In the last issue, I covered the importance of establishing your shed-building foundation before tackling marketing.
It’s very important to measure your ROI (return on investment) when doing marketing. In my experience, I have seen marketing work by bringing in new traffic, but operations were not up to company standard, and then marketing was blamed for lost potential sales.
I have seen marketing get cut without basis or valid examination. If things are going well and sales are through the roof, one might think, let’s cut back on marketing. Or one might think, I spent money last year, and I didn’t see any results, so let’s not market this next year.
Not only are these unfair to the marketing that was done, it’s unfair to continued growth and the potential for future sales.
Once the foundation is in place, it’s time to work on ads and branding.
When I started marketing with a past company, they were not doing a lot of ads or branding. So, I made up a plan and went for it. I tried things that failed, but the majority of it worked. Everything I tried was measured and painfully examined before I did it again, and sometimes I went by gut feelings.
With that said, can you measure everything you do in marketing? No. You can try, but it has to be deliberate.
For example, when a new customer is added to your system, ask how they heard about you, and log that into the ERP/CRM. Please note that you cannot ask the question and expect the customer to give you an honest answer. Some don’t want to tell you, some won’t recall, some are put off by the question, and some will lie to your face.
So, you have to ask it this way, “So, Mr. Smith, did you hear about us … on the local radio station?” and then be quiet and let them answer. If you lead with the question and a marketing suggestion asked this way, the customer will have no problem correcting you and giving you what you need. Accurate information!
In marketing, you can make your job a lot easier by doing ads specific to a marketing source. As an example, I might do a TV ad and at the end I might add a call to action that tells the customer to ask for the free sweatshirt when a shed over a 10 by 12 is ordered. When that customer orders a shed and asks for the sweatshirt, you know they saw you on TV.
With all this said, you can have a customer that comes in, saw your ad on a billboard, went to your website, heard you on the radio, and just saw your TV spot last night.
You decide what is recorded as a marketing source, and this is how you know you are doing things right in marketing. Who would you buy from? A company you never heard of or a company you cannot help from seeing everywhere?
I would like to outline what I would do if I joined up with your company. I could easily review what I have done in the past, but some of what I have done and seen success from is not something I would do today.
I will separate marketing/branding sources that could be used today. You have to test and see if any of these will work for you. Keep in mind times change and you have to keep current with how you are seen and searched for.
WEBSITE
This is your main marketing, branding, and information point. You should have a colorful, informative, intuitive, updated, findable SEO, and highly interactive website.
If your website looks like it was created and not maintained in the last 15 years, your customer is gone within seconds, looking at your competition, never to return. Look at your competition and see what they are doing and take the opportunity to make your site better and representative of your value proposition.
TV/VIDEO
Some might argue that this is a dying marketing area. It’s not, yet, so use it now. When you create and run TV ads, do not air a generic, boring ad showing a few sheds on the lot and your contact info. You have to set yourself apart here.
Get creative, be funny or heartfelt, source co-workers who are good actors/actresses and make a creative TV spot that’s talked about. Use that ad on cable TV broadcasting on channels specific to your customer base interests.
Also use these videos on your website, social media, and on monitors in your showroom to showcase what you do and how you do it.
SOCIAL MEDIA
If you are going to do social media, keep one thing in mind: It has to be social!
I have seen many shed companies ignore their poorly maintained company website and post sheds on Facebook. If you want to post old inventory, it has its place on numerous web sites made for moving sale inventory.
Today, and 10 years from now, you want to be the one and only company your customer thinks about when they go to make that once-in-a-lifetime purchase. So get social. Interview your staff. Talk about social events you’re sponsoring. Give inside tips and tricks to preparing for a shed. Post customer photos and comments from happy customers and how they use the shed.
Use Facebook to get more social!
PRINT ADS
Think about your customer. What would a shed buyer look at? They are probably frustrated and need more space. One answer? Local real estate guides.
In my area, they are printed and distributed all over and they have digital copies online to be searched and viewed 24/7. The customer might pick one up at a local market and look for a larger home or see that for low monthly payment they can have a nice shed in the yard.
This is another area you want to be very creative and intentional about when designing your ad. Do not create boring/generic ads. Be very thoughtful here, or it will fall into the mix of other ads and be passed over at the quickest glance. This is a great place to do a creative call to action to see your results, also.
EVENTS
Sponsor a local sports team and or charity event. Get involved in your community. Exposure=Sales!
RADIO
Still an effective way to get customers to attend open houses or sale events.
BILLBOARDS
Potential customers have to see them when driving. It cannot be avoided.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
I saved this for last because I think it’s poorly done or not done at all. Think about this with me.
A customer comes in and orders a shed. Right before they leave, you reach into your desk and hand them a Leatherman pocket knife or a Mag Light in a case and thank them for the purchase of the shed. What do you think they are going to do with it? The majority are going to show it off.
Now think past the sale. Your staff is out doing the delivery and the neighbors come over to see the delivery process. Your customer tells the neighbors about the great product they just purchased and then reaches in his pocket and pulls out a pocket knife with your logo on it. This is marketing and branding.
Spend $20-$50 on a nice gift and have a customer thinking about your company daily and showing others. A dollar coffee mug has its place along with pens with your contact info on it, but if you do this right, it can bring you more sales than you can believe. Also brand your company with uniforms, hats, and shirts given to customers to wear. If you have a tagline or slogan, use that for branding on promotional items that would be used by your customers.
Space does not allow me to list everything possible. Try and test anything you can source to market with.
Market as best as you can by being creative, showcase your brand, and accurately represent your products. Make sure your efforts are tracked and keep marketing because when you stop, someone else will be ready to take your customers.
The largest companies in the world spend millions in marketing. There is a reason: Marketing works. Let’s represent the shed industry with excellence, and show how creative and successful we are.
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Lessons Learned in Shed Marketing (Part 1), July 1, 2020
