Roy Spencer started his company, which is called Permaseal, four decades ago from the back of his pick-up truck. He had that one vehicle, no employees and only needed to support and feed himself. In 2018, Perma-Seal Basement Systems has three offices and 170 employees in the Chicagoland area. The company has served over 350,000 customers. A big reason for his success is he’s been a consistent advertiser on Chicago radio stations. Here’s Roy’s story.
Radio Ink: Tell us about your business.
Roy Spencer: The name is Perma-Seal Basement Systems. I started it myself 39 years ago. We do below-grade home repairs. We do foundation repair and basement waterproofing in Chicago. I started the business in the back of my pick-up truck. As a necessity we now have licensed plumbers and electricians so we can facilitate our sump pump and sewer-line repair work. The last few years we have gotten involved with concrete raising, driveways, and sidewalks. Our business has continued to thrive. We have a large customer base. We do a lot of advertising, however 60% of our business still comes from referrals, from friends or neighbors. That’s our secret sauce and why we are able to build an iconic brand in Chicago. Most people, when they think of basements, think of Perma-Seal. Radio has been a big part of that.
Radio Ink: Thirty-nine years ago, how did you get the word out?
Roy Spencer: The yellow pages. I was also putting fliers on mailboxes. I put ads in the Pennysaver, the local newspaper, the publications you get at 7-11 for free. I told friends. It was very much guerilla marketing. I only had one mouth to feed and one truck to keep busy.
Radio Ink: What was your first experience with radio?
Roy Spencer: I had been in business 5-7 years and probably had six or eight trucks. The yellow pages were kind of working. They were a staple of how you could grow your business, just buy a couple more books each year. We had a good model for expansion. I was aware of TV and radio advertising but I thought it was too expensive and hit areas I didn’t reach. I had all these reasons why radio wouldn’t work for me. I hadn’t seriously looked at it. I was at a conference of other waterproofing contractors and I was talking to a guy from Pittsburgh who had been in business many years. I overheard him talking to another dealer complaining about the cost of yellow pages. I said that was nothing new, that we all knew they are over-priced, but it’s a captive audience and the only game in town, why are you bothering to complain about it? He said it was his first year using yellow pages and he couldn’t believe how expensive it was. I said you’ve been in business all these years and you’re just now doing yellow pages, how have you gotten your business going to this point? He said radio. It turns out he got started in radio in his area and he was doing fine. That really opened my eyes. I came back home and dialed up a few radio stations and talked to a few reps. That gave me the courage to try it, which was over 30 years ago. It works. It has been a staple ever since.
Radio Ink: Had radio stations not been calling on you?
Roy Spencer: I don’t really think I was being solicited heavily. I was a relatively small contractor so I don’t think I was on anybody’s radar. We were a small player. There were not any serious conversations about that. I was telling myself I’m sure radio is expensive and they will reach areas I am not servicing yet so I am not going to consider it at this point.
Radio Ink: Chicago is the # 3 market, how were you able to afford it initially?
Roy Spencer: I talked to a couple AM stations and thought that would be a good place to start. It was less expensive but still a major expense for us at that point. We tried it for a few months and it worked. There was immediate gratification. The spot ran and the phone rang. I was like, wow this really does work. It was enough to encourage me to continue and over the years I learned, as they say, it’s about frequency and consistency. Fortunately, the initial trial period was successful enough to keep me going,
Radio Ink: How important is search – like Google and Facebook – in your media mix?
Roy Spencer: Very important. We track our leads and most people are primarily using the Internet to search. We get results back from our Internet company to see how people are finding us. One of the keywords is Perma-Seal. That’s how I know we are an iconic name. How I know that it’s from friends’ referrals and the radio. The name recognition helps. When they hear it on the radio, and get home, they call or Google Perma-Seal. Search engines are a primary focus but that is fed by radio and billboards and other things we do to drive people.
Radio Ink: How are your relationships with radio reps. Are they servicing you well?
Roy Spencer: It varies between stations. We have had some successful partners for over 30 years. Our entire approach is to find a partnership that works. We’ve had very candid conversations with our reps and we explain that we believe in the medium and know the value of radio but we have to have results. If it’s not working we will tell you about it. You have to be responsive on your end. The ones with successful relationships are the ones that understand that. We’re not going to cry wolf and say we need more, more, and more. We share results and track our leads so we can tell them when it’s working and when it’s not.
Radio Ink: How much do you think radio has helped you grow your business?
Roy Spencer: It’s been key. A big part of our success has been the recognition. Radio gives us an affordable medium that we’ve been able to stay on consistently. That builds name recognition which drives everything else like the search engines. Everything stems from name recognition. Even today the Internet can’t give you that. You can’t get on there and dominate. Radio has been the key force to reaching the large metropolitan area.
Radio Ink: For other advertisers considering radio, what do you consider to be the positives to using radio compared to TV or billboards?
Roy Spencer: First is the immediacy. You can’t do that with billboards. Next is the production. For several years, we’ve had our own booth. I can go next door to the marketing department and cut a new spot that could run tomorrow. We can change the message and keep it current. It’s so affordable and easy to do. That is one of the big advantages radio has over the other mediums. You also have a chance to develop an affinity with listeners. People have their go-to stations. There’s almost an implicit endorsement that this station or personality is featuring us. They do live reads for us so it is almost an implied endorsement. These are good people that sponsor my show.
Radio Ink: How does it feel to start a business out of your truck and now nearly 40 years later you are so successful?
Roy Spencer: It is gratifying. Our mission at Perma-Seal is to make the world a better place. Now we are able to do it in a bigger way. We do that by helping homeowners make their house healthy and more valuable. When I got into this industry it was sordid and I was just one man in a truck. I didn’t have visions to change the industry but I knew I was going to clean up my corner and do things right. It turned out we had a good formula and now we are the big player. The people who weren’t doing things right have gone out of business or changed their methods and the people who want to emulate Perma-Seal. I’m proud of that. I like we are able to help people. We help employees establish careers. I have three generations working for me. Those people buy homes and put their kids through college. That’s gratifying to me. We give back to the community doing philanthropic work.
Radio Ink: If you had a room full of radio CEOs what would you tell them about how to grow radio revenue?
Roy Spencer: It goes back to what I said about being a good partner. Everybody is revenue driven and my radio reps say we have to get X amount of revenue from the Internet. We need you to advertise on the Internet. It has to be a win-win relationship. I have to win from this, I am a small businessman and this has to work for me. The successful partners have nurtured these relationships. It’s developing that trust and empathy. Invest in companies and throw them some extra spots. I’ve been fortunate. We’ve done our own spots and creative but a lot of people need help with that. Believe in your product. I can help your business become the next Perma-Seal and I will work with you to do that. If you come at it that I have to sell you as many spots as I can and take as much money as I can before you go out of business mentality, that’s not a long-term thing. If you sell them too much and they can’t handle it they are going to get buried. With all my media reps we have to have that mutual respect, care, and empathy for a long-term partnership. Get to know your clients and care about them.
Radio Ink: What would you say to a small business just starting out?
Roy Spencer: I say radio is not for everybody. You need to make sure you can handle the business radios reach can give you. We weren’t prepared initially. I would recommend they take a long-term outlook. It will take a while to get traction. They need to establish a budget and a clear set of expectations. If it’s not working, be prepared to tweak the message and go back to your partner and say this is not working. Strap yourself in and know it’s a long-term investment and it does get better as you develop consistency. We used to stop advertising in the winter because we didn’t get a lot of response. Once I had the budget I changed that plan to keep the consistency and name recognition. That was a turning point. We don’t get as much response as we do in the spring and fall, but I do know it increases name recognition. You have to make the commitment and grow incrementally as you are able to.
Do you have a sales success story you’re proud of? Help us help the industry tell the story about the tremendous power of radio. We’d love to write about your success story in the next issue of Radio Ink magazine. Send all the details to [email protected].
