A sign of things to come might be found in Savannah, Ga., where Coastal Empire Exteriors, which installs windows, siding, gutters, and sunrooms, enjoyed a 160 percent sales increase last year to $7.8 million. Its owner, Kip Lee, expects Coastal’s revenue to rise to $11 million in 2006 following his company’s recent acquisition of First Coast Rainguard in Jacksonville, Fla. That combination, says Lee, creates the largest Four Seasons Sunroom franchise in the country.
Coastal has emerged as one of the industry’s savviest promoters, with efforts that underscore the heightening competitiveness among remodelers and contractors. On Feb. 5, Coastal started airing a TV show called Home Improvement Time, whose 26 episodes broadcast on Saturday and Sunday mornings provide homeowners with advice about what to look for when hiring professionals. Lee says he bartered sponsorships for free advertising from a local radio station and newspaper, “so a $400,000 marketing package only cost me $100,000.”
Coastal is working with Y2 Marketing, a prominent consulting firm based in Grapevine, Texas, to develop a year-round marketing plan. Lee says by using Y2’s marketing instructional video CDs, he devised a cold-weather campaign that produced $1 million in sunroom sales (or 23 units) from Nov. 7 through Dec. 31.
Lee also has hired Carriage House, a Savannah public relations firm, to send out weekly press releases about his company. “We want to create the kind of buzz that American Chopper has produced,” says Lee, referring to the hit Discovery Channel reality program about a family that owns a New York–based motorcycle shop, Orange County Choppers.
While it would be an exaggeration to point to Coastal as typical, many more remodeling companies are, at the very least, stepping up their marketing to attract a broader customer base. As the remodeling market continues to grow both regionally and nationally, these are the companies that pro dealers may want to keep their eyes on and use as litmus for targeting their remodeling contractor advertising and product assortments. —John Caulfield is a contributing editor for PROSALES.
