How Can THIS Be Good For Business ??

[Apple Roof Cleaning 202]

Today, we did a search for roof cleaning Brandon Florida, just like a potential customer would probably do.

roof cleaning brandon florida - Google Search

Try it yourself, click the link ?

Of course, our web pages came up in the search, but scroll down about 4 to 5 spots ?

THEN LOOK ??

There is a thread from The Grime Scene that I started called "Roof Cleaners in Florida - Is it slow for you right now"

Any potential customer can click on this thread, and read it.

To make matters worse, someone asks me in this thread if he can go down to a swimming pool supply place and buy pool chlorine to use to clean a roof.

And, he asks if Pool Chlorine is the same as the recommended Sodium Hypochlorite.

Pretty soon, why is anyone going to need us anymore when we are teaching potential customers how to do it themselves ?

I wonder why this, and other forums can't be closed to the search engines, so we can continue to educate each other, without educating potential customers as well ?

Imagine Kentucky Fried Chicken getting on an Internet cooking forum, and spelling out exactly what the secret herbs and spices are, where to get them, and how to prepare the chicken too ?

Or, Microsoft putting the source code for Windows out in the public domain ?

[Apple Roof Cleaning 202]

One might assume when someone does a local search for roof cleaning, they do not already know how to do it ?

But, when up pop detailed instructions in a search, I can see a scenario that goes something like this

"Honey, I was looking for a roof cleaning company because as you know, we got a letter.

Look at this Thread honey that I found ?

All you have to do is when you go to the pool store, get some extra chlorine, and a pump up sprayer, and we can do it ourselves, "

"I know honey, because I read how to do it on the grime scene, when I was looking for a local roof cleaning company"

People who already know how to Do it themselves, aren't going to be doing a search for a local roof cleaning company.

Know what I mean ?

[Mike Williamson 198]

One might assume when someone does a local search for roof cleaning, they do not already know how to do it ?

But, when up pop detailed instructions in a search, I can see a scenario that goes something like this

"Honey, I was looking for a roof cleaning company because as you know, we got a letter.

Look at this Thread honey that I found ?

All you have to do is when you go to the pool store, get some extra chlorine, and a pump up sprayer, and we can do it ourselves, "

"I know honey, because I read how to do it on the grime scene, when I was looking for a local roof cleaning company"

People who already know how to Do it themselves, aren't going to be doing a search for a local roof cleaning company.

Know what I mean ?

LOL!

You missed it. There are people who ARE DIY people, and there are people who AREN'T DIY people.

Most of my customers also know how to mow their own lawns, and most even have a mower and a trimmer and an edger and a blower. But they hire a lawn crew to do it for them, because they don't want to, don't have time, etc. Many of them also have a pressure washer, but they still call me. That's because they tried it once, and it didn't work out as well for them.

Most people aren't going to say "Hey, I WAS going to hire a guy to clean my roof, but what the hey, I think I'll spend ALL DAY spraying chlorine through a pump up sprayer onto the roof that I'm already a bit nervous about getting up on.

The hard core DIY guy will figure it out one way or the other. Most will do it whether they find the "right" way or whether they simply pressurewash the crap out of their roofs. They aren't going to hire you just because you do it the Apple way.

PW chat boards are certainly not the only place this info is available...not by a long shot.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

There are entire forums out there where DIY'ers go to talk to one another and they don't all care for contractor input. Some accept it better than others do.

Beth

[814jeffw 71]

Today, we did a search for roof cleaning Brandon Florida, just like a potential customer would probably do.

roof cleaning brandon florida - Google Search

Try it yourself, click the link ?

Of course, our web pages came up in the search, but scroll down about 4 to 5 spots ?

THEN LOOK ??

There is a thread from The Grime Scene that I started called "Roof Cleaners in Florida - Is it slow for you right now"

Any potential customer can click on this thread, and read it.

To make matters worse, someone asks me in this thread if he can go down to a swimming pool supply place and buy pool chlorine to use to clean a roof.

And, he asks if Pool Chlorine is the same as the recommended Sodium Hypochlorite.

Pretty soon, why is anyone going to need us anymore when we are teaching potential customers how to do it themselves ?

I wonder why this, and other forums can't be closed to the search engines, so we can continue to educate each other, without educating potential customers as well ?

Imagine Kentucky Fried Chicken getting on an Internet cooking forum, and spelling out exactly what the secret herbs and spices are, where to get them, and how to prepare the chicken too ?

Or, Microsoft putting the source code for Windows out in the public domain ?

Apple Roof Cleaning - Tampa Florida Roof Cleaning

Chris, you should maybe consider removing the link to the *** forum from your website,...because as you say, a potential customer could just click on that link and get educated enough to try it for themselves. Yes people will find the info anyhow, but if your concerned about this type of info getting leaked you should not enable them by giving them easy access to a forum full of info.

Jeff

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

These are the 5 most common reasons why we are in business:

1. The customer does not know how to do it.

2. The customer knows how but is unwilling to do it.

3. The customer knows how but is physically incapable of doing it.

4. The customer has the money and would rather pay someone to do it.

5. The customer does not have the time to do it themselves.

For all the hype about diy'ers coming to this or any other internet source being bad for your business is insecurity. I understand that in some demographics there are those who have very little in terms of a customer base to draw on and that this would affect their livelihood but from what I read, that is a negligible problem.

For those where the competition is thick, that is another problem all together.

But there will always be diy'ers. This country was built by them and that go get em attitude is still alive and well.

We have always said "Be careful of what you post. A customer can read these forums and what you say could be either beneficial or detrimental to your companies business." This thread is a prime example of it and innocently enough it could send the wrong message to one of your prospects.

When it comes to anyone being able to read these forums and go do it themselves...well, how many of us have been called out to rectify a customers doings after they "read the label" and got the undesirable results.

[hand in the air, looking for others to respond as well]

Don't sweat the small stuff. Aim for those who are in the 5 reasons I posted and you will do fine.

If your business is suffering, don't look for the reasons here. Examine your company, look at your processes, look at the service in quality, result, and value. If you find anything that is undesirable in any way, change it and advertise it. This shows attentiveness and puts you in a better light.

If it helps any, the one thing I could come to off the top of my head about roof cleaning is the smell of bleach. Many are turned off, offended and purely frightened by chemicals, their smells and the uneducated thoughts they have or the unsubstantiated conclusions they could jump to can be a deterrent to hiring anyone who uses them in their neighborhood.

Now, don't go on the defensive but consider what others impressions may be and how that can affect their decision. This is what you are really up against.

The diy'ers are just doing what we are doing...networking.

Rod!~

[814jeffw 71]

My comment was directed at Chris, as I found it ironic that he started this thread about divulging info and he has a direct line to these forums on his site.

I personally do not worry about DIY'ers. There will always be DIY'ers but they only make up a small percentage of potential customers. My business is not going to be affected by a few. Most customers have no interest in doing these jobs themselves,...it's just not worth it,.....they already have a job or are retired and have no interest in doing this when they can just pay to have it done. And there's always gonna be hacks out there who do it on the side for extra cash,..but they come and go,... and always will.

Jeff

[Ron Musgraves 240]

I remember years back when a guy from Florida (cody) made the same claims about contractor education.

Its kind of the same subject, usually something sets these topics off.

I believe to some extent it has and impact. It will in reality land, I do see the point also that DYI people will always exist like low balers will always be there.

The impact and effects of this bbs or any other on our business is non- existent.

Some of us want to believe bbs have larger impact on things than reality.

I have been in business for years and the positive impact has always out wade the negative by large margins.

If you conduct yourself like a clown then I will assume it’s possible that a customer may see you.

I’m certain a DYIER may see Chris online but also knows if he is reading that if I choose a guy I would use Chris.

Heck, I might hire Chris to wash my roof and I have a PW.

[dualjetter 14]

Congrates to all for an excellent board!

That article is great for business if you're a roofer....

Look, there is FAR too much worry about the home owner

viewing trade secrets and stealing your business. Anybody that's

spent enough time reading emails and spams and websites eventually

realizes its difficult to discern fact from fiction.

Sure, a "pro's secret" is posted on a forum, but just like everything else,

does the home owner really know its reliable?

Don't you think the failures of DIYer that ruin roofs, break legs, and

annoy their neighbors SPREADS LIKE WILDFIRE.

Everybody knows about ole George that tried to "do it himself", and

fell 45 feet to his death in the process! And nobody is gonna repeat

that effort. They'll call the professionals, and by God there's a ton

of them on this board!

In all honesty, quit worrying about somebody stealing your job, and

just focus on what a great job you do. Use the internet to advance

your experiments in success. Do other professionals fear some web

page text will put them out of business? No

Find any successful professional, then use the internet to figure out

how to do their job. Does it work? Maybe for leaf raking.

You'll spend all day trying to discern fact from fable. Only THEY have

a clue about all the industry buzz words, and only they know the difference

between HS and SH and what the heck is a PW anyway?

As a computer programmer for 25 years, I am continuously using the

internet to find tools to advance my profession, and its a great benefit.

Its my profession that CREATED THE INTERNET.

Would we put ourselves out of business by creating an oracle of

knowledge about our own discipline? I think not.

We embrace it.

No matter what I find online, I've gotta work REAL HARD to make sure

what I found is the TRUTH.

Folks, keep up the great work.

The Public needs you, and I enjoy the excellent dialog among you.

Mr Brown

Gainesville, FL

(Give me a call sometimes Mike).

[MMI Enterprises 289]

"You'll spend all day trying to discern fact from fable. Only THEY have

a clue about all the industry buzz words, and only they know the difference

between HS and SH and what the heck is a PW anyway?"

What's HS? :corn:

[dualjetter 14]

"What.s HS..."

And that is exactly my point...

Outside of the industry, its confusing...

The DIYer goes to this site to clarify the conversation:

HS - What does HS stand for? Acronyms and abbreviations by the Free Online Dictionary.

And maybe narrows it down to...

HS Half-Strength

HS Health and Safety

HS Hot Sauce (Heated Apple sauce?)

HS Hydrogen Sulfide (Sounds like a good cleaner...)

Anyway, stocks are dreadfully boring today, was hoping GSX

would make another run for it. TMY is way oversold if you

want a real gamble of an investment.

Whoops, wrong message board.

I've gotta continue that search on cleaning pool enclosures.

I know it's here somewhere....

Later,

Mr. Brown

Central Florida.