies that don't do foam themselves. We let them market for us, they sell the job, we install and collect a check.
Posted: Jan 20, 2011 10:53 AM	Fellas, These all seem like great ideas! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being included in a Home Page Featured News Article on SprayFoamMagazine.com? I'd like to show what some contractors are doing for their marketing.
Yvan Richard Posted: Jan 21, 2011 01:20 AM	Advertising agencies and their consultants are expensive and don't always work. The best way to build business is through relationships. Whenever time permits, I cold call and drop in on builders, architects, reno companies, insurance adjusters etc... These are the groups that should be your bread and butter. A face to face meeting is the best and always bring a sample. I also find my margins are better with these groups since they are more interested when a job can be done as opposed to price. Also, you dont have to hold their hands, they understand the product and just want it done. A homeowner is more nit picky and will inspect the work to the point where you get very unneccessary call backs.
philip mullins Posted: Feb 03, 2011 03:42 PM	the best advertising i have found so far has been my work. not even in the phone book anymore. find that those peeps who find me there are calling everyone and tend to be looking for the cheapest guy they can find. and thats not me. seems to me like it all comes from referrals. i have had a few builders stop by jobs before in new subdivisions and tell me, "i didnt know foam was suppose to look like that" but they tend to pay for hammered sh!t so they get hammered sh!t! two forms of sdvertising that i am considering trying in this slow economy is maybe putting a wrap or something on that plain white rig of mine. and maybe a little code research, but i would hate to educate peeps on foam just so they can hunt down the 75 cent a board foot guy. that guys an a$$hole. and i fear that no marketting in the world will overcome the cut throats in this industry. every time one of them goes under 2 more pop up to rape my industry. all i know to do is good work. do ur best, dont cut corners, and hope it works out.
Brian Currie Posted: Feb 04, 2011 08:01 AM	I agree,word of mouth and doing what you say you will,when you say you will.Works in any industry. Hey trout, I guess i'm one of those a$$holes you speak of,I price my work so I can make a good living and it has worked for almost 5 years now.I built my rig while still doing concrete,everything is paid for,no office staff,no salesmen,I work my butt off all day,go bid at night and support my family.
philip mullins Posted: Feb 04, 2011 02:33 PM	price ur work so u can make a good living... u bust ur but all day and bid at night to support ur family... if ur spraying cc for $0.75 a bd foot and your paying about $0.50 a board foot for material, we all are roughly. lets see... 8-9 years ago foamers were getting around a dollar, maybe more. they were paying less for material but lets say they were paying the same... ur spraying for half the profit peeps were gatting 10 years ago. so the bottom line of this industry has been backed up by more than 50% (never mind inflation) by, dare i say... a$$holes like you. for argument sake, lets say you spray twice as much as me. your working twice as hard, to support ur family. while ur spraying, im taking my kid fishing. when ur crawling ur tired aching a$$ out of ur pickup to go try and get a job (based on price) im at home spending quality time with my family. plus, ur running ur rig twice as much, wearing it out twice as fast, and mine still has years left on it. and since ur spraying for $0.75 and im spraying for a dollar ( should be $1.20) at the end of the year ive got more $ than you. yea, youve got it all figured out! ive watched a lot of these $0.75 "a$$holes" come and go over the past few years. i gotta ask, do you feel like ur reaching the end of ur rope yet? or are you reaping the rewards and achieving the goals you invisioned from making that investment and busting ur a$$ to be a SUCCESSFUL business owner? is this a life you would like to see ur children follow ur foot steps into? my business may not be where i would like for it to be right now either. but ill tell you this much... if i go under it will be from not working, not from busting my ass and not making any money! so i will continue to bid the job and not bid against the competitor.
Brian Currie Posted: Feb 05, 2011 07:32 AM	Well,tell us how you really feel. If I tried to get a dollar a foot i'd have alot more time to fish too (course i wouldn't be able to afford gas for the boat) I make 500 to 2000 a day 5 days a week so how much money do you really need? I'm one compressor away from having another complete rig built (all paid for)so i don't think this a$$hole is going away until he wants to
Terry Adams Posted: Feb 05, 2011 01:38 PM	Hum, in 5 years that would be low end $650,000 and high end $2,600,000 and if you average it $1,625,000. Not bad for a $50,000 to $100,000 dollar investment.
Posted: Feb 05, 2011 08:19 PM	I did a radio blitz last year during the Saints Superbowl run. $2600.00 for 300ea 15 second spots on a combination of Sports Talk, Talk Radio and Country with Clear Channel. I'm not sure if it was due to everyone being excited about the Saints or the fact that it rained every day, but my 300 each 15 second spots that was targeted towards roofing got me over 100 leads. In that month, we sold right at $250,000.00 worth of roofing, $8500.00 in undercarriages and around $15,000.00 worth of metal and flat roof repairs which were all derived from the Radio Ads. We did the work over the next couple of months. I was getting 10-15 calls a day for about 2-3 weeks. The only problem that I had was that I couldn't get to everyone at the same time which cost me a few more jobs during that time. I may have just been lucky because of the constant rain, or maybe we were just so damn happy that the Saints were going to the Superbowl. I am not sure! Newspaper and Internet Advertising has really not been very sucessful for me. I get a ton of people calling for the cheapest price out there. I can almost feel them out when they are calling. If I can tell they are all about the price, I just let them know that I am booked out for about 45 days before I can get to them. Steve P.S. There is a difference between being an a$$hole and being desperate for business. I don't think that I am either, but if I know that I have 3-4 rainy days in a row and can't get on a roof, I will take a cheap insulation job so my guys can get a few hours. It's not always about what I make, I have to keep everyone happy in order to keep a good crew and as long as there is some cheese left at the end of the job, I will do it.
philip mullins Posted: Feb 06, 2011 06:17 PM	lol! do you need me to send u an aircompressor? just upgraded one of the commercial rigs to a 10 horse eaton screw type (sweet machine, but heavy) and can make you a deal on an eaton 7.5 with twin aftercoolers. send me some pics of ur work. $0.75 jobs usually look like, well... $0.75 jobs. but if ur any good i will keep u in foam for as long as you can stand it! that is, if you dont mind me making just as much $ as you for just selling the job. tell you what, ill even supply all the masking materials. you might have to stay away from home for a minute, but if ur making the $ u say you are and still not willing to hire help then im guessing you dont like being at home. while ur here ill even take u fishing out on the gulf. we'll catch some cobia. you'll love it. but u might have to help me out with the gas, those twin 250's do drink the fuel.
philip mullins Posted: Feb 06, 2011 06:46 PM	$0.75 a bft = $1,000 a set after chemical, before materials, fuel etc... granted, you dont employ anyone, so that helps the bottom line. but u say ur making 2 g's a day... thats a minimum of 2 sets a day, by urself. im impressed! no, im not impressed, i think ur full of sh!t!!!!
Brian Bothun Posted: Feb 06, 2011 07:19 PM	This thread is about marketing, not for you guys to b*tch at eachother. Troutkiller, the past few days youve been posting in most threads finding ways to call people names and assume there own pricing is rock bottom and put a negative spike into each thread. Here's an idea, start your own thread and everytime you feel the need to complain post in it. That way you can read a thread with only your posts in it because it sure seems that you like to hear yourself talk. How is everyone doing on direct calling to architects and builders?
philip mullins Posted: Feb 06, 2011 09:35 PM	ur absolutely rite b. sorry i hijacked ur thread. but seriously, the dude said "HEY, I'M THAT A$$HOLE!" i had too! i dont post in this forum much. been reading it for years and know some of these guys personaly, but dont post much ur welcome! over the past few years lots of peeps, including myself, have come to this forum to lean on the experienced hands. seeking help and advice. and it has been a resource to many. now many of these same guys are bidding jobs ridiculously low because they dont have the experience or the reputation to compete on a level playing field. and i dont think my area is the only one being affected. and i have seen enough bad foam jobs in recent years to be concerned. in some areas its almost buyer beware! this is a young industry, as is the foam roofing industry. getting as many $3 roofers as we are $.75 insulators. foam is not my only business but i have a substantial investment in it.lower profits and fewer employees... foam manufacturers should work that into their marketing strategies
Pat Shey Posted: Mar 11, 2011 02:06 PM	1. Call on architects. My product is always specified in commercial projects now. 2. I focus on search engine optimization so when someone Googles for my product, I come to the top. I spend one hour a day writing a blog, which -- once posted -- automatically "populates" my Twitter, My business Facebook page, my Linken In, and a local directory. Between all social media, I have over a 1000 followers, and lets me position self/company as the expert. Gun shy about radio/TV. Don't want price shoppers. My value proposition is expertise, experience, service. I am not the cheapest in town, but I try return phone calls, show up on time, get the job down, and leave the jobsite in better condition tha when we arrived.