Rick Rominger - Finding TopCash for Material Purchases - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Rick Rominger from SRS Distribution, Inc. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro/Outro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from Roofers Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and today this podcast we want to talk about something fun for everyone, cash, good old cash. And I'm telling you what, there are so many great loyalty programs out there that really help your business. One of the leading ones is SRS Top Cash. So we asked Rick Rominger, director of private label for SRS Distribution, to come talk to us about what they're doing and how it can really help contractors. So Rick, welcome to the show.

Rick Rominger: Thanks, Heidi. It's great to be here. Thanks so much for the invite.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You know what, I always love visiting with you, and you always have such great information. So before we kind of dive into the topic of Top Cash today, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about SRS.

Rick Rominger: Sure. So as you mentioned, I am the director of Private label for SRS. I've been with SRS for four and a half, five years, almost five, and they asked me to come in and help them develop Top Shield and take it to market, which I think it's done extremely well for us, and I just jumped at the opportunity. I love private label, I love marketing branding, so it just was a great fit for me. Of course, I've been in roofing and building materials all my life, so it's certainly a joy to be with with SRS, it's the finest company I've ever been involved with hands down.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so great to hear because I mean, when you think about all the things that SRS does on so many levels, but Top Shield has really... I mean, it's just so well known, it has taken off. So why don't you tell us a little bit about the Top Shield product line, and why SRS launched it in the first place?

Rick Rominger: Well, sure. So Top Shield, we launched Top Shield to really bring a product line offering a consistent value and really high quality products to our customers. And to have that exclusive brand of quality products throughout the SRS family of distributors, exclusive product line, it's just great to have that brand of products to offer our customers. For each product it's been researched, the quality is assured to meet our standards, which of course will meet their strict demands.

Everything we do in Top Shield has met all the testing, all the applicable codes, Miami-Dade, Florida Building Code, Texas Department of Insurance. Now really, if any code is required on any given Top Shield product we work to meet those codes, and even exceed those requirements. I mean, Top Shield, it's a commitment to quality, and it's not just our brand promise, we say that in everything we do, but it is a commitment and a promise to our customers.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's great.

Rick Rominger: And customers recognize if it's a top shelf product, they know they're offering their customers some of the best products available.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that's the thing. And I think it's a little bit of a differentiator too when you're going in front of that homeowner or building owner to really talk about the Top Shield brand and the partnership with SRS, because it really seems like owners want that. They want that connection. And how have you been seeing the contractors really kind of working with the line and making it part of their corporate fabric?

Rick Rominger: Well, with any branding product it takes a little bit of time for adoption to set in, and for customers and users to really understand the brand and the business behind it, and the value that it brings. So I think we've crossed that chasm. Our customers now understand and recognize Top Shield. They expect Top Shield to be the top of the line product. They expect it to be high performing. They expect it to have the product warranties that either meet or exceed any other similar products. So they've come to now expect Top Shield and ask for it by name in many circumstances, because of the dedication that we've put to it. We certainly won't put Top Shield's name on any product that's inferior or anything that would damage the brand. I mean, obviously when you damage a brand it's very difficult, if not impossible, to regain that brand value. So we certainly pay attention to what we're doing.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that's so true, and smart because I think once in the roofing industry there's been so many times that contractors have had to deal with products that don't perform or poor follow up, and so there's a little bit of skittishness about that. So building that brand and really staying true to it, I think that means everything to the roofing contractors.

Rick Rominger: I think so, and that's what we do. We scrutinize the products, we evaluate the products, we make sure is the product the right product for our customers before we put our name on it. And when we do, we feel very confident that that's what they want, that's what they'll use. And it's come to the point now that their customers are very confident they're going to get that product, and they're going to have that reliability.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's excellent. So you have some new products, speaking of scrutinizing, you have some new products that you've come out with. Can you tell us about those?

Rick Rominger: Sure. So we launched about a month or so ago, we launched our Barrier Solutions line products, which really starting with a wrap. It's a product that will help really the walls of the home. It's a top of the line product, we do with everything with Top Shield. We've got three models of it we put to market, and it's certainly going to meet any residential application need of any contractor. It's definitely a move for us into the wall sides of the home from the roof, but I think we did it the right way and I think our customers are going to enjoy it. We also launched a new line of hybrid construction ceilings too, and we just pulled the trigger on that last week, so we're excited about that.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow, that's exciting. You know what I love hearing, I mean, you're talking about going to the walls because I think we're all seeing that the roofing industry is spreading their wings, and maybe they have been for a long time, but you see a lot of contractors who are really offering full exteriors, or at least partial exteriors. And so to be able for SRS to really provide the siding, and I've been to some of your siding branches, and the barriers, that makes a lot of sense.

Rick Rominger: Yeah, sure. And of course with Top Shield we want to get products to market and in our customer's hands for the jobs that they do. The roofer may do some siding jobs, they may do some outskirts, some waterproofing, even some below grade. And I think Top Shield will eventually have a nice product portfolio for all those applications.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. So tell us a little bit about the hybrid sealants.

Rick Rominger: Sure. Well, hybrid construction sealants, so we had some sealants in the line and we wanted something that would be very universal and versatile for our customers to use. So we've got a product now that we just put out a few colors, it won't shrink. It can be applied in extremely wet conditions, and even down to zero degrees. It'll go pretty much on any substrate, shingles, coppers, skylights, brick block, wood, polyester, steel coated steel, just really anything. So we're pretty excited about this product line. We think it's going to fit a nice niche for our contractors as a solution for many of their applications, so it was nice to get that one out the door.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's nice. Yeah, important. Those accessories are so important. Okay, you started something in the industry, and this is how we kind of started this podcast, so now we're getting to it, and I just think it's a great program for contractors, and that's the Top Cash Program. Can you tell us how that works?

Rick Rominger: Oh yeah, absolutely love this program. So Top Cash, it is exactly what you said in the opening. It's a cash program. It's a cashback rebate program for simply purchasing select Top Shield products.

So there's a range of products that are eligible for the program throughout the year. Some will run the full year, some will run in a window of time for the year. And it's basically a customer purchases an eligible product from any SRS distributor in the company. And once they register and we automatically track it and submit the purchase for cash back, so the customer receives it, it's a Top Shield MasterCard debit card, it's cash, so wherever MasterCard is accepted they can spend the money, whether it's taking the family out to dinner or booking a trip, don't care. It's cash. And they get that back automatically, so they don't have to send in an invoice. They don't have to track it themselves. If they're buying an eligible product we handle everything for them.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Geez. Rick, I have to tell you, in my early years I had to fill out a lot of forms for contractors for rebate, getting anything, the loyalty programs, the receipts, so I love that. And so it calculates automatically and it all goes onto a debit card. Just talk a little bit more about that.

Rick Rominger: So the debit card like I said, it really is, it's just a standard MasterCard debit card. It's got a really cool Top Shield logo on it. Every week we track the purchases of every customer that has completed registration, and we send those in to our provider that handles their card for us. And they in turn load the cards for the customers every month I believe. And the customers are given a website they can go on, they can check their balances, what have you. They can go on to the topshieldproducts.com website and see what products are being offered in the Top Cash Program at any time, so we keep that updated. And even if they're not aware that the product is part of the program, if they buy it they still get it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Oh, nice.

Rick Rominger: So yeah, it's a really great benefit for our contractors and with a great product line.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: How great as a contractor, all of a sudden, even if you're unaware of it, all of a sudden you have this great cash card, debit card to use. That's cool.

Rick Rominger: That is cool.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: What are you hearing from contractors who have been involved with the Top Cash?

Rick Rominger: Oh, they love it. They want more Top Shield products on there. So they're continually asking for more, so we're working to do that. We're working on maybe adding Craft Grade, which is a brand under Top Shield, that we may add some of those products in next year. So we are looking at advancing it, we're looking at growing it. I mean, obviously for our contractors it's a great benefit because like you said earlier, it's cash, and it's they don't have to spend it at SRS. I mean, I'd like for them to of course, but they don't have to.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, go out to dinner.

Rick Rominger: They can spend it wherever they want. Yeah, absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Well, okay, so as you're kind of looking at this with the contractors too, you mentioned earlier that you'll have certain products at certain times and certain products all year round. Can you kind of talk a little bit more about maybe what the products are that are all year round, and then what are some of the other special promotions just so people can kind of see maybe what's coming here in Q4 and into 2024?

Rick Rominger: Sure. So some of the products that we ran all year and we're running all this year, our modified products, our self adhered cap or base, those are like commercial products, and they even turn in some residential products for low slope applications. So we ran those all year. And some of the products that we ran in for a period of time, we ran some of our synthetics for a period of time during the period that they would be buying these the most, our caulking and sealants programs, or products, most of those are year round. And when we launch a new product we usually try to tie it into Top Cash.

So we just launched the Barrier Solutions line and we launched the Hybrid Construction Sealants line, and both of those now are tied to Top Cash, and we hope to run those through the end of the year. So we try to look at the time that the customer really is going to apply most of the purchases for the product, and we really try to meet their needs with that too. If we can't do it all year we really try to tie it into the time of year that they could use it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That makes sense. And smart. That is great. So what are some of the other things, like I just said looking into 2024, any things that contractors should be looking forward to from Top Shield?

Rick Rominger: Well, really can't get into quite everything but the details, but we absolutely advance, we are planning to advance. We hope to bring some more into our commercial line, our Top Shield Pro line, and of course craft grade, our craft grade line is expanding so be on the lookout. I mean, as we get the products recognized and work through the system and analyze and make sure customers, it's the right product for our customers. We'll work on putting this to market

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Well, last thing, or not quite last but close to last, but just your thoughts Rick, kind of your advice to contractors, because sometimes it's overwhelming. All this stuff, even though you just send it to them, that's pretty good. But overall, really kind of taking that time, especially with winter coming up, to look at loyalty programs, look at Roof Hub, look at what SRS is doing, what's some of your advice to them that they should really be focusing on?

Rick Rominger: Well, SRS is clearly advancing and leading in many ways. And with our Roof Hub Program, with our Top Shield Program, we're trying to make it maybe not easier and better and more condensed and simpler for a customer to do business with us, and for us to meet their needs at the highest level possible.

We pride ourselves on our customer service. We pride ourselves on a reaction to meeting our customer's needs, to looking forward to developing the instruments and the infrastructure to help them be more successful. That's what we're all about.

And I think for our contractors too, and I think our contractors that are our customers, our customers, they recognize that, they recognize that what we do in our Top Shield line and our Roof Hub line is fully dedicated to supporting them and their businesses. It's really the right avenue to take, and I think SRS is leading it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. And I love it when you come see us on Roofing Road Trips. This is great. So contractors who want to get more involved, obviously, this is probably going to be obvious but I'm going to say, how do they get involved with Top Cash?

Rick Rominger: Very simple, go to the website topshieldproducts.com and fill out a quick registration form. Once they do that then we start at that time tracking their purchases. They do get a second registration form from our provider that is a little more detailed that they have to complete for any tax purposes, those kinds of things. But once they complete that through, then that's when they can start receiving their Top Cash benefits. But once they do sign up on our website, the topshieldproducts.com, that's when we start tracking their purchases. So if it takes them a little bit of time to get through the other registration process, it's no worries, we still track them from the time they purchased on our site.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's great. Easy, easy. And contractors out there, everybody listening, you can find out more information of course on Roofers Coffee Shop directory for Top Shield, check it out, all kinds of great information there. And Rick, I just have to say again, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Rick Rominger: Oh, that's great Heidi, it's always pleasure. Thanks so much.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Well, it's a Friday afternoon so I want to say thank you to you and to everyone who's listening, no matter what day of the week it is. This is the kind of information that I really think makes a difference, and people need to know about for their business. So one last time Rick, thank you so much.

Rick Rominger: Thanks a lot, Heidi. Have a great one.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You too. And thank you everybody for listening. Please check out the Top Shield directory on Roofers Coffee Shop and get involved, see what it can do for your business. It's easy and fun. Let's just be honest, that's pretty fun.

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