Becoming a Successful ICF Distributor: Promotion & Education
January 5th, 2010 | Distributor Spotlight, Marketing | ICF distributor, Mark, Marketing, Tom R.
As discussed earlier, insulated concrete forms are not a “shelf” item, meaning that consumers or contractors don’t walk in and take them as you would a box of nails. As a result, the general public still has no idea what they are or how they perform unless they’re doing their own research. Often times at sites we will be approached by the curious onlooker who’s just amazed at the igloo or cooler that’s being built. A successful distributor needs to have a proactive mindset in educating the public as to the benefits of ICF construction. But what do you target? How do you go about market development? Budgetary and time constraints dictate that you need to have a solid focus or you will wind up chasing your tail. The successful distributor tends to take a three-pronged approach: Top-down and bottom-up selling combined with education/training. Let me give a little explanation here.
The top-down approach focuses on the design community and educating architects, engineers, code officials, etc. on the benefits of ICF construction. The successful distributor develops a network of architects and design firms who take advantage of the many benefits inherent in an ICF structure. But that successful distributor takes it upon themselves to educate the design community so they fully understand what ICF’s can and cannot do. Once ICF’s are specified, it becomes a matter of determining WHO will build it and not WHAT to build it with.
The bottom-up approach focuses on the consumer. Educating the consumer through a number of cost-effective methods is key. Before the housing market crashed, consumers walked in to a builder and asked how much square footage can we get for this much money. One builder I know told me that his people and the industry in general forgot how to sell because the housing market was so hot. Now things have changed. Consumers are looking more at what they get for their dollar and not necessarily how big can we build. It’s a prime opportunity for ICF’s to gain market share in the residential market. One very common method the successful distributor reaches consumers is by exhibiting at local home shows. Whether it’s a county show or a state-wide show, you have a great opportunity to generate both interest in ICF’s and leads for the future.
The third leg of this top-down/bottom-up foundation has to be your contractor base. We have the design community specifying the product and the consumer demanding the product. Now we need the contractor who can actually DO it. Most contractors are very good at what they do and as a result, they do not like change. However, if the design community is specifying ICF’s and the general public is demanding ICF’s, the contractor who has vision will see an opportunity to expand his business. This is where the successful distributor brings value to the local marketplace. Distributors can offer regularly scheduled training classes to the local contractor base. They will also typically offer onsite support as contractors start their first few jobs. Once a contractor gets an ICF job or two under his belt, MUCH less support is required of the distributor and that distributor now has a qualified local installer to whom he can forward his consumer leads.
Why are you a successful distributor?
