“At my company, we think slightly different than the average bear,” says Peter Langevin, president of Simply Pools and Spas in Fountain Valley, Calif.
“For the lion’s share of the people who are getting a pool or wanting a pool, it’s more about fun. It’s not about art, it’s about getting the kids in the pool, getting them swimming, getting them outside — it’s just like what it was when we were kids.”
Faced with changing times and a volatile economy, Langevin decided to re-focus the direction of his company. Instead of concentrating efforts on constructing new pools, Simply Pools and Spas began to target the renovation market. During these projects, Langevin and his staff would introduce customers to the benefits of using interlocking pavers manufactured by Belgard Hardscapes for the decks around their pools.
Belgard’s vivid, graphically dense marketing materials initially caught Langevin’s eye, and it’s still one of the many qualities that inspires his loyalty to the company and their products.
“Belgard spends countless thousands of dollars producing marketing materials that really showcase their product beautifully,” Langevin says.
In addition to demonstrating a passion and investment in the quality of items they produce, Belgard earned Langevin’s praise for showing a commitment to the contractors and other smaller businesses that help promote and sell the company’s products.
In fact, the business owner discovered that a little reciprocity can go a long way, particularly when some of the paving projects completed by Simply Pools and Spas were professionally photographed by Belgard, and have been consistently featured on Belgard’s Website, as well as in their product catalogs.
“It’s so much easier to sell a product that’s well depicted,” he said. “I put Belgard on a pedestal, and I do patronize their product, because their product is so well displayed. It takes the guesswork out of the customer’s mind when they’re able to see a very well organized and professionally installed deck.”
But Langevin’s gone far beyond merely admiring Belgard’s creativity in marketing. He’s taken a page from their book — literally. Langevin recently started writing articles for a self-published newsletter, the “Interlocking Paver Gazette,” with an eye toward spreading the word about the beauty and versatility of pavers.
The pieces are part-educational and part-inspirational, and he plans to distribute them to homeowner associations in his area. The idea came, in part, from Belgard’s skillfully conceived and beautifully executed marketing pieces.
“I’m trying to become the expert in this product,” he says. “It may be a sappy little dream, but I want to be known as the interlocking paver guy.”
