Several of the mid sized to larger water treatment dealers have had to cut back. The dealers who have long term service commitments and routes have been hurt less then the ones trying to step into the arena or haven't been that exposed.

The costs of things like insurance, shipping of parts and the overall competitive marketplace has made it harder than ever.

Since end users now have the internet, many customers try the interner fix hoping to save money, then call upon us when things don't work out as planned.

I can't tell you how many people have bought the BIG STORE BRAND units and can't understand why we could possibly charge $350.00 for a main line break installation. "The unit only cost me $495.00, how can you charge that much to install it?" they cry !!..... Another common instance is the guy who buys the $179.00 Reverse Osmosis system, got it installed by a friend plumber for supposedly $50.00 and can't understand the fact that a service call to change the filters and sanitize the system would be $65.00..... 

We just have to again, educate the customer on why a company like ours may have a higher PRICE initially, But that when you include the servicing, warranties and better quality, the long term COST of doing business with us is much lower.

Here at Purolite we made the conscious decision not to cut back on our Marketing effort during the last year or so. The reasoning behind this was to ensure customers making decisions have a strong understanding of Purolite products and services.

 

However during the last years we have made a couple of important shifts in our efforts. The first is more online exposure reasoning that this was the most cost effective way to connect with customers and prospects as well as the market in general. We also refreshed much of our marketing collateral and made these available online as well as in print. One key aspect of enabling this was a rebuild of our website structure and tools.

 

Connecting with both domestic and international markets has also beena priority.

Rich

 

Certainly things have changed. Jim makes some very good points regarding the internet and big box stores. Frankly, we would prefer not to install a system which we did not sell or warranty. There is always the chance that it could be defective from the start and therein lies some liability. One has to be very careful.

 

When I first started this business a long time ago we had no marketing. We had no vans, we had no advertising in the telephone books, and no presence anywhere in the market.

 

Our solution was to buy sheets of plywood, cut them up in to 16 pieces and paint them yellow. Then, with black paint and a large stencil, we would emboss them with this information: "WE FIX WATER" and, of course a telephone number. We nailed them very high on telephone poles. These signs were placed at stop signs out in the county amoung others which offered divorce services, back hoe work, tax services, and how to lose weight.

 

I'm certain this was totally illegal since every now and again the Codes Enforcement folks would call and inform me that they had removed a sign and that I was entitled to come pick it up at my convenience. We eventually learned the various names of all the officers. We had to remove some of the signs or face a fine but we never did have to pay anything. I think people in the South are a bit more tolerant.

 

The amazing thing was that we got lots and lots of calls from those signs. One reason was that their placement was also based upon knowledge of bad water in any particular area. We also got lots of sales from those calls. I used to track the effectiveness of particular signs and the all time champion sign got us six sales. As I said, those were the old days, and we would not dream of doing that these days....................... unless the six telephone books we so generously support raise our rates yet again.

 

In short, this practice was marketing outside the box. It worked, it was very cost effective and helped get us where we are today. I am now thinking about doing something else, a little bit unusual, but not tried as yet to my knowledge.

 

The telemarketers are done (we never used them), the bottle drops were just a major pain, and the door to door canvassers lost faith due to the rejection factor.

 

I will keep the board up to date if and whhen we go swimming in the deep water again.

 

Cordially

 

Rex Johnson

American Star Water LLC

One trend we are seeing in Canada is the movement away from the traditional Yellow Pages. What we are seeing is more awareness of member's online presence, online brand management and some are even using Twitter and Facebook to get a feel of their local and national brand management. It's gotten to be quite a low investment tool for marketing. All it really takes is time to learn, invest in developing correctly and maintain. Some members say it only takes minues a week to monitor, and address.

It's a topic that we are focussing on for our upcoming spring meetings to educate the members on especially in this unstable and recovering economy.