Upscale in the Pool Industry & the Power of Marketing with Matthew Dube of Pro Pool Inspectors

In an industry where trust and expertise are paramount, pool service professionals often struggle to differentiate themselves in crowded markets. While many focus solely on technical skills, the most successful businesses understand that effective marketing isn't just about advertising—it's about building genuine relationships and solving specific problems for their customers. Matthew Dube of Pro Pool Inspectors brings a unique perspective to this challenge, having worked across healthcare, real estate, and publishing before finding his home in the pool industry.

Redefining Marketing: Beyond Simple Advertising

When most people think of marketing, they immediately jump to advertisements, social media posts, or promotional materials. However, Matthew Dube offers a more comprehensive definition that goes far deeper than surface-level promotion.

Good marketing, I believe is relational. It's where you work with your clients multiple times. They don't just purchase your pool inspection once and move on you create a partnership with them. And the only way you can do that is if they know you exist and you're letting them know we're still here. Here's what we're offering. Here's how to get in touch with us.

— Matthew Dube, Pool Chasers Podcast

According to Dube, effective marketing requires five essential qualities: it must be defined, promotional, specific, multi-channel, and problem-solving. This framework moves beyond traditional advertising to encompass the entire customer experience and relationship-building process.

The distinction between marketing and advertising is crucial for pool industry professionals to understand. While advertising is simply one tool—like running a radio commercial or email campaign—marketing encompasses the entire strategy of how you present your business, solve customer problems, and build lasting relationships.

The Power of Brand Personality in Pool Services

One of the most overlooked aspects of marketing in the pool industry is the development of a strong brand personality. Dube emphasizes that a brand is much more than just a logo or color scheme—it's the emotional connection customers make with your business.

A brand is really the personality of that company and for that product or that service or what have you. So really what a brand is it is what you say it is as the company or the marketer, whoever you may be and also it's the image that the consumer or the client or the audience gets in their mind when they think about you or when they hear your name.

— Matthew Dube, Pool Chasers Podcast

This concept is particularly powerful in the service industry, where customers are inviting professionals into their homes and trusting them with significant investments. When a homeowner thinks of your pool service company, what feelings and images come to mind? Are you the reliable, punctual service that always shows up on time? The friendly expert who takes time to educate customers? The innovative company that uses the latest technology?

Research shows that consumers increasingly connect better with brands that have clear personalities and human faces behind them. In the pool industry, this means showcasing not just your technical expertise, but also your values, approach to customer service, and unique perspective on pool care.

Finding Your Niche: The Art of Specific Problem-Solving

Perhaps the most actionable insight from Dube's approach is the emphasis on solving specific problems for specific customers, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. This strategy is particularly relevant in local service markets where pool companies often compete directly with numerous other providers.

You want to solve a specific problem for a specific consumer. So you don't want to solve a lot of problems for one consumer or one problem for a lot of consumers. You want to solve a very specific problem for a very specific consumer very specific client.

— Matthew Dube, Pool Chasers Podcast

This approach requires pool service professionals to conduct genuine market research within their service areas. What types of pools are most common? What are the demographics of pool owners? What pain points are current service providers not addressing effectively?

For example, Dube shares how Pro Pool Inspectors identified that during real estate transactions, buyers wanted to know if pools were leaking but weren't necessarily concerned with the exact location of leaks due to time constraints. This insight allowed them to develop a specific service offering that solved a precise problem for a well-defined customer segment.

The beauty of this approach is that it doesn't limit your customer base—it simply provides a clear focus for your marketing efforts. When you solve a specific problem exceptionally well, word spreads, and you often attract customers beyond your initial target market.

Multi-Channel Marketing Strategies for Pool Professionals

Effective marketing in today's landscape requires presence across multiple channels, but with consistent messaging and branding. For pool service companies, this might include a combination of digital presence, local networking, referral systems, and traditional advertising methods.

The key is ensuring that whether a potential customer encounters your brand through a Google search, a neighbor's recommendation, your truck in their neighborhood, or a local advertisement, they receive a consistent impression of who you are and what problems you solve.

Digital channels might include:

• A professional website showcasing your expertise and customer testimonials
• Social media presence featuring before/after photos and educational content
• Local SEO optimization to appear in "pool service near me" searches
• Email marketing to maintain relationships with existing customers

Offline channels remain equally important:

• Professional vehicle wrapping and uniforms
• Networking with real estate agents, pool stores, and related businesses
• Community event participation
• Referral programs that reward satisfied customers

The Discovery Process: Understanding Your Market and Yourself

For pool service professionals looking to refine their marketing approach, Dube suggests starting with fundamental questions about what problems you want to solve and for whom. This discovery process can work from two directions: either identifying the problems you're passionate about solving and finding the right market, or analyzing your target market to identify unmet needs.

The ultimate goal of a business is to be the solution to a consumer's problem and that is going to help do a lot of different things. That's going to help people make purchase decisions if they want to work with you and it's going to help people keep coming back and that's really what we want as business owners is continual purchase right we want to build relationships with our consumers where they return back.

— Matthew Dube, Pool Chasers Podcast

This research phase might involve:

• Surveying existing customers about their biggest pool-related challenges
• Analyzing demographic data for your service area
• Studying competitor offerings to identify gaps
• Talking to related professionals (pool stores, contractors) about common customer complaints
• Monitoring online forums and social media for recurring pool owner questions

The goal isn't to find problems that don't exist, but to identify genuine pain points that current market solutions aren't addressing effectively.

Building Relational Marketing Systems

The most successful pool service companies don't just complete transactions—they build ongoing relationships that generate repeat business and referrals. This requires systems and processes that keep you connected with customers beyond the immediate service period.

Relational marketing in the pool industry might include:

• Seasonal maintenance reminders and tips
• Educational content about pool care and equipment
• Proactive communication about potential issues
• Follow-up after service completion
• Loyalty programs for long-term customers
• Regular check-ins during off-seasons

The investment in relationship-building pays dividends over time, as satisfied customers become advocates who refer friends and neighbors. In local service markets, this word-of-mouth marketing often proves more valuable than any advertising campaign.

Conclusion: Marketing as Partnership Building

Matthew Dube's insights reveal that successful marketing in the pool industry isn't about flashy advertisements or aggressive sales tactics—it's about understanding your customers' specific problems and positioning yourself as the expert partner who can solve them consistently over time. By developing a clear brand personality, focusing on specific market segments, maintaining presence across multiple channels, and building genuine relationships, pool service professionals can differentiate themselves in competitive markets.

The most important takeaway is that marketing should be viewed as an investment in long-term partnerships rather than short-term transactions. When pool service companies adopt this mindset, they create sustainable competitive advantages that go far beyond price competition, building businesses that customers actively choose and recommend to others.

As the pool industry continues to evolve, those who master the art of relational marketing will find themselves not just surviving, but thriving in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 05:30 Defining Marketing vs. Advertising
• 12:15 The Five Qualities of Effective Marketing
• 18:45 Brand Personality and Consumer Connection
• 25:20 Finding Your Niche Through Problem-Solving
• 32:10 Market Research and Discovery Process
• 38:50 Building Relational Marketing Systems