Paul Rzasa and Matt Neely

Narrow Your Niche. Success Will Follow.

While working as a sales representative for James Hardie, Paul Rzasa found it next to impossible to get home improvement companies in Central Virginia to offer HardiePlank® siding. It was just easier to sell and install vinyl. Matt Neely had been in the home improvement industry for over a decade and at one time was Vice President of one of the largest home improvement companies in the country. He was tired of the profit-only mentality and was looking for something different.

They knew Richmond was a slow-to-change market. But they also knew they were dealing with a savvy consumer.

"Homeowners are doing their homework before they even pick up the phone," says Neely. "They've researched siding alternatives. They're looking for expertise and assurance they're making the right decision."

Combining Paul's expertise in best-practice Hardie product installation with Matt's understanding of the typical home siding sales experience created a unique point of differentiation for Blue Ridge Exteriors—offer a high end product solution, with high—level expertise and interaction with high-level executives (themselves, the owners).

"Most siding organizations are in the business of feeding leads to a sales team who don't really understand what they're selling. They could have been selling vacuum cleaners last month and are selling home improvement this month."

Matt and Paul decided against traditional print, TV and canvassing and put their marketing efforts into the internet.

"We had our blog and web site designed by an outside company because we wanted a high-level interactive feel. I write the blog articles and post them myself. It doesn't take very long. I might see an ad from another company or something on the job that inspires a story."

They also use pay-per-click advertising and pay attention to SEO, making sure Blue Ridge Exteriors comes up highest in the rankings when people are looking for "HardiePlank in Richmond Virginia."

"We can do this without spending nearly as much as others," says Matt. "We don't have to because we're not a marketing company feeding sales reps. We just need enough leads to keep us busy. And, even in this market, we've been keeping very busy."

Bob Priest of Burr Roofing, Siding and Windows

What you can't automate, you can analyze

Burr Roofing's #1 source of leads is their web site. Because of this, owner, Bob Priest says they are constantly learning about internet marketing and are sometimes surprised by visitor behavior.

After undergoing a major web site renovation, he expected to see an increase in online requests for quotes. But, that increase didn't come. Through their use of whoscalling.com, a service offering tracking phone numbers for each page of their web site, they discovered people were visiting the web site and finding the content helpful—they were just picking up the phone to request more information rather than completing the online request.

"The customer wants to spend their own time researching and getting comfortable with you before they call you. And when they call, they're ready. So, while 45% of our leads are from the web site, only 5% are from a click-through request. 40% are picking up the phone and calling us."

Priest feels they've done a good job with Web 1.0 and are learning more about Web 2.0. They started a blog because of its importance to search engine rankings and opportunity to provide more interactive content. They use pay-per-click advertising and closely monitor search engine ranking to make sure Burr pops up when homeowners are searching for roof, siding or window replacement in Connecticut. And, as a Preferred Remodeler, they greatly appreciate leads from James Hardie.