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Good points from both sides. I agree to a certain point with Paul, that it wouldn't make sense to spend a bunch of money to get everything the same right off the bat. However, I would strive for that goal long-term. It also won't get you jobs unless you sell your company and have good referrals and do good work.
On the other hand, all of my trucks are the same color--more or less because the stupid Big 3 can't keep the same shade of green for more than 2 minutes--all the trailers are eventually painted green as well. There are several people that joke about Dodge and Ford selling trucks in "Oomkes Green" because this has always been our color. We have a logo that has not changed much for about 20 years. We spiced it up a little and made it 3 color and large enough to recognize on the side of a pickup truck. Funny thing is, you can't read it going over maybe 30 MPH, but everybody knows it is us. Our letterhead, quarterly newsletter, business cards, envelopes, marketing material all have the same logo. Our uniforms--shirts, sweatshirts, coats--all have the same logo. This does not get us jobs, but it does give the appearance of being a larger comapny than we are and being able to handle most any project.
Quick story to make my point. Many years ago we had 3 trucks out on the road regularly. All green, all logoed. A 'competitor' had over 20 trucks on the road at the time. I went into a new vendor and was talking with him and he was asking about my company, etc and he said "You're about the same size company as 'competitor' aren't you? I see your trucks all over town". When I told him we only had 3 trucks, he was amazed. What he was seeing was uniform trucks with a recognizable logo. This 'competitor' had\has plain white trucks with name and red trailers straight from the manufacturer, nothing special at all except the number of trucks. Our customer surveys always show Good to Excellent on the professionalism box. (just have to work on some of the others)
Once again, Paul is right on. This hasn't helped us get any jobs without us doing the work. But it has helped us create an image in our community which we need to do a better job of selling now. We can go in and bid any job in our area that we want because of our brand. We don't because we don't want to be the biggest, we just want the jobs that somebody else has screwed up.
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