Bringing Value/ROI to a "struggling" contractor

Hey guys,

So I'm talking to a contractor who has lost a lot of his business in the last 5-6 years, downsized and is now losing out on jobs he used to get because he gets undercut by uninsured contractors, landscapers who do other work, or contractors that just do crappier jobs. At this point he is basically resigned to just doing a crappier job himself so he can lower his prices and compete.

He does amazing stonework, driveways, stairways, can do home construction/additions/renovations, etc. His clientele is wealthy and he has gotten jobs basically passively through word of mouth from customers, architects, some builders, etc.

I told him that another option other than lowering his prices is to educate his ideal potential customers about why it's worth it to them to pay more for a job done the right way, thereby changing the perception of these potential customers.

In terms of putting this into practice, he wants to go straight to the consumer rather than through JVs with builders or anyone else. He told me he does have a past customer list, which has never been marketed to or stayed in touch with in any way. I think that's the clear starting point. We can use a "reactivation" campaign to get him back on the minds of past customers that fit his "ideal customer" profile, and either get jobs or referrals from them.

Another possibility is getting a targeted list that fits his ideal customer profile and market to that list. In both cases, I'm thinking that direct mail will be the best course. Of course it will need a great offer and get opened (will do some sort of lumpy mail).

He also doesnt have a website, which I think is necessary to have before sending out any mailing, just because a certain % of people will want to be able to see more about his company before taking any further steps.

I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this scenario, what I've said and what you would do to get this guy some business!

Thanks,
Will