MORE Real Marketing Value

GET

MORE Customers
MORE Revenue
MORE Often

#1 Market & Database Analysis:

• Know your 'true' market share
• Know your customers' purchasing trends (one-time vs. relationship)
• Know your sales trends month over month, and year over year
• Define service area
• Define and prioritize market areas

Why We Start with Your Data Before We Put Marketing on the Street

The most common marketing mistake many companies make is to direct marketing efforts based on what they 'think they know' instead of on facts. We often think that by directing our marketing efforts to areas with higher home value and higher incomes we will naturally get MORE sales. The fallacy is that people with more money will spend MORE. The truth is they might, but only if your company is the right solution for them. The fact is, this demographic may or may not be the type of customers you can transition from a one-time transaction to a LIFETIME customer. So, how do you know where the customers are who will get you MORE from your marketing dollars?

The Secrets are Hiding in Your Database, if You Know What to Look for

The first thing we will do is to look at the information we can pull from your database. We then determine the best way to mine the 'secret' information we need to maximize your marketing dollars. Frankly, the 'secrets' that are going to help maximize your marketing efforts will be as unique as your company. A lot of factors go into deciding what's going to be the most valuable information, and how to leverage it to get you MORE from your marketing.

Our Market & Database Analysis is more than looking at sales volume. We will take an in-depth look at your customers' relationship with you, and how that affects your revenue. To complete this step, we will need your sales data from the previous 5-7 years (more if you can get it). The more data you provide, the further we can drill it down. Because of the detail, your Market & Database Analysis will take between 2-4 weeks to complete.

After completing the Market & Database Analysis, we will know the 'secret' information that will allow us to target where to send your marketing for a higher return. Now, it's time to learn about your company and your revenue goals. The next step is to complete the Gap Analysis.

EXAMPLE: Know the 'Secrets' Hiding in Your Data to Get MORE from Your Marketing    

After completing the Market & Database Analysis for one client (that included almost seven years of data), several 'secrets' were learned and used to change their market direction to get them MORE from their marketing investment:

• 80% of their relationship-based sales were coming from 21 areas (they did business in 114)
• More importantly, 50% of their relationship-based sales were in 7 of those 21 areas
• 35% of their database was actively doing business with them, and 80% of those active customers were in the same 21 areas
• 80% of their active agreement customers were also in those same 21 areas
• They had less than 3% active market share in all of the 114 areas

Their previous marketing efforts had been directed at the entire service area (and beyond) which involves some seriously long windshield time. When you break this down, based on the number of households in the service area, about 82% of their marketing dollars were being spent OUTSIDE of their best areas. And they were spending marketing dollars in areas that required such long drive times that it was difficult to create revenue from a service call. Also, because they had been serving these outer areas 20% of their agreement customers were in these areas that required long drive time.

Armed with the 'secrets' learned from the Market & Database Analysis, we redirected prospect-marketing dollars to specific areas that will offer the highest potential for response. In addition, we added reactivation campaigns in the 21 areas and eliminated marketing to the areas with longer drive times.

#2 Gap Analysis:

• Review of current culture, policies, and procedures
• Establish goals for each revenue generating sector in your business
• Discover 'What's Working' to provide a platform to build on
• Compare actual performance with potential or desired performance
• Detail your products and services
• Define marketing and branding requirements

"The Man Who Built his House Upon the Sand...
Is Like the Company that Built their Marketing Plan without a Gap Analysis...

Have you ever heard that the most important element of any marketing campaign is the design, or the headline, or the offer? We're here to tell you that, although they are important and they play an important role, they are not a guarantee of success. Even the greatest campaign will fail if it isn't targeted and timed correctly.

Although the first objective of any marketing effort is to 'Get the Phone to Ring', it can't stop there. For a marketing plan to be successful, you have to think further than the campaign and the initial ring of the phone to incorporate the entire relationship you will have (or want to have) with that customer.

What defines your marketing as a success may not be the number of incoming calls, but how well you transition them from a one-time customer to a lifetime customer who calls you MORE often and generates MORE revenue each time. This takes consistency, processes, and follow-through. Sending even the most-clever one-shot campaign without a solid plan is like building a house on sand. It won't stand. Marketing without a solid foundation will ultimately cost you more, and get you less for your marketing dollars.

The best way to ensure your marketing's success is to have effective processes
to capture and maximize the sale in place before you start marketing...

Through the process of your Gap Analysis, we will detail company goals, department goals, and current processes. We will set the foundation for building your Branding Guidelines (next in line to discuss) and your Comprehensive Marketing Plan.

We'll start by learning all the services you offer and how you do it. We'll walk through your processes to determine what's working well, so we can build upon your success. We may also determine that there are processes that either need to be improved upon or put in place. We will identify what makes your company different than your competition, and your Unique Purchase Appeal (UPA) for each product or service you want to market.

EXAMPLE: Using Identified 'GAPS' to Strengthen a Marketing Plan    

When I started working with one client, they didn't have a clearly defined UPA. Since their goal was to grow replacement sales, their sales process was the logical place to start. This involved delving into their process: when the lead came in, quoting, follow-up, making the sale, installation, and what happens after the sale. They were doing a lot of things right. They worked hard to ensure their customers received properly sized and installed systems and a real value for their investment. Where it got rocky was with closing ratios and losing sales to their lower-priced competitors. During their Brand & Market Review (that we will discuss in detail next) it was discovered that, although they were making an attempt to communicate all this to their customers, they were not being effective. Each communication used different terminology and introduced different methodology. Once completed, we were armed with a clear UPA and carefully constructed wording that not only communicated how what they do is different, but why a customer should care, and a new guarantee that 'beats the pants off' any of their competitors. We also had in place an improved capture process that included communications to the client that would prepare them for the estimate process (reinforcing what they do that's different and why it matters, and the time commitment that would be needed to get it done right).

Then, we'll look at the relationships you are creating with your customers. This is an important area that is often skimmed over. It costs up to 5 times MORE to acquire a new customer than to get your existing customers to do business with you MORE often, again and again—that is, if you followed through with what you promised the first time and left them feeling satisfied with the service. The higher the satisfaction, the higher your retention rate will be. Unfortunately, the fastest way to lose a customer is to not follow through with promises (or the expectations that were set up through your marketing efforts). It starts with the way the phone is answered and ends when your services are no longer needed (if you offer maintenance services, then you should always be needed). Next up, your Brand & Marketing Review.

EXAMPLE: The Power of Information    

This is perhaps the most exaggerated case of something that was going terribly wrong that was well-hidden (although not intentionally), and that had a huge negative effect on the effectiveness and ROI of marketing efforts. This, however, is sadly a true story...

I was working with a client (before implementing Gap Analyses prior to putting marketing on the street). Their marketing was bringing in a lot of calls, but their service department remained 'dead in the water'. There was an obvious disconnect. Luckily, the calls were on recorded lines allowing us the ability to analyze the situation.

Through our analysis, we discovered that the calls coming in were booking an appointment at a rate of 20% (up until this point, I had never seen a number even close to that low). As shocking as it was to me, it was more than a little shocking to the owners who were the ones making the marketing decisions. As you can imagine, they went from shocked to darn right mad pretty quickly!

The big question was: How could this have happened without upper management knowing and why was it happening at all? First, this was a question that had never been asked, and they had never thought to track it. No one, and I mean no one, knew that it was that bad. Second, there were managers over each division, and they reported to upper management. The CSR Manager and the Service Manager never had a communication about the number of calls coming in vs. the number of calls on the board.

They certainly wished that they had known this before marketing decisions
had been made and marketing dollars wasted.

The question was now, what to do about it?

During analysis, we had uncovered several things that were contributing to the low book rate. Hold times were exceeding 5-8 minutes, leading to a high number of hang-ups. CSRs didn't have enough product knowledge to answer questions or direct phone calls in an efficient manner. And, calls were not booked immediately; instead, information was taken and then sent to the dispatcher to schedule. Sometimes a full 24 hours would elapse before the dispatcher called the customer back with the scheduled time. As you can imagine, some customers didn't wait and simply called someone else.

The solutions were relatively simple. After analyzing call volumes, schedules were adjusted to allow heavier coverage during peak periods of the day. CSR and dispatcher duties were realigned so CSRs could schedule appointments immediately, freeing the dispatchers to schedule the techs to maximize opportunities and drive times. And last, but not at all least, weekly training was put in place. Booked rates, went from 20% to 40% very quickly and continued to improve with the training.

EXAMPLE: Simple Change for Instant Impact    

I was working on a Gap Analysis for a client and, while discussing with one of the CSRs her responsibilities, I learned they had trouble getting their agreement customers to schedule their maintenance visits. In fact, it was a common occurrence to make numerous attempts (typically, 6-8 times by mail and by phone) to contact to a customer and not get any response. She had six in her hand that had all been contacted over 8 times with no response from the customer. These maintenance visits were several months overdue, and were to be her first calls that day. Needless to say, she was frustrated about the efforts she made with no result.

We reviewed the script she was using and made a few quick changes for the calls she would make that day. Within 72 hours, she had every one of those customers schedule for their maintenance visits. By the next month, using the new script, they had a 100% rate of success in getting the maintenance visits scheduled that were due.

Script Before:

"Ms. Smith this is _________________ from _________________ company calling you to remind you it's time to schedule your AC maintenance. Please call me back at your earliest convenience...Thank you."

Script After:

"Ms. Smith, _________________ calling from _________________ company. We have scheduled your 'pre-paid' A/C maintenance visit for . Please call to confirm that this time will work with your schedule."

So, why did this work? By implementing some psychology into the script, we received a much different result. First, the 'fear aspect' (fear that this is going to cost me) was removed by reminding them that the service is 'pre-paid'. Second, by taking the responsibility to pre-schedule this valuable service that the customer had already paid for, the communication was changed from an 'uninvited marketing call' to a 'we're taking care of your needs' call. This, by the way, will have a positive impact on renewals. After all, a customer will not see a benefit from your maintenance agreement if they don't get all the services for which they pay.

#3 Brand & Marketing Review:

• Analyze the strength of your brand across marketing communications
• Develop comprehensive branding guidelines (for internal and external use)
• Review current internet presence for branding presentation
• Review current marketing and presentation materials

And Now the Rubber Meets the Road...

Branding starts with your logo, but it doesn't—and shouldn't—end there. Your brand is a reflection of every action and every word – written, spoken or read about your company. Your customers or potential customers should recognize your company no matter where they see you, hear from you, or read about you. The key to effective branding is consistency.

With this in mind, the next step is to review all your current marketing and presentation materials. We will evaluate presentation as well as effectiveness and consistency in messaging. We will be looking specifically for messaging that will support your company goals. Where we can, we will work to build on what you already have in place. Don't panic! We are not fans of reprinting every blooming thing. If changes are needed, they will be built into your marketing plan to take place over time.

What we discover during the Brand & Marketing Review will be combined with the information gathered during your Market & Database Analysis and Gap Analysis to start building your Branding Guideline. This is one of the first projects that we start, and some of it must be completed before we start putting marketing on the street. Our Branding Guideline is not just about your logo and your colors, but is a detailed plan for your messaging as well.

Some people may feel that a Branding Guideline isn't necessary and that the first priority should always be to get marketing out. However, we want to stress that this step is actually very important and is a proactive way to increase the efficiency of design, decrease errors and, most importantly, to protect the integrity of the brand of your company.

Now, we are ready to put it all together – it's time to work on your Comprehensive Marketing Plan that will get you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often for LESS!

EXAMPLE: Avoid these Mistakes    

After 18 years of helping HVAC companies with their marketing, I've had the opportunity to review a lot of different types of marketing campaigns all across the country. I've seen some really good marketing and, sadly, some really big mistakes (and, just for the record, 90% of them were unintentional). Here's several examples:

#1 Incorrect Logo Usage: This happens more than you would think. Different versions of logos and, in some cases, different company names being used in the marketing and presentation materials—all at the same time—leaving everyone to wonder who the company really is, and if they are legitimate or a fly-by-night operation that will be gone tomorrow. Lesson learned: Trust is everything. The best way to earn trust and keep it is to be consistent. Consider the consequences of making changes to your logo and main elements before making them. Think about all the places those elements are used and the impact and costs of making a change.

#2 Incorrect Information: I had heard this story for years and, frankly, thought it to be an urban legend. But, a while ago, I had the opportunity to meet the owner of a company to which it happened. A marketing piece was mailed (if I recall correctly, it was around 30,000) with the wrong phone number. It's a mistake that happens quite often and one I, myself, have made. However, in this case, the phone number used was a working number that rang to a 'Not-So-Family-Friendly' Hot Line.. Whoops! That was embarrassing, and just might have offended a customer or two. Lesson learned: Errors in frequently used elements are the ones that often get past proofers because they are skimmed over. Proof every single element every single time. Use a Branding Guideline to cross reference (don't rely on your memory) when proofing final design.

#3 Confusing Messages That Could Look Like Lies: Using campaign material that isn't yours, but was designed for someone else can be risky business. Not only could it be copyright infringement, but it can be a recipe for errors. A campaign I once reviewed had been designed to look like it was from a consumer advocacy group. The campaign directed customers to a website that transitioned the customer from thinking they were calling an advocacy group to the HVAC company that had put out the ad. The company that copied the campaign didn't know about the landing page and they used it pretty much the way it was. Customers thought they were calling the advocacy group and weren't too happy when they found out they were not. Lesson learned: This campaign wasn't a good one to start with. You never want to 'trick' customers into calling you, and you should never copy a campaign that belongs to someone else.

#4 Accidental False Advertising: A campaign featured a complete tune-up and cleaning at a discounted rate. The campaign was designed to run throughout the year. Mid-year, however, a new Service Manager decided that the technicians were spending too much time on tune-ups and changed the process so the technicians could be quicker and get to more homes. Here's the problem: their marketing featured in a bold headline 'complete tune-up and cleaning' and featured the benefits of increased efficiency, lower utility bills, and improved comfort. However, under the new process customers were not getting a tune-up. They were only getting an inspection. Although this wasn't on purpose, if someone had chosen to, they could have gotten them in trouble for false-advertising. Lesson learned: When you change a policy make sure the marketing team knows and proper steps are taken to ensure your marketing campaigns reflect your services accurately.

#5 Providing Fuel for a Customer to Leave a Bad Review: Another contractor promoted 24 Hour Emergency Service splashed up-front and center on most of their marketing. The problem was, they changed their policy and they no longer offered 24-hour service to everyone. They only offered it to their agreement customers, and then, only if it was a true emergency. However, they didn't change their marketing when they changed their policy. This not only ticks of your customers, but, in this case, provided the upset customer images to post on a popular review site along with a very negative review. Lesson learned: Think through policy changes carefully and keep your marketing team involved before putting changes in place.

#6 Copyright Infringement that Back-Fired: I already mentioned copyright infringement and its perils, but here's yet another example. This company saw a really good replacement letter and decided to use it. Of course, they changed it up a bit, BUT they forgot to remove a phone number that was in the letter. Even though it was in another state, a customer called the original company and it was discovered that the letter had been used. Lesson learned: Don't use marketing that was written for someone else!

#7 Keeping Up with The Joneses: Someone (who didn't always do marketing) in one contractor's office was helping out by putting together ads for their yellow page books. They started by looking at competitors' ads and then designed theirs to compete. Noticing that their biggest competitor had "Licensed, Bonded & Insured" in all their ads, they added it, too. The problem was: Although they were Licensed, they were not Bonded or Insured. Saying they were, when they were not, could have gotten their license revoked and gotten them in a whole bunch of trouble. Lesson learned: Marketing has legal ramifications, so don't allow someone without the proper training and knowledge to do it for you.

#4 Complete Comprehensive Marketing Plan:

• Define monthly revenue and budget goals
• Define when and where to initiate campaigns
• Define internal marketing efforts

Now We Put the Pedal to the Metal...

We start with your revenue and budget goals, and use your Market & Database Analysis and Gap Analysis to define when, where, and how to send out your campaigns. We will work together to determine the number of campaigns to run, and the time frames for their release. This provides us a 12-month snapshot of all campaigns needed. At this point, we are in the planning stages, so although we know what we will be marketing and where, the final details of the campaign will be finalized as we get closer to the drop dates.

The most important element of an effective marketing plan is timing, and being prepared is the key to success. Even an award-winning design or 'rock-bottom' offer will fall flat if it's not timed correctly. Getting a campaign out too late in the season or too early can 'kill' your response rate. Creating a full year Marketing Calendar is a vital tool that will help keep your marketing on track and help you avoid the last-minute 'Hail Mary' of having to throw something together quickly to get it on the street.

We work several months ahead of schedule. This provides you the flexibility you need to react quickly to changes in your market conditions. In some cases where details won't change, we will complete all 12 months of design at the same time. This maximizes your design time to decrease costs and increase brand consistency.

Once you have your Branding Guideline and 12-Month Complete Comprehensive Marketing Plan started, we're ready to get your marketing on the streets. Both of these tools will be used on a weekly basis, and will be adjusted to your marketing needs. These are our roadmaps and we will be your guide to getting you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often, for LESS.

#5 Ongoing Marketing Support:

• Facilitate marketing campaign design, coordination and implementation
• Coaching to support campaigns, as needed
• Marketing review to adjust for market conditions
• Design coordination for website content and SEO updates
• Quarterly in-depth website Google Analytics review
• Quarterly marketing review
• Review and negotiations of vendor contracts, as needed
• Brand review on additional products/services, as needed

Driving Towards Success

Marketing is a living, breathing endeavor that takes constant care to cultivate and make it grow. Each and every campaign needs the same careful attention to detail during the design phase, as well as after it hits the streets. Our goal, and the reason we spent all this time analyzing, reviewing, strategizing, creating, writing, and planning is to put together a Comprehensive Marketing Plan that is cohesive, builds upon itself, and gets stronger with each campaign you do.

What You Can Expect:

We do a lot of work up front even before we meet for the first time. The first step is to complete the Market & Database Analysis and the first part of the Gap Analysis. First, we'll have a quick conference call to talk about what we will need from you and talk about time lines. Then, all you have to do is get us the data we need and complete the first part of the Gap Analysis. Once we have the data and the first part of the Gap Analysis, we will schedule another conference call to discuss the 'secrets' that are hidden in your Database that will get you MORE (remember, we mentioned before that each company is slightly different). This call typically takes from 1 to 1-1/2 hours. We take it from there.

Completing the Market & Database Analysis typically takes 2-4 weeks to finalize, and we will keep you up-to-date as to the progress. While we are working on that, you can go deeper into your Gap Analysis. Once the Market & Database Analysis is completed, we will schedule a visit to your office to complete the Gap Analysis and Brand & Marketing Review. Before we come, we will review what you have completed on your Gap Analysis to determine what we will focus our attention on during our visit. We typically spend 2-3 days in your office — meeting with you and, depending on your company goals, your team.

After the Gap Analysis and Brand & Marketing Review are completed, we will provide you with a presentation of our findings and provide an outline of our initial plan. Once we have 'marching orders' we'll get started on your Branding Guideline and your Comprehensive Marketing Plan.

For the first few months we will need frequent calls, typically once or twice a week to keep things moving forward. Each call will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour. We do a lot of the work up front to prepare your Branding Guideline and start on your Comprehensive Marketing Plan.

The conference calls are very important, and your attention to them is vital to the success of your marketing. We have processes in place that put the work we will complete in a step-by-step format that builds upon itself. Skipping steps or processes in the beginning will not save time, but cause unnecessary delays, rework, and possibly added expense down the road. Our goal is to help your company maximize your return on investment for all your marketing to get you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often!

AND We Guarantee It

We are so confident that our MORE program will get you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often that we are offering a Money-Back Guarantee for your initial fee. If, after we have completed and presented your Market & Database Analysis, Gap Analysis, and Brand & Marketing Review, you are not convinced that we have the knowledge and skill needed to get you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often, for LESS, we will refund your investment AND you don't have to prove a darn thing. Simply make a call (you can ask directly for Dave Squires or Lori Smith if you wish) and tell us you want to receive your money back. We will start the process to get your refund sent directly to you right away.

Call Today

Let's get started on getting you MORE customers, MORE revenue, MORE often! To discuss or get signed up with our MORE marketing management services, give us a call toll-free at 1-888-966-4785.