Upselling Insulation Isn’t Easy – So We Made an App

In fact, last we checked in Energy Pulse, only about 8% of consumers said they would prioritize upgrading their insulation if they were given $10,000 to make home improvements.

And when they’re talking with their builders or contractors, they don’t give insulation the time of day.

CertainTeed Insulation wanted to help builders/contractors engage their customers more easily and effectively on the topic of insulation. We’d already had great results with a consumer-facing digital campaign for CertainTeed (we’re their advertising agency of record), so we decided to take their digital presence a step further by developing an online Insulation Selection Tool.

We created this mobile-friendly, web-based tool to achieve three interrelated goals:

• Trigger consumers to stop and think about their insulation. We wanted consumers who were buying or remodeling their homes to realize how important their insulation is … and to choose a CertainTeed Insulation product.
• Make it easier for builders/contractors to upsell insulation. We wanted sales associates to be able to easily use the tool without specialized knowledge about insulation, making it easier for them to engage customers on this topic, answer questions about insulation choices … and upsell. We also wanted builders/contractors to be able to customize the tool with their own logos and CertainTeed product inventories.
• Position CertainTeed Insulation as a preferred solutions provider to builders/contractors. Those pros are a major conduit between CertainTeed and consumers’ homes, so we wanted to paint their view of CertainTeed not just as a product manufacturer, but as a solutions provider.

Here’s how the tool works: by answering a few simple questions, people who are building a new home or undertaking a major remodel can find and choose the best insulation systems for every area of the home. They can use the tool by themselves, or their builder/contractor can walk them through it. The tool works by recommending a personalized selection of insulation solutions based on climate data, budget, and a range of comfort-related variables, including energy efficiency, family allergies, moisture management and noise control.

From start to finish in the writing, design and development of the tool, we concentrated on two overarching strategies to make sure the tool met our goals:

Connect the dots. For people to realize why it’s worthwhile to spend mental energy (or money) on insulation, we needed to show them that insulation is an essential ingredient to two things we know, thanks to our ongoing Energy Pulse polling, that they truly care about: comfort and health in their homes.

To that end, we didn’t write technical questions about insulation or architecture. We wrote light-hearted, relatable questions and answer options to gently lead folks to an epiphany: “Wow, that’s why I need to think about my insulation – it’s a huge influence on how my house feels, whether sounds carry, even whether mold gets in the walls.”

Make it simple. While a lot is happening on the back end of this tool, the front end is simple and clean – in look, content and functionality. We wouldn’t be able to convince consumers to think about insulation if it looks like one more overwhelming decision to make in the building/remodeling process!

After completing the questionnaire, the user receives a personalized page of results with the specific CertainTeed Insulation solutions that are recommended for them. The insulation products are sorted by area of the house (i.e., walls, attic), and then, within each of those categories, by good/better/best options – making this information much more easily digestible (and actionable) for the user.

Users can easily access more information about each product, and the results can easily be emailed to the builder/contractor from this page.

The tool is now live and online, and we encourage you to check it out – and consider how your organization or product could use a tool like this and the thinking that went into it.