Dependable Drain and Plumbing incorporates traditional advertising methods like Yellow Pages ads and commercials, but owner Jeff Crigger doesn’t stop there. One vital branding method he’s relied on since he bought his first work vehicle is making it stand out with an orange paint job. 

“The orange is such a bright, eye-catching color. And I’ve also been a Denver Broncos fan since 1975, and it drives my employees nuts,” says Crigger, who worked in Colorado and Florida before returning to his hometown of Clinton, Iowa, to start his own business. “When I started, I painted my first van orange. I didn’t want it to be so descriptive on the side of the van that people almost get in an accident trying to read all the stuff that you offer. It was important that it was just our logo and our phone number.”

This branding technique was even the inspiration behind one of the company’s former slogans: “When you see the orange van, you know help is on the way.”

“You can see our vans coming from anywhere,” Crigger says. “A lady I was working for once said, ‘Boy, I just know when I see that orange van that help is on the way.’”

Crigger backs up his company’s marketing campaign with excellent customer service. Word-of-mouth has been a significant contributor to the company’s success.

“When customers call me with an issue, I get right on it. Whether we need to send a carpet cleaner out there, whether we need to go out there and rectify it ourselves, I want my customers to know that I’m not going to just brush it under a rug,” Crigger says. “I like to talk to my customers personally so they know that it means something to me and that I’ll make sure it’s right. I strive to make sure everything is right because of word-of-mouth — that one upset customer knows people.”

Read more about Dependable Drain and Plumbing in this full profile featured in the August 2017 issue of Cleaner magazine.