Our new website, opinions?

JustMe

Getting back to this – another long post:

Don’t take my ‘dustless’ direction as being something I think is great. It’s just an example of how I sometimes try to work up a direction and possibly turn it into something. Sometimes the best positions turn out to be ones others thought impossible, or too obvious, or not attractive enough, or require things like customized equipment and so have been discarded. Or sometimes a concept like ‘dustless’ can lead one to coming up with a direction that can really make sense to the marketplace.

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On your “I do very much appreciate your input. Just think that much of it is over the top. With most advertising, you need to get the message out in 10 - 15 seconds. Hence, the effort has been made to simplify the message.”:


As you may be aware, that’s what concepts do. At least good ones. They simplify/clarify one’s communications.

There’s layers of concepts in most situations, going from broader to more narrow in their scope. ‘Communication’, ‘computers’, ‘drywall finishing tools’, are concept examples – which are developed and delivered on through using such narrower sub-concepts as ‘phones and cordless and cell phones’, ‘personal and business and user-friendly computers’, ‘hand and power and power assist drywall finishing tools’.

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On my comment “So as I can, I'll get back to giving you thoughts about some of the things you've said. For example, there are ways of positioning yourself, while at the same time repositioning others somewhat, by what they say and/or what you don't say. I'll give an example later from my own past”:

To sometimes help create a position for your company, one should consider also taking a look at narrowing your business focus/business message – something you might be familiar with, if you’ve read about marketing strategies that seem to be working in today’s marketplace. A key to such focusing is to find a message broad enough that can potentially be grown into a very good business, but not so broad that it can’t happen too easily, because of things like competitors and their marketing messages and positions in people’s minds. Successfully narrowing a focus is something I did for a time while going to university.

To help pay my bills while going there, I used some of my first year biology major background to start a tree company. All the tree companies in my area at the time were advertising themselves as ‘tree service’ companies. So I narrowed my focus to ‘tree care’, and stated my message with 4 words - ‘Specializing in tree care’. Later it was 3 words – ‘Tree care specialists’.
To help give the claim credibility, one thing I gave up on advertising was ‘tree removal’ – hard to label yourself ‘tree care’ in a way that’s believable, when you willingly remove trees as well. That I reserved primarily for when I later did things like some Dutch Elm Disease removal contracts for gov’t. They were a different market. But removal of such did help to keep other elms healthy, so in some ways it was still in harmony with my overall message.

Places like my university’s horticulture centre, and stores that supplied tree care products, liked having a company that was focused on tree care to refer people to. I had to turn away a lot of work by my second summer of doing it. Some people also started calling me ‘Mr. Tree’ - which also helped sell me and my company - because I was perceived as being more knowledgeable and more ‘into’ trees than the other tree companies in the area at the time. Not that such was necessarily true, but it was people’s perceptions, based on what I was and wasn’t doing with regards to trees.

To deliver on the broader concept of ‘tree care’, I got into offering such sub-concepts as tree pest control, tree disease control, tree fertilizing, tree pruning, compacted soil amending for trees. To deliver on sub-concepts like pest control, I used such other narrower sub-concepts as tree spraying and tree pesticide implanting. For the tree spraying, I got into still narrower sub-concepts like using ‘environmentally friendly’ materials.
Some of those sub-concepts were still kind of peripheral offerings by other tree and pest control companies in my area back in the early/mid 90s, so my timing in being involved in them was pretty good, as people were becoming interested in alternatives to things like having Diazanon sprayed around their properties.

One way I later came to consider repackaging the concept of ‘tree care’ was to segment that part of the market further, by creating new sub-concepts that were geared towards what people seemed to be looking for at times, but couldn’t really seem to find the words to explain/verbalize it. I dubbed some of those concepts ‘Green again programs for evergreens’ and ‘Ever green programs for evergreens’. The first was for greening up evergreens whose color had deteriorated somewhat, and the second was for helping to keep them that way. To deliver on them didn’t require my adding to what I was already doing. It was just packaging it in a way that connected better with people’s tree wants.
They weren’t maybe the best terms for expressing the concepts, but they did convey something no other tree company was really offering/stating in my area at the time, and which people seemed to want. But by the time I came up with them, I was reducing my work in trees, so never followed through on them much.
But anybody I ran the concept terms by seemed to like them. I remember the first client’s words and reaction when I told him the ‘Green again’ one: “Yes! That’s exactly what I want! How can I get it?”

If I had wanted to, I could’ve probably segmented my ‘tree care’ company concept direction further - to have had a company that just focused on evergreens. Supplying them, treating them, etc. If I had to do it now, it’s a direction I might consider, especially because of the way our tree service company market has since developed in our area.

But good concepts can be a little difficult to create. As one of my previous concept quotes states: “Concepts are extremely important, but very difficult to generate. In hindsight, of course, almost all successful concepts seem easy and obvious.”
But it’s not always so. And it can be worth it, if you find one or more that can really capture people’s imaginations or interest - even if it’s a sub-concept offering that you can incorporate into your broader existing business concept.

Anyway, there’s more about concepts and business, like using them to try and create 'value monopolies'. But maybe this is more than enough for the situation. I’ll stop here. Btw: If you do come up with what you think is a worthwhile concept to try, maybe consider throwing a ‘TM’ behind the term describing it, to lay claim to it. Common law trademarking allows for it, and can give one the look of more credibility/stability. But maybe you already know that.

rockdaddy

Nice job. I like the use of the arch and bullnose and the dramatic area. Puncuation and grammar are always welcome criticisms. I always like to provide my personal contact info such as a cell number and email out there. They don't have to know you per se as much as recognize your name and what you do. Emphasize The things that are at the core of your business and what you specialize in doing well. Nicejob man!

Darren@Partners

Thanks. Been aiming to add some content, like a Chinese Drywall info page for one. Mostly for increased hits from the curious. Have been assured we didn't get any of it, was told freight-cost prohibited, which I tend to believe. We are as far from a port as anyone could be, unless it was brought up the river.

Have been listing site on CL posts and am sure I get calls that the "Juan" guy doesn't for that very reason. Thanks for the feedback rockdaddy

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