BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Remodelers'
Round Table
In a Wide-ranging Exchange Powered by
Toolmaker Festool USA, Four Remodelers Share
Tips About Marketing, Promotion and Photography
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A
s a means to seek different ideas
and to share insights for today's
remodeling industry, Lebanon,
Ind.-based Festool USA recently
hosted a round-table discussion
with four professional remodelers from
around the country. Moderated by Michael
Williams, Festool's vice president of marketing, the conversation included: Blue
River Cabinetry Kitchen and Bath owner
Annette Mercado; custom carpenter Dan
Rush; expert remodeler and builder Mike
Sloggatt; and sustainable designer/builder
Joshua Weir.
Powered by Festool and published by
Qualified Remodeler, this is the first in a
series of quarterly round-table discussions.
Michael Williams: First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone for par-
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January 2013
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ticipating today. In a roller-coaster economy like this, how do you differentiate your
business?
Dan Rush: We're a small shop now —
a "lone wolf" out there. We primarily focus
on high-end cabinet and carpentry, and
the way we've kept busy over the past few
years has just been service, service, service.
We didn't lower prices; we don't advertise;
but we provide the best service possible.
Our success has been based on that. That's
how we differentiate.
Joshua Weir: I don't really compete
with contractors because I do all my design
work. I do all of my own plans — everything from permitting through welding
and fabrication. It's a really hard thing for
my clients to understand, so I show them
why it's less of a headache. I have yet to
find one outfit that is a package deal like
ours. And that's where our selling point is.
We haven't had a day off for the past three
years as a result.
Mike Sloggatt: First of all, we do
higher-end jobs. We're a lot faster than our
competition because of what we use. We
keep a clean jobsite; we pay attention to
the details, and that's really been the way
we've gotten our reputation.
The most important factor is customer
satisfaction. We've been in business for
30-odd years, and I have zero complaints
against us with the consumer affairs
department.
Annette Mercado: About three years
ago, when we noticed the economy was
changing, we took a look at everybody in
town that did what we did, and we created