Every drain cleaning company has a brand. It is the combination of your company name and slogan, your logo, the colors you use in your marketing, and more.

Unfortunately, many drain cleaners fail to design their brands intentionally or strategically, which gives their customers a serious medical condition: amnesia.

Ideally, a brand should lock your company into the mind of your customer. But if your company struggles with customer retention, repeat business, and referrals, there’s a good chance that your brand has given your customers amnesia.

Consider how a customer’s mind works in this typical situation:

1. They experience a plumbing emergency so they turn to the Yellow Pages or to the internet to search for companies.
2. They stumble upon you, call you, and have you come out to solve their problem.
3. You show up on time, you give great service, and you charge a fair price. The problem is solved and you are on your way.
4. Later, the customer needs service again. But then they rack their brain trying to remember who they hired before for the first emergency situation.
5. Ultimately they end up turning again to the Yellow Pages or the internet to find any drain cleaner who can help them.

This scenario might differ slightly from one customer to the next but, in general, the same thing happens over and over across the country. Simply put: Many companies’ brands are so forgettable that customers can’t remember who they hired last time.

Here’s Why Your Brand Isn’t Working

There are many reasons why a brand can be forgettable, but I can sum it up in one phrase: It is not “world class.”

Look outside of the industry for a simple example. (Sometimes it’s helpful to look outside of your industry because you are too familiar with the players inside your industry to make a clear-sighted observation.) Consider a locally owned “mom and pop” fast food restaurant in your town and compare it to McDonald’s. What do you notice about the two?

The mom and pop restaurant probably has a simple (forgettable) name. Maybe they have a plain sign and storefront. Perhaps it’s not clear whether they offer burgers or pizza or tacos. Maybe you’re just not sure what kind of service you’re going to get when you’re in there.

McDonald’s, on the other hand, is the opposite. It has an easy-to-remember name. You can see the golden arches of its logo and signage, as well as the clear red and yellow color, from a mile away. They sell burgers and fries, and that’s what most people get when they go there. And their service is the same whether you buy from them locally or in another state.

That’s a great example of the difference between a world-class brand, and one that isn’t.

Now let’s bring that back to the drain cleaning industry:

• Many drain cleaning companies have a forgettable name.
• Many are inconsistent with the use of color.
• Many have no logo, or use an amateurish stock logo.

And perhaps the worst crime of them all: Many companies seem to offer exactly the same service for exactly the same price to exactly the same customer.

In other words, your company may be causing amnesia because you’ve done nothing to stand out from your competitors. Frankly, your customers can’t tell the difference between you and your competitors.

You may be reading this and disagree. You might argue along the lines of, “I offer better service because I’m more polite and because I remember the customer’s name.” But many business owners think that they offer better service than their competitors when it’s not that much better. And, even if it is significantly better, many business owners fail to communicate that difference in their company name and logo.

Here’s How To Ensure That Your Company Has A World Class Brand

1. Figure out what makes you truly unique compared to your competitors. (It should be something measurably unique rather than the generic, “We give better service!”)
2. Use that uniqueness as inspiration to create a company name and tagline that communicates the uniqueness clearly and memorably.
3. Choose a color that helps you stand out among your competitors. (Do some reconnaissance to find out what most competitors are doing and then choose a bold color that no one else is using.)
4. Pay for a logo design that is strong, clear, and unique — one that communicates the very aspects that make you unique.
5. Use your new company name and tagline, your new colors, and your logo on everything — from your truck to your uniform, from your website to your letterhead, from your marketing to your follow-up material. It should all look consistent.

When you build a world-class brand intentionally, you can make your company more memorable in every customer’s mind. Then they’ll remember to call you next time they need your services.

About the Author

Mike Agugliaro is the “Business Warrior” and founder of CEO Warrior, a business consulting, training and mentoring firm, providing tested and proven methods to defeat the roadblocks that prevent small to mid-sized businesses from achieving their ultimate success. He has played a key role in building and selling Gold Medal Service, New Jersey’s largest and most respected home service company. For more information about CEO Warrior, visit www.CEOWARRIOR.com.