The (publicity) cost of getting it wrong

The Ottawa Citizen yesterday took a pot-shot at a small local roofing contractor because of an apparent screw-up of the work on an elderly home owner's roof.

The story "Excuses rain down on roofer's work" may disappear from accessible archives in a few days, but reading the story, I cannot help but think, "Why?"

The "Why?" is on two levels. The first is, "Why did the daily newspaper care?" Reading the story, the roofer seems to have done a less-than-perfect job, but he hasn't denied responsibility, absconded, or refused to make good.

The second "Why" is why the roofer didn't get the basics of branding and construction business success right in the first place: That is, doing the job correctly and wasting no time in seriously addressing valid client concerns.

You'll notice I am not naming the roofer in this blog posting. I've made it a general policy not to name negatively individual businesses or organizations unless their wrong-doing is so great that it is worth the risk of libel lawyers and I have factually checked the story with our own resources.

Since I'm writing this blog entry based on observations in another publication -- and since a business owned by the person's father with the same name is not implicated -- publishing an identifiably negative report here would cause unfair harm. (This is especially the case because neither father nor son appear to have grasped how to use the Internet for marketing, and only limited references -- including the negative Citizen article -- are available with a simple Google search.)

This silence unfortunately won't help the roofer (or his father) in the near future, unless they simply don't care about negative publicity. Which is dumb. Because unless you are living in a very deep cave, you know that success in the trades depends on word of mouth and repeat business and negative publicity in a major daily newspaper cannot do you much good in either regard.

Unfortunately, this type of story also hits contractors who get it right. Negative news coverage builds distrust, and distrust is the opposite of effective branding.

Nevertheless, this bad news story creates some good news opportunities.

• Could you offer to make good for the other roofer's mistake? (I've practiced this principal a few times in my business history -- when a competitor screws up, I fix the problem, at no charge. Of course it is easier to do this with some advertising than in rebuilding a roof -- especially one owned by a cranky client.)

• Can you gather an incredible collection of testimonials (videoed if possible) to post on your website and communicate your quality, and market that message -- especially if you serve the neighbourhood served by the victims?

• Can you get a neighbour you've served to send a letter of commendation to friends and neighbours?

• Could you write a brief article, "Seven Tips on How to Be Sure to Succeed with Your Roofing Project", and post it on your web site, submit to local community publications, and include it in your marketing materials. The article should not be self-serving; the advice of course should be consistent with your own best practices.

None of these suggestions may apply in your case, but this story shows how publicity is a two-edged sword. Just doing a bad job got a roofer into real trouble; sometimes doing things well can create positive publicity, almost by accident. But if you do your work well AND manage your publicity to encourage and support positive media coverage, you'll achieve the best possible results: Great marketing and branding credibility, without heavy (or even any) advertising expense.

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Storm chasing vs long-term relationships: Two sides of the same coin

The website for Urso Construction LLC is a holding page (no content) but owner James Urso's storm-chasing marketing in Ohio attracted attention from the local newspaper. This is a Google maps image of where the business is located.

This Google News alert under the keywords "construction marketing" caught my eyes last night. In Roofer Offers Unusual Marketing Ploy the Port Clinton, Ohio News Herald reports:

DANBURY TOWNSHIP -- When an out-of-town construction company began distributing flyers and knocking on doors in several area neighborhoods recently, some people became suspicious.

Urso Construction LLC, based in Cardington, about 40 miles north of Columbus, ran a full court advertising press promoting new roofs at no cost to homeowners.

Sue Cunningham, a Danbury Township resident who lives in the Perrysburg Estates subdivision, said she was suspicious.

"We had numerous visits and also cards and flyers," she said.

The story proceeds to describe how her insurance representative thought the offer was fraudulent, then the company's owner, James Urso, who said the company is not replacing just any roof.

Specifically, he said, they will replace roofs damaged during a severe wind and hailstorm that occurred June 25.

"This is one-hundred percent legit," Urso said. "I'm just doing what other contractors aren't."

Well, of course, some others are -- this is the business of "storm chasing", noticing where a hail storm is likely to cause roof damage, and then moving into the marketplace with aggressive marketing to encourage homeowners to file insurance claims. Provisions in Ohio insurance law make this ploy both rational and practical, as in storm-damaged areas, insurance claims cannot affect your coverage or ratings. In other words, if you qualify, and there really is storm damage (often invisible to the naked eye), the contractor can get the insurance company to repair or replace your roof, for "free".

Fair enough. I learned about this stuff during my visit to Ohio last November, and a recent posting by Ed Falko on contractortalk.com puts the storm chasing game in a less-than-positive light (though it is clear that Urso Construction is an honorable business and delivers the services it promises (and will be around to serve its clients in the future.)

Compare "storm chasing", however, to the processes involved in winning most significant construction contracts or business. You'll find the market divided into two groups: the frequent, repeat users of construction-related services and the occasional client, who might need a one-time major project.

Frequent users usually have a combination of sophisticated procurement procedures and rules and lots of hidden rules, based on experience and relationships. You'll certainly find that in much government work -- sure, the opportunities may be "open" to anyone who qualifies, but you are much more likely to win if you have a solid track record and get along with the individuals running the department.

Occasional users, whether they be for major residential remodels, or a business expanding to a new location, are harder to find at the early stages of the decision-making curve. In any case, they are generally not going to rush their decisions: They will listen to trusted advisers, friends, colleagues, and others before believing anything you say. Sometimes, friends give them bad advice, but it is "more right" than your perceived self-interest. Here, you need relationships with the people with the key relationships to make things happen.

Is "storm chasing" (done ethically) bad? Of course not, but you will need to travel in spaces which make many people uncomfortable. Yes, you probably need a hard-rock canvassing crew to succeed.

Is relationship-building and finding lucrative projects involving scale and scope, what you want to do? For most readers here, it is. The challenge, as I've discussed over the past couple of years, is that I cannot give you a one-size-fits-all-universal-solution-that-you-can-implement-in-10-minutes.

Then again, look at the start of this posting: A news article in a local publication. James Urso certainly didn't seek out the news coverage, which isn't totally flattering, but at least gives his side of the story. But what if Urso had been pre-emptive and thought of ways to connect with the news media in his area before the reporter called? (And does he have a proper website for his business?)

I sense that for many people in the construction industry, media relations and publicity are true "sleeper" marketing resources. Probably few contractors use these resources because they are uncertain (you cannot control how or when the media will report on your business -- though you can influence the decisions), and require everything else to be in good order first: Your service quality, reputation, and marketing collateral including website and follow up systems need to be in place before you even think of seeking out publicity.)

But the main thing is probably lack of knowledge. Here, while I may not know how to shingle a roof and have no interest in chasing storms, I can help.

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