How 8 Signal helped one client put power back in their message
Have you ever heard the maxim that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
Sometimes in business you are doing the same thing over and over again because that is all you know how to do.
Can it lead to insanity? I’m not sure about that, but it is certainly sane to assume a random, unfocused approach to marketing cannot lead to targeted, focused results.
8 Signal client Cary Lane, owner of ECC Solar (ECC), attempted various marketing campaigns in the past with mixed success. The challenge was creating a message and then sticking with it. 8 Signal knew we could help reinvigorate their message and put some power behind their efforts.
But first we had some work to do, starting from square one with an actionable marketing plan.
Status Quo
ECC Solar had a website and somewhat of a mixed message before coming to 8 Signal.
“Our biggest problem was inconsistency,” explains Cary Lane, ECC’s founder and owner. “We had tried unsuccessfully to do marketing campaigns in-house, but we never had the follow-through.” That meant they struggled to build and maintain momentum.
In addition, they had never really considered how that marketing message informed their day-to-day interactions with their customers. Marketing was just a business task rather than an integral message of who they were as a company.
Combine that with the demands of everyday business, and what they had was a lot of great effort that was not being maximized by efficiency or precision.
They knew it was time to bring in the professionals.
“We had outsourced before, but we hadn’t really worked closely with a marketing company to refine our message,” says Cary. “We were concerned it would take too much time, and we just didn’t know what to expect. But after a short time with 8 Signal, our concerns were completely put to rest. We really enjoy working with 8 Signal.”
ECC first needed to clarify their message as well as develop a memorable tagline that would help them stand out among the competition.
Step 1: Define the Audience and Message.
One of ECC’s first tasks was to define their target customer so they could craft a message that would strategically draw their target.
“Creating a customer profile was an extremely helpful exercise,” says Ben Remmers. “It made me more aware of the details and able to see parallels in customers. We can now see similar traits in past customers, so we can now speak more directly to that trait.”
From that profile, we were able to define a message that worked not only for advertising but also in everyday communication and interaction with customers. ECC’s new tagline is: Masters of YOUR Solar System.
“Customers have responded very positively to it,” says Ben. “We have more consistency across everything we are doing, and we are more uniform in communicating it.”
Step 2: Create the Plan.
After the creativity of crafting a message, the plan is a matter of unfolding the details and creating tasks to convey the message.
“Having a plan we can follow is great,” says Cary. “We needed a plan, and I didn’t have a plan without 8 Signal.”
The plan revolved around bringing consistency to ECC’s message, their graphics, and their communication across media. From there, tasks are scheduled into a monthly rotation driven by 8 Signal but informed by Cary and Ben.
Step 3: Implement!
“I don’t know which one is more important, the plan or the implementation,” says Cary. “They both needed to happen, but now we realize we couldn’t have implemented without a good plan.”
A key advantage for ECC is that the plan continues to push forward even when they are consumed with the day-to-day aspects of running their business.
“Marketing efforts still happen even when I am gone and can’t deal with things for a few weeks,” says Cary. “Having the plan means we know what needs to be done, and 8 Signal helps keep us on task.”
“Working with you guys is great,” says Ben. “That is one thing with outsourcing that’s a concern for business owners. They just don’t want to deal with people. You make it easy.”
Step 4: Enjoy the results.
“It has been really good seeing some of the results happen firsthand,” says Ben. “The first post of the monthly blog posts generated possible customers, so there was an immediate result.”
Ben also hosts a weekly live radio show and has found the customers and callers responding positively to the Masters of YOUR Solar System tagline and their new streamlined message.
“The best part is having 8 Signal to guide us and educate us on what actually needs to be implemented and when,” says Cary.
Working with a good marketing company should feel like having an in-house marketing team. You have the best of both worlds: finding a company
that can understand and convey your message as well as you can, while also being able to depend on them to implement the plan effectively.
Cary gave us one of our favorite customer quotes: “8 Signal took us from the dark ages to the new age of marketing!”
Need to put some more power in your marketing message? Call us today at (915) 585-1919 to schedule your first consultation, or fill out our online form, and get ready to outsmart the competition. Remember, 8 Signal is your marketing department — without the overhead!
Photos courtesy of: Hans Splinter, vizzzual.com, and chris favero.
