In a recent thread, it became clear that not everyone understands what the essence of our industry is about.
Here we debate manufacturers, models, features and the benefits to our customers or potential customers. The obvious in all of this is that manufacturers need a way to stand out. They need to make this something that "Joe or Joanne consumer" will find appealing and hopefully not find anywhere else.
As HotTubMan wisely pointed out in the Hydropool thread, almost
EVERY maker has a proprietary feature. Now, this does open up the ability for some to attack it as they can't or don't sell it. That's too easy in my opinion and a cop out. We should be smarter than that and learn from it. Now, granted there are some extremely useless features out there but when it comes to ways of improving the use of a spa be it by filtration, efficiency, or just practical ease of use, then it's a win for our entire industry.
I'm sure I could (as well as anyone here) go to any spa manufacturers web site and point out a feature that most other spas don't have. It's not to make it more difficult for consumers though it certainly lends itself to that, but it challenges our entire industry to improve the way we do things.
I'm a firm believer in "if everyone is doing it one way...find another way to do it"! Do you have any idea how many hundreds of Beachcombers I sold due to Protec alone?( equipment outside the cabinet)
Is it the BEST way? Nope. Does it work? You bet it does and nobody else can do it or chooses not to. If a prospect was 100% sold of that concept, I knew they were my customer. Beachcomber does a wonderful job at promoting this feature and they've done very well with it. Kudos to them! The company I currently work for does it even better! It's very impressive to see the way the minds of those people that make things happen, turn out such positive results. I respect them a great deal. HTM knows whom I speak of.
That's just one other manufacturer and again I could point out at least one from every spa company. Let's be real...if you were starting a company that manufacturers spas, would you want to blend in with the average spa? Wouldn't you want to stand out some how? Welcome to proprietary features...
The trick is standing behind the product and giving exceptional service to your dealers and their customers. Is any one company superior? A resounding NOPE! Some are just better at marketing and have the resources to do so on a larger scale. It's the reason why when I hear; "we're the largest" or "we sell the most" blah blah blah, it means very little to me as far as being the best.
I bet I could own 10 different spas and love something about them all. Any one of those I would want as my spa in my back yard. (maybe out of line for a dealer rep but what the he!!
) I bet we would all feel much the same given the opportunity.
We fight over silly things when in fact it's a body of water with pumps and jets. 5 years after purchasing the spa, do I really care that my shell is 0.00054 inches thicker than another? NOPE! I care about the cost of operation, does my dealer look after me and how easy it is to look after. Period!
Find the one that best suits your needs in your price range and enjoy all the benefits it will give you and your family. You'll love it! Sometimes we miss out on promoting our industry as a whole.
Philosophically deep or what?
I promise to keep my posts shorter in the future...
Steve
