Beyond pool building
Brightwater serves Saskatoon and surrounding area, with a broad customer base, the majority of which comprises parents in their late-30s with more than one child. Though pool building and service is their first priority, Taylor and Boyko’s decision to diversify their product offerings arose naturally from the company’s core business. Through a partnership with manufacturer Hydropool, Brightwater branched out into the hot tub market.
“We have had interest in hot tubs in the past, from customers we built pools for,” Taylor explains. “When the opportunity to work with Hydropool came up, we jumped at the chance. We’re starting off small and are looking to build that side of the business in the future.” This decision has paid off, helping Brightwater weather some of the economic upheaval the industry has faced in recent years.
“We had a slower year in 2009 as far as new pool installs, but store traffic and chemical sales increased, so they offset each other.”
Spreading the word
When it comes to drumming up new business, whether in the store or out in the field, Taylor says the company has tried different advertising methods in the past, with varying degrees of success, but always falls back on one tried and true promotional method.
“In the past, we have used radio to advertise, but it is a hard medium to measure; we have also seen good results from direct mail-outs. However, our best advertising is our existing customers. Good word of mouth is the best type of advertising you can get. This year, for example, we have done no advertising and are on the verge to having one of our best years ever.”
Taylor also points to the value of the Internet as another reason for his company’s success.
“Our website is a very useful selling tool,” he explains. “We suggest people take a look at the site to see pools we have built in the Saskatoon area. It isn’t flashy, just something I put together with the help of one of our employees.”
Though he describes the site as modest, it is more than just a photo gallery of past projects. Taylor also includes information useful to customers, including manuals and instructions, which saves Brightwater and its employees valuable time.
“We are bombarded by phone calls daily, so if you can refer someone to one of those manuals, it usually saves them some money and us a little time,” he says. “If all the pool stores are closed, at least there is some help available to owners.”
