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62
Gaining
a Market Edge
There he is, sitting on the couch, enjoying the Sunday paper
and a fresh cup of coffee. He takes a glance out the window
and sees the weather is not what he would call “ideal”, so
he decided to delay the day a little longer. He picks up the
remote control to do a little channel surfing and quickly finds
the channels are dominated with home makeover shows.
There are ideas for interior design, landscaping, remodeling
and redesigning. He looks around his home and compares it
to what he sees on television. He sees an outdated home that
still looks like it did when he purchased it in the 80s. Drab,
beige walls, vinyl blinds, dark-stained kitchen cabinets and a
hand-shaped, red, plastic chair. He puts his paper to the side
of him, takes a sip from his mug and nods to himself. Realizing
his house is lacking in the “appeal” department, he decides
it’s time to do a little home makeover of his own and quietly
thinks to himself, “They make it look so easy on television, so
how bad could it be…right?”
He makes his way from the TV to the computer, which he has
also had since the 80s, making it less than ideal. For hours, he
scours the Internet for do-it-yourself tips. He picks out styles
and designs that will perfectly fit his personality and takes stock
of his toolbox to find out what he has and needs. His mind is
racing with dreams and ideas, until reality kicks in. He checks
his rainy-day fund and realizes it’s far from ideal. Here he is, a
house in need of a new look and a bank account in need of a
couple thousand dollars. However, with the current housing
market in a deep slump, he understands that rejuvenating his
house is still the most viable option.
After some further investigation and a hot shower, he realizes
for the cost of remodeling a single room, he can have
the entire interior or exterior of their house painted. With only
enough money for one large-scale job, it seems like an easy
choice to give the whole house a facelift, rather than just the
kitchen or living room. He can do the little things himself, like
sanding and staining the kitchen cabinets, but a large-scale
job, such as painting, is better left to the professionals.
This situation is not uncommon. More and more people are
choosing to give their house a facelift, rather than move into a
new home. Motivated by DIY shows, consumers are embracing
the idea of the “weekend warrior”. These individuals and
couples are saving money by completing small-scale projects
around the home themselves. It is much harder to find an
individual who is willing to take on a large-scale task such as
painting the entire interior or exterior of a home. It’s much
easier to find time to retile a bathroom than it is to repaint a
3,000 square foot home, let alone do it correctly.
| pdca.org
By Steve Taylor
Contributed by XIM
Let’s face it, there are a good three or four home shows on
at any given time and the Internet is chalk-full of tips, tricks
and DIY sites. In fact there is now an entire channel devoted
to do-it-yourself projects, cleverly (and obviously) titled
the DIY Network. This rush of information, gives many the
false impression that they are experts on a topic like tiling
or carpentry, simply from watching shows on the subject or
reading about it on the Internet. This leaves consumers feeling
more empowered and willing to take a deeper look into
the quality of any contracted work. There is no denying that
shows like Trading Spaces, Flip This House, Curb Appeal and
Extreme Home Makeover are wildly popular and are in turn
raising the bar. Customers are more demanding, picky and
critical then ever. The rationale is that if it can be done on
television, then everyone in the field should be able to do just
as good of a job. This has created a demand for perfection
that is difficult to match and a need for professional painters
to have a competitive edge.
There are many ways to gain an edge in the market, but sometimes
you have to sit down and ask yourself, am I covering up
a problem or fixing it. Am I embracing a short-term solution or
am I planning for a long-term difference. Painting teams need
to embrace methods of consistent and increased quality for
the consumers. This means doing things right the first time,
forgetting about shortcuts and delivering work on time and as
close to budget as possible. We have to rise above the bar and
understand that quality is essential for survival in the market.
Excellent workers and good products are great ways to keep
the edge. Products like Multi-stage ladders, painter’s tape and
XIM’s Peel Bond high-build bonding primer are all great ways
to ensure your work is the highest possible quality. Peel Bond
for instance acts as a shock absorber, adhering to any surface,
bridging hairline cracks and filling and sealing rough surfaces,
wood, siding, plaster, stucco, concrete brick, aluminum, fiberglass
and more. It’s also thicker than most primers and unlike
alykd primers, it is water-based, allowing it to flex with expanding
and contracting surfaces. It’s easy to see why products like
Peel Bond are helping deliver the edge painters need.
These are just some of the elements needed to thrive.
Building good customer relationships and a great referral
system can also make a big difference. Happy customers
tell other people, who then become customers and before
you know it your business is taking off. The most important
thing to realize, however, is that in the end, it’s up to us, the
professionals, to deliver great work. People depend on us and
we have to live up to and surpass expectations, because that
is the real edge.