I hope this Wednesday finds you well. I hope that for you, business is good and life’s fun, and you’re on your way to making 2020 your best year yet… not your best year ever, but your best year yet!

That being said… even though I am not typically in the habit of sharing doom and gloom – I do think offering a word or two regarding imminent harsh realities may well be in order.

Sure – global economy-wise, right now on the surface, things look hunky-dory:

 

  • Corporate earnings are up.
  • Job numbers are at historic levels nearing full employment.
  • GDP here in the US is soaring.

 

It sure appears as if everything is great. However a closer look reveals that dark clouds exist for many if not all small business owners, a category in which you, as a roofing contractor, fall into.

These same clouds affect every industry – from brick and mortar storefront to professional services like a financial planner and yes… ROOFING. Whether you wield a hammer or a spreadsheet… for any one of a number of different specialties or providers of sundry goods and services you are being affected.

These gathering clouds are formed from the same underlying economic trend that enabled Jeff Bezos to build his dominant Amazonian empire, affecting every business in every market and it is most certainly affecting ours as well…

COMMODITIZATION

If you are viewed as a commodity, which roofing is – and you can’t clearly distinguish your business from any and all competitors – your prospects have only one way to decide which option to choose: PRICE. And the “conventional wisdom” that mandates you do indeed compete on price offers a fast, sure downward path to oblivion.

Once you start competing on price… There’s only one way to go to keep winning and that’s down.

Business are being destroyed at an alarming rate by commoditization.

Commoditization leads to price destruction. Because when you sell on price alone, customers see little or no value difference between you and a competitor.

Keep competing on price and sooner rather than later it’ll be game over.

You can innovate and reinvent but this can often be short-lived as competition is quick to pick up and create “me-too” products and services.

It happens more often than you think even with companies with big resources. Hewlett-Packard computers once a pioneer in their industry, now don’t seem differentiated from their competitors.

JC Penny and Sears are other prime examples that are falling into commoditization pit.

Lawyers: LegalZoom. Financial Advisors: robo-advisors. Orthodontists: SmileClub.

The Internet is the gift that keeps on giving, but it’s also the gift that keeps on taking away by commoditizing your business.

Name a product or service and you’ll find commoditization.  So how do companies differentiate?

By taking a different path – a path based on the timeless proven principles of “Invitation Marketing”- where you finally stop the endless pursuit of customers, clients, and patients and instead irresistibly attract them to you in droves like moths to a flame.

The path of Invitation Marketing leads to steady growth, reliable revenues, and ever-growing profits regardless of whether the economy was rising or falling.

And your fastest, most effective way to discover, embrace, and integrate these foundational principles into your business is by developing USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) and becoming the TRUSTED AUTHORITY/EXPERT in your market.

There are some very simple marketing techniques you can implement to differentiate yourself from your competition.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes… Who doesn’t like dealing with the Trusted Authority/Expert in the industry?

You must stop marketing your roofing company like 99% of all your competitors because that makes you EXACTLY the same as every other roofing company. This has caused the consumer to think that “a roof is a roof is a roof is a roof.”

And if a “roof is a roof”…  then the only thing a consumer needs to do is find the cheapest one out there.

 

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If you’re ready to take a deep dive into the psychology of why you need referrals and learn how to get them at will…

Check out my Master-Class for Roofing Owners and Marketers HERE!