Owner and President of Kean’s Pump Shop in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Matt Hickman wasn’t counting on residential service as being a large part of his pump business when he acquired Kean’s in 2004. Today, however, the company serves more residential customers than ever before.
Matt Hickman’s journey began at the time when Kean’s Pump Shop was primarily a pump service and water treatment business that served in the municipal and commercial sectors. However, within the last five years, the business began operating as a franchisee for three brands: Aire Serv®, Mr. Rooter® and Mr. Electric®.
“I liked the idea of building the service business versus the new construction business, so Aire Serv was a pretty good fit since we already had the sideline business,” Matt said.
In providing pump and water treatment systems, and HVAC systems to the commercial and municipal sectors, Matt’s business already had the HVAC and electrical arms. Matt saw an opportunity to serve residential customers as well. In 2008, Matt acquired his first franchise, Aire Serv, and it transformed his business.
“Because we had an HVAC division, it made us look at it and approach it in a different and better way, and the Aire Serv systems were pretty impressive,” said Matt.
Matt said the residential customers associated with the polished look of the Aire Serv trucks, which set the stage for acquiring additional brands. When the local Mr. Rooter business came up for sale in 2009, Matt immediately saw the potential and rolled another brand into his company. With the licensed technicians already on-hand, building-up the residential service arm of the company progressed, and in 2012, Matt acquired his third franchise: Mr. Electric.
Turning a Well-known Local Business into a National Brand
Matt’s business was able to grow with the city of St. John’s. In the 90s, the folding of the Northern cod fisheries sent the community into an economic slump and created high unemployment. However, within the last decade an increase in the area’s mining and oil production has led to an economic boom, spurring population growth and commercial development in St. John’s. This boon to the St. John’s metro population of about 200,000 set the stage for Matt’s residential service business.
“We’re a small place, but we have a lot of things happening here,” said Matt.
According to Matt, the St. John marketplace is open to new ideas. Many St. John have come from outside the area, and were familiar with the Aire Serv, Mr. Rooter and Mr. Electric concepts. Customers’ familiarity with the brands made standing out from the competition easy.
“No question the systems we have here, since we are the only national players, are light-years ahead of what we were using and what our competitors are using today. The response is overwhelmingly positive,” Matt said.
Matt said his company took several steps to educate customers on the rebranding of their residential services. Steps included role playing with staff and technicians, cross promotional marketing materials that included the Kean’s Pump Shop logo and the national brand logo, and constant communication with loyal customers.
“Integrating all this has been great, and very cost effective for marketing,” Matt said, referring to the cross promotional opportunities he now has with three brands under one roof.
Kean’s Pump Shop still does commercial work, specializing in the sale and service of pumps and water treatment equipment. However, what started out as a side revenue stream serving residential customers has now blossomed into major source of revenue for the company.
Could a franchise allow you to diversify your business, creating additional revenue streams for your company? Visit www.leadingtheserviceindustry.com for more information on the seven service brands held by The Dwyer Group: Aire Serv, Glass Doctor®, The Grounds Guys®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric, Mr. Rooter and Rainbow International®.