branding

New Retail Assortments Available Fall 2024

For over 100 years, the iconic American brand, SK Professional Tools, has been committed to manufacturing innovative and high-quality mechanics tools for American professionals. Today, SK Professional Tools is proud to continue that tradition by relaunching its 100 plus-year-old brand with special assortments, including those for independent hardware stores, discounted 50%, and available when purchased through SK Professional Tool’s sister company, Arrow Fastener, at these upcoming fall trade shows:

• ACE Hardware Fall 2024 Convention – Chicago, IL.  Aug 8-10
• True Value Fall 2024 Reunion – Orlando, FL. Sept. 9—11
• Blish-Mize Fall Customer Buying Market – Overland Park, KS. Sept. 12—14
• Wallace Hardware Fall Dealer Market – Sevierville, TN. Oct. 2 – 3
• United Hardware – Oct 9-11
• House-Hasson Hardware Fall Dealer Market – Charlotte, NC.
  Oct. 10–12
• Orgill Winter 2024 Online Buying Event – Nov. 4 – 17

Now a part of the family of companies owned by GreatStar Industrial, SK Professional Tools continues to manufacture select products for industrial and independent tool truck partners in the USA. At the same time, SK Professional Tools is now able to expand and democratize its product line to offer the highest level of quality and performance, as well as offering more affordable price points, to a broader audience by leveraging the global footprint of its parent company – GreatStar Industrial.

“For 100 years, we have been providing our customers with our top-notch tools and service,” says Christopher Woolley, Vice President Product and Brand Management, SK Professional Tools. “We are so proud of the rich history and exceptional reputation of our company.  And now, going forward, we are excited to have the dual opportunity of staying true to our roots of manufacturing products here in the U.S., while at the same time, being able to broaden our range of offerings by utilizing the wide-ranging experiences and resources of GreatStar Industrial.”

SK Professional Tools’ sister company, Arrow Fastener, has its global headquarters located in Saddle Brook, NJ, which also serves as GreatStar Industrial’s U.S. headquarters for sales, marketing, and distribution of its branded tool product portfolio. According to Justin Sumner, Vice President Sales, Arrow Fastener, “This proximity provides expanded opportunities for proven brands like SK Professional Tools to be available to the independent hardware dealer channel conveniently through the sales division at Arrow. At the fall shows, we will be offering special assortments, such as a range of drive tools, screwdrivers, pliers, and shears, curated for our customers, including independent hardware stores, with a special discount of 50% and with hot open stock deals.”

New book by the KickCharge® Creative president and leading authority on disruptive marketing for service businesses provides invaluable blueprint for driving growth with branding

Dan Antonelli, creative director and president of KickCharge® Creative and a pioneer in disruptive branding for the home service industry, shares critical insights that help small service business owners grow in his new best-selling book, “Branded Not Blanded: KickCharge™ Your Home Service Brand.”

Antonelli has created more than 2,000 brand designs in his career, establishing him as the leading authority on successful branding for service companies. “Branded Not Blanded,” available now for pre-order on the Amazon website, leverages his experience to offer business owners a blueprint for creating a killer home service brand.

“This book is the ultimate guide to creative branding that helps businesses stand out from the competition, attract the right clients and employees, and win the hearts and minds of their ideal customers,” Antonelli said. “Complacency and weak branding — or ‘blanding’ — hold back so many home service companies. But recognizing weak branding is an opportunity to change the direction of your company and improve your culture. There are many weak brands in the service industry, and it’s easy to leverage that for your own success. All you have to do is build a better brand.”

With real case studies and success stories as well as actionable insights for home service business owners, “Branded Not Blanded” is a valuable resource for small service business owners. Antonelli presents his comprehensive knowledge in accessible language and easily digestible chapters that readers can apply to their own business.

In the book, Antonelli guides readers through essential topics such as:

• Brand Basics: The basics of what branding means for home service companies, and how it’s relevant to their success.
• What Is Brand Disruption?: When it comes to branding, disruption means looking at what everyone else is doing and finding a way to be unique and different.
• Branding and the Home Consumer: Your branding needs to speak to skeptical consumers and make potential customers feel something positive about your company.
• Leveraging Your Brand to Win on the Streets: Your vehicles are perhaps the single most important part of your brand efforts — and one of the most cost-effective.
• Launching Your New Brand: Introducing your new brand to the world effectively requires careful planning and implementation.

“Many owners of home service businesses say they can’t afford to invest in branding, but the truth is they can’t afford not to,” Antonelli said. “Companies with effective brands spend less on marketing than complacent, bland brands. It takes less work to get people excited about a company with a compelling, brand story and a strong, memorable visual brand identity. With this book, business owners can learn what branding truly is, why it matters in our industry, and how they can successfully implement a dynamic brand strategy that will drive revenue, support a positive workplace culture and power growth.”

To pre-order Dan Antonelli’s “Branded Not Blanded,” visit  https://www.amazon.com/Branded-Not-Blanded-KickChargeTM-Service-ebook/dp/B0BBL1CCJ9.

For more information about KickCharge® Creative, visit  https://www.kickcharge.com.

Plumbing is one of the most lucrative trades. You can make a great income from it. However, those looking to make big money should consider starting plumbing businesses. These help you get out of the wage labor cycle and allow you to leverage the productivity of others. 

In this post, we take a look at how to build a fantastic plumbing business from scratch. Here’s what you need to do: 

Find Your Specialist Area

The first step is to find your specialist area – the thing in plumbing that you do better than everyone else. For instance, you could be your city’s leading provider of: 

• Drain unblocking services
• Toilet unblocking services
• Commercial piping
• Water tank and gas boiler installation
• Pipe cleaning and servicing
• Pressure monitoring
• Diagnostic plumbing
• Bathroom renovations

Once you know what you want to focus on specifically, you can start to create a name for yourself. Customers don’t just want general plumbers – they want people who can solve the specific issues that they face right now. 

Get Educated And Start Working

The next step to building a rockstar plumbing business, like Inner West Sydney emergency plumbing and get deep into the understanding of your trade. The more you can learn about it, the more successful you will be. 

If you want to focus on a specific area of plumbing, then it makes sense to work with someone who already operates a business in that field. They can show you the ropes, so to speak, so that you know how to build your own business in the future. 

It doesn’t have to be a long slog. You don’t have to work for an existing plumbing firm for very long. However, you do want to pay attention to how they operate and the structures they put in place to make money. Then, once you’re ready, all you need to do is leave and copy their methods. 

Sort Out All The Legal Stuff

When setting up a plumbing company, you’ll need to decide on a formal business structure, usually LLC or LLP, and then register with the tax authorities. Only complete your registration if you are about to trade. If you are not ready to trade, don’t register, as you will face various reporting and compliance requirements.

Write Your Business Plan

Most plumbing companies launch head-first into the industry without a real plan for how they’re going to make money and be successful. Generally, speaking, this is a bad idea. You need a document somewhere to remind you what you’re going for and what you would like to achieve. 

When creating a business plan, include both inspirational and practical elements. For instance, if you want to generate $1 million in revenue, state that as an objective and also write down what you need to do to get there. 

Hire The Right People

As a plumber, there’s a limit to how much you can earn working for yourself. No matter how skilled you become, or what hourly rate you charge, there’s a limit to the number of hours in the day. 

However, when you hire other people, it changes the dynamic. All of a sudden, you’re able to sell their services too, creaming the surplus off the top for yourself. 

It all depends on hiring the right people, though. If you employ the wrong colleagues, it’ll harm your brand and you won’t be able to grow as fast as you like. In some instances, your company might actually shrink. 

Streamline Management

Managing field employees is notoriously challenging. However, these days there is more technology than ever before to make it happen.

Explore employee scheduling best practices. Make sure that people know when they are supposed to work, and where. 

Also make sure that you remain in regular contact with those in the field. Offer them feedback from clients, and then ask them to rate how much they enjoyed working on a particular task. 

If hiring contractors, not employees, use software that allows them to pick and choose the jobs that they take on. Also, get solutions that allow you to pay them directly for the work that they do so you can avoid clunky payroll software. 

Reduce Your Expenses

While growing revenues is important in plumbing businesses, so too is reducing your expenses. Cutting them by just 10 percent can have the effect of making your business more than twice as profitable. 

For instance, suppose that you reduce costs from 90 percent to 80 percent of revenue. Your profits jump from 10 to 20 percent – a doubling. Cutting costs could involve setting up your office from home or using cheaper, more effective marketing services.

As the owner of a plumbing company, fixing faults is only one feature of what you do. Frankly, branding and marketing is an essential aspect if you wish to achieve sustained success. After all, without clients, your business cannot survive.

Keeping up appearances is a key component of a thriving system. However, you will also need to ensure that it doesn’t affect your flow of productivity. Focus on the four features below, and you won’t go far wrong. 

Building An Online Reputation

In today’s climate, virtually every business can benefit from a strong online presence. Even when your plumbing firm is focused on a small geographic reach, the fact is that a strong digital presence is needed. Because your clients are actively searching for brands on their various devices.

A well-designed website should look good and feel easier to navigate. Visit https://codal.com/solutions/ to find WordPress experts. As well as a powerful site, you should look to achieve a solid social media presence. While followers won’t necessarily translate to direct conversions, it can make the company look bigger.

Learn to stand out on Google with SEO and Google My Business listings for optimal results.

Mastering Offline Marketing

While online marketing is essential, you must not forget local offline marketing practices. Your business is primarily focused on clients in your region, which makes it a lot easier to tailor your strategies. When you reach the target audience in an effective way, conversions without huge expenses should follow.

The direct data and mailing marketing system can work wonders for raising local awareness in a cost-effective way. Visit https://www.action-mailing.com/data-services to learn more about implementing a strategy to reduce waste. If you offer both B2B and B2C plumbing services, be sure to separate the two data groups.

When offering a service like plumbing, offline marketing also builds trust from your leads.

Invest In The Team

A strong branding strategy is nothing without the accompaniment of a world-class plumbing service. If you are a sole trader, you’ll only have to worry about yourself and potentially one work partner. If, however, you run a small company, you need to know that all workers will support the brand image.

The value of appreciating your employees cannot be emphasized enough. A happier atmosphere leads to improved productivity, fewer mistakes, and better client interactions. You can support the process further by investing in staff uniforms. Elsewhere, a dedicated virtual receptionist can help manage enquiries.

Customers call plumbers when situations need resolving. Supporting them properly is vital.

Use Advanced Tech

Dealings with customers are often easier for plumbers than other businesses. But that should not stop you from using sophisticated solutions. It’s the type of move that will make your business more memorable. In turn, you will gain their repeat business and enjoy the benefits of referrals.

Investing in the best tools to identify and investigate problems is vital. Likewise, you should use the right parts to correct any faults. However, you may find that it is equally rewarding to invest in SMS appointment reminders to provide transparency. Meanwhile, providing the right level of aftercare with video tutorials or guides can work wonders.

When the brand image is right, you can dedicate more time to your actual profession. Perfect.