Marketing Issue [RE-wrenches]

[Joe Schwartz, Home Power]

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Hey Wrenches,

Good to see that free speech is still alive and well in America :  )

As you can imagine, the debate over discounters advertising in Home 
Power comes up from time to time. DIY folks love having access to 
inexpensive equipment. On the other end of the spectrum there's 
always a handful of wrenches, ready to bludgeon all discounters with 
URD. Irreconcilable differences? I don't think so.

In a free market, there's competition. How are businesses successful 
in a free market? They outperform their competition. This performance 
can be based on location, service, price, whatever. A discounter may 
beat an experienced local wrench when it comes to price, but that's 
the extent of it. If you can't sell a customer based on your 
expertise, workmanship, technical support, and your being a local, my 
guess is that you probably don't want that customer.

A typical, 144 page issue of Home Power has a couple of pages of 
discount advertising. Pick up a computer mag, and you'll likely see 
page after page of it. You may have even ordered the computer you're 
sitting in front of from one. That was your decision as a consumer. 
We buy the Macs we use to build Home Power from a local computer 
store. The gear costs more, but their service is primo. When a hard 
drive checks out during our production deadline, we're covered. This 
is our decision as a consumer.

Folks read Home Power, get some armchair experience with the 
technology, and become educated consumers that are excited about RE. 
The handy types go on to install their own system, but the majority 
of our readers seek the assistance of a local pro. Each week we refer 
dozens of readers to installing dealers based on their location, and 
the dealer listings in our online RE Directory.

http://www.homepower.com/community/directory.cfm

We maintain this database to help customers find you. It's also 
included on every one of our current CD-ROMs. Check out the closing 
line of the disclaimer text that accompanies the directory.

I have to question the reasoning behind keeping Home Power out of the 
hands of potential customers in an effort to shelter them from a 
couple of pages of discount pricing. These days, most people buying 
PV in the U.S. have computers, and access to an endless supply of 
cheap RE gear if they want it. The bottom line is that the only folks 
that can ultimately control discount pricing, if they choose to, are 
the manufacturers. Home Power in turn supports the manufacturers and 
their pricing policies.

HP serves three market sectors if you will - DIYers, customers 
looking for pros, and pros looking for customers. All three have a 
place in our industry, and in Home Power.

Thanks for sticking with us Kurt!

Best,

Joe

Oh yeah, if you haven't checked us out for awhile, please do.

-- 

Joe Schwartz - CEO and Technical Editor
Home Power magazine
joe.schwartz at homepower.com
www.homepower.com

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