COVER STORY | ADVERTORIAL
Philip Kotler’s Price Quality Strategy Model shows how the ability to
raise price is relative to increasing quality.
The Pricing Strategy Matrix shows high-quality
products can use low price to enter a market but
gain the perception of a premium product with
high quality and high price.
specifications of sealcoat plants, pricing,
territories, and how we promote
the brand. We take marketing seriously,
and you should, too.
What Exactly is Marketing? Often
when we talk to people, they think
marketing is advertising. In reality, it’s
much more than that. Marketing includes
product development, pricing,
distribution channels and how you
communicate your brand. When we
invented Pitch Black, we were stunned
at the high-quality product we’d created.
Since then, we’ve improved it, and
it has outperformed our wildest expectations.
But it isn’t just the quality of
the product that makes it successful;
we live by the foundations of marketing
theory -- those that prove true no
matter what’s happening in the world.
From city streets in San Antonio,
parking lots in Wisconsin, city
schools in Michigan, driveways in
Idaho, national parks in Arizona, and
churches in Reno, the quality, consistency
and reliability of Pitch Black is
visible in every state it’s in.
Why Quality Beats Price in the Long
Run. In speaking to our customers,
they describe our products as being
anywhere from a mid-range to a highpriced
product. Turns out, both opinions
are true because we value multiple
pricing strategies. Although we don’t
set or mandate pricing, we recommend
both cost-based pricing and perceived-value
pricing. Most companies
need a 50% gross profit margin to be
successful. Add up your variable costs
and calculate it. Then consider: What
are your customers willing to pay for
quality? What are your competitors
charging? How many coats will it take
to make loyal customers?
However, if you follow the Walmart
model of winning business by always
guaranteeing the lowest price, you’ve:
1) made yourself dependent on the
quantity of jobs you perform per season;
2) set a precedent of low pricing
that’s harder to raise later; 3) lowered
your profit margin; 4) created a potential
perception of lower quality,
and 5) jeopardized customer loyalty.
Thus, you’ve now made yourself more
vulnerable to production capacity, customer
demand, and competitor price
wars.
Our family has always stood for
quality, and it’s been a shield for Pitch
Black in hard times. As owner Robb
Archie’s grandfather always said, “Anyone
can drop their price, but not everyone
can increase their quality.” Price is
not a core competency; quality is. You
can offer deals to gain new customers.
However, staying mid-range to high in
your pricing and maintaining quality
is a proven strategy to outlast the competition.
Make a quality slurry seal with Pitch
Black. Patch holes with Pitch Black.
You can even make rough areas disappear.
We make a quality material you
can base your business on. Pitch Black
is an easy-to-use, safe sealcoat, with
0% Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.
Now, that’s something you can
base a marketing strategy on!
We successfully premiered Pitch Black
at our newest plant, Pacific Sealcoat
Distributors, in Tacoma, Washington.
Contractors in the Seattle area were
stunned by the quality of the material.
We have more plants being built
in other states and -- rest assured --
the highest quality of sealcoat will be
made. We’ll continue to set the standard
for quality.
ABOUT PITCH BLACK®: The
Archie family got its start in asphalt in
the 1920s with Robb Archie's grandfather,
Joe Archie, in Western New York.
Archie's dad, Earl Archie, learned the
trade from his dad during the 1940s
and 50s and taught it to his son, Robb
Archie, who carried that knowledge
from the 1960s and 70s to make Pitch
Black® in the 1980s. The family secret
formula has only been licensed to Pitch
Black® manufacturers during the last 9
years, but Pitch Black® has been used for
over 25 years.
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1.800.210.5923