Elevate Your Roofer Brand

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Differentiate your company from the rest through developing a strong brand that your customers will remember.  

Season 3, episode 20 of Roofing Road Trips hosted by RoofersCoffeeShop® partner, Heidi J. Ellsworth, discusses all things branding. Jeff Williams from IKO explains the importance behind establishing a strong brand and how branding can improve overall sales as well as company culture. Jeff also shares the top five things every roofing professional should know about branding their business for success. 

Jeff is the brand director for IKO and leads the marketing effort for North America. IKO is family owned and operated, now in its fourth generation leading the company. Since its founding in 1951 by Israel Koschitzky, IKO has grown throughout the globe with distribution centers in all 50 states and 10 provinces as well as exporting to 40 countries. 

"The company is run by values,” said Jeff. "There's an old maxim that a brand is a third what you say and two thirds what you do, this family has lived it. Our positioning statement is roofing elevated and what that really means is, over four generations we've learned a thing or two.” 

When it comes to roofing innovation, IKO has learned from experience and continues to control most of their product development. IKO is also heavily vertically integrated, which Jeff said has been to their advantage throughout the pandemic.   

“Because we control our supply lines, we have extraordinary control of our finished product which we're very proud of,” said Jeff. “My job is a small part. . .dealing with a somewhat subjective realm when you move into the branding and the advertising world.”  

Jeff describes marketing as the science of promoting and selling a product. His methodology behind successful marketing incorporates what he calls “the five Ps”, which are product, price, promotion, place and people.  

“You have to have those ingredients nailed down. Obviously if you're in retail, you have to have a great place in a prominent area. If you're selling anything, you have to have prominent promotion [and] it always comes down to people, right? Price is certainly a part of the mix and we'll talk about price later, but within the marketing umbrella you have different tools.” 

Within that marketing umbrella, one of the most prominent tools is advertising. Advertising is how you can create public awareness of a product that needs to be promoted and sold. Advertising can also help with engagement with your company. Branding is another tool – a crucial one – that makes companies come to life.   

"Branding truly is a reflection of the personality of the company. It is that thing, that it-factor that makes you different and gives you a unique selling proposition. I can tell you from experience, and I've been doing this for a little while, that you can have the nicest looking logo and you can have some fancy slogans, but if your company doesn't live what it says, guess what? That's a reflection on your brand and again it goes back to [company] behavior,” explained Jeff. “That's what a brand is, it's more than a logo, it's more than a fancy name. It is a unique differentiator, it's the thing that makes you unique in your marketplace.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about how you can develop a strong brand identity that differentiates your company from the rest.