Today I found this really excellent example of a roofing contractor website. It was mentioned in a Roofing Contractor column, The Power of Branding, by Chris King.
The owner of GreatWay Roofing, Rod Menzel, was inspired to rebrand his company when he attended a conference and learned about Blue Ocean Strategy, a book by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.
Menzel defines branding as a company’s effort to build lasting value by delighting customers. “The goal of branding is to delight customers so that more people by more things for more years at a higher price,” he said.
One key is to stand out from competitors in a crowded marketplace. For Menzel, this was the reason he changed his company’s name and logo — at the time they were too similar to others in the market. He urged attendees to compare their logos to others in the market and define exactly what it is that makes their company unique.
“Clutter makes it hard to brand,” he said. “Don’t offer more — offer different. The key is radical differentiation. When they zig, you zag.”
GreatWay is doing a number of things right with their site.
1. The logo fuses contemporary design with a “traditional” feel. And it’s not a picture of a roof! And it doesn’t look like it was designed in 1985.
2. The colors mirror contemporary home design trends. Contractors tend to use black, gray, red and blue (manly colors) on websites where the target audience is women.
3. People add warmth and personality. The site feels friendly and caring. The emphasis is on “home” not “construction.”
4. Simple navigation makes web site easy to use. The copy is well-written, and the visuals are strong.
5. The content, while optimized for search engines, also works for humans.
Contractors often talk about wanting to “differentiate” themselves from the competition. The meat of GreatWay’s message isn’t wildly different from other roofers. But the visual design — the logo, color palettte, visuals, and user interface — elevates the message. Looking and feeling different makes GreatWay stand out from the competition. They look better and nicer than the competition, which makes them more attractive to the buyer.
If you don’t look better than the other guy — how is the buyer suppose to know you are better?
Filed under: branding, online marketing, strategy Tagged: | branding, strategy, website
