Adam Sand (YouTube short) argues that word-of-mouth is a risky marketing channel for roofing businesses because you cannot control what customers say, who they tell, or how often they repeat it. He warns that if word-of-mouth centers on low prices or discounts (e.g., showcase/home deals), it can damage brand value and attract customers who expect steep discounts, undermining margins.
Chapters
The worst form of marketing is word of mouth. I'll let that sink in for a second for people to go, wait, what the hell did he just say? Word of mouth is a great form of advertising, but you don't control what they say. You don't control who they say it to. You don't control when they say it, how often they say it. You can't command them to say it. And so in the case of where you start building the reputation of, oh, yeah, we just, like, waited a little bit, and then he gave us a deal because he called it the spring or something, we saved like, 30%. So if that becomes the word of mouth that you are such a low price, next thing you know, you're doing jobs. Like, the neighbors that you end up getting are like, well, his house is a little bigger than mine, and you did it for like, 25% less than this. And it's like, oh, well, we used him for a marketing thing, a showcase home. So if you go too much, it becomes the reason that people bought from you was that you were drastically cheaper. You want to retain some sense of what your brand's value is.
