One of the aspects of my job that I really enjoy is that I often get a chance to speak to our customers, and I'm very surprised by the unusually high percentage of clients who are engineers or otherwise involved in technical pursuits. System engineers, IT, mechanical engineers, software developers, etc., I'd estimate over 60% are so employed. Details like cost per mil per square foot is a normal part of conversation with them, but not everyone is into the minutia. So I can see your point.
Maybe I should have taken a few moments to explain that almost regardless of the coating, generally thicker is better. I understand that from a consumer point of view the bottom line is usually "how much do I need to cover my *** square feet?" and the thickness isn't usually even questioned. Whereas when dealing with commercial bids, the DFT (dry film thickness) is probably the first question placed on the table.
But your point is well taken - some folks just want sq ft coverage info. I attended a SPCC training class a few years ago and one of the class exercises was to prepare specs for a rather involved project. We broke into small groups to hammer out the details, I'd say that over 80% of the students based their work solely on one number - the manufacturers recommended sqft coverage per gallon. Those of us who were punching variations of "1,604" into our calculators were definitely in the minority. But for whatever reason, that's how I look at every job , every product, it's just how I approach things.
There's no getting around the fact that the thickness is important. And my competitors know that, although for marketing purposes they'll hide or ignore the thickness. Although that's usually not deceitful, often it can be a disservice to the consumer. For example, one size fits all kits... They'll advertise that a kit is "good for up to 575 square feet." Well fine, but that means that the guy with a 350 square foot space may be buying more than he needs. Now more material is generally better, but I think it's best if the choice of whether or not to buy that extra is best left up to the DIYer, and to help make that choice it helps if the consumer knows the math involved. I look at it like automobile marketing, if the advertisement mentions some low monthly lease payment, then it's in the consumer's interest that the deposit, residual payment, and other info is also made available, otherwise how can one compare the various offers?
Likewise I think it's good to know what amount of product purchased actually is on the floor when all is said and done. Does pointing that out help my cause? Well yeah, most of our products are 100% solids. Does it help the consumer to have that info? Again, I think most people like to know what it is they're actually getting, if not they can skip over the details and just make their choices looking at the pretty pictures and reading testimonials. That works also.
I'm of the mind that more info is always better. When we get an inquiry we respond with an estimate that gives folks pretty detailed info, including the DFT, but it also has the bottom line price. It's no different than when people go kicking tires at the car dealer, some folks will check the window sticker and read the HP and torque info, others just focus on the sticker price, while some will look at both and calculate the $ per HP.
Different jokes for different folks, I certainly didn't mean to offend or come on too strong.
That had a lot less mumbo-jumbo.
