Outsourced Marketing Boosts Sales

(As Seen In Owens Corning Preferred Contractor Newsletter: High Points)

Chad Nikkel had a growing business at Colorado Roofing and Exteriors, LLC. Then he hit the $5 million sales plateau and home construction started to decline. He decided to get some marketing help and found Greg Hoffman, a man with extensive experience in advertising and the Internet. They started working together and the result was a 29 percent increase in Nikkel's business in 2008 and a new business for Hoffman named Roofing Contractor Marketing, LLC.

"I was looking for marketing solutions that could keep our growth going," explains Nikkel. "I wanted to establish our brand and generate more leads. Working with Greg, we launched a full mix of integrated media - new Web site and Web advertising, and radio and television spots. We're starting to see synergy now. We're up another 12 percent over last year and I expect to blow through last year's 29 percent increase by the end of this year."

Hoffman says the fundamentals of doing business for roofing contractors have changed in the past few years.

"Marketing today is not as easy as it once was," he explains. "The advent of the Internet has changed the way people look for products and services."

Hoffman says Web sites are a basic ingredient in the marketing mix but they need to be more than an online brochure. "We need to think of them as our top lead generator or sales person, one who is available to potential customers 24 hours a day."

Hoffman drives traffic to Web sites with paid ads on search engines such as Google. He uses radio and television spots to build brand awareness and also drive traffic to the site.

Partly because of his experience with Nikkel, Hoffman decided to launch a new full-service marketing business focused on roofing contractors. "No other company is serving their unique needs," he explains.

Nikkel says he won't go back to doing marketing himself. "I have been in the business for 19 years and often worried that I was throwing money away with advertising. Now I am seeing results with increased leads and sales."

Hoffman is now offering his services to companies in other markets. He has special offers for Owens Corning™ Preferred Contractors.