Remodelers: ASPIRE to Higher Sales and Profits in 2011
For many remodeling business owners, budget time is here. That means now is the time to think about your goals for 2011 and what kind of marketing it will take to attain them.
If nothing much has changed about your market or competitive position, and if you’re content with how things have been going, planning your marketing may be as simple as sitting down and defining the right list of what marketing efforts to continue – and perhaps expand – in terms of what you’re already doing. But if you want your remodeling business to reach the next level, you’re going to need more than a list of marketing tactics.
Taking your remodeling business to the next level
You need a true marketing program – a strategic one that supports your company’s marketing objectives, business plan and your personal goals as the business owner. For example, if you’re thinking about retiring, selling, or restructuring your remodeling firm in the next 5-10 years, you’ll want to invest your marketing dollars differently than if you will be actively involved for 15, 20, or 30+ years.
Creating a strategic marketing program doesn’t start with choosing tactics or mapping out activities. Instead, it begins with a careful, informed and objective review of your company, goals, market and competitive environment. With this foundation, you can build the right marketing program by developing the right marketing strategies and messaging, targeting the right opportunities and investing in the right tactics to achieve the specific results you’re seeking.
As a remodeler, you know the value of a sound foundation
But when it comes to marketing, many remodelers – and many marketing agencies and consultants – skimp on, or even skip, the foundation-building and strategy development phase. Instead, they go right to choosing tactics. That’s why results can be predictably disappointing, and why many remodelers believe “marketing doesn’t work.”
Well, here at Continuum Marketing Group, we know marketing does work. In fact our staff has over 15 years' experience helping remodelers use smarter marketing programs and approaches to build their businesses. For many of our clients, a significant factor in the success of their marketing programs is their decision to take advantage of Continuum’s ASPIRE-CM®. We created this marketing program methodology exclusively to help our clients quickly build a solid foundation and make good decisions about their ongoing marketing efforts.
If you develop your marketing programs in-house and have all the needed skill sets, you can adopt a system similar to the one outlined below.
ASPIRE-CM®:
Do it once, market smarter for years to come
Our unique ASPIRE-CM® process is offered exclusively as part of the marketing services provided by our ContinuumComplete division. ASPIRE stands for the six steps in the system: Assessment, Strategy, Plan, Implementation, Review and Evolution.
During the first three steps, we conduct a detailed Assessment of your goals and your company: its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, obstacles, threats, services, marketing environment and much more. We then develop a master Strategy that maps out your marketing strategy, strategic messaging, your brand attributes, key selling points, best tactics and more. Planning involves a detailed breakdown of specific efforts with recommended budgets. We target budgets by factoring in what you want to allot for marketing, what it will take to carry out the program we’ve defined, what other remodelers like you are spending on marketing, and other factors. The result is a custom – and affordable – marketing program plus an action plan where strategies, tactics, messaging and metrics are tightly integrated and keenly aligned with your goals and brand.
The first three steps are typically only done once, but they form the basis for making good marketing decisions for years to come. And as you move forward, we use deep experience with both remodeling firms and marketing best practices to Implement the details of your marketing program so you can focus on running your business. As we start implementing the program for you, we regularly Review results and apply all we learn to continue the Evolution of your marketing program so you can continue to take advantage of new strategies, tactics and technologies and respond quickly to market changes and opportunities.
Bottom line: Yes, it takes some commitment to use the ASPIRE-CM process to build a solid marketing foundation. Is it worth it? Over the years, client after client has told us that they found the ASPIRE-CM process to be time and money well spent.
If you are interested in learning more about the ASPIRE-CM methodology or other marketing programs we offer, e-mail David Alpert now or call 703-759-0106.
A Remodeler Asked:
Q: What’s “local search?”
A: Local search is fast becoming a useful component of online marketing for remodelers. That’s because homeowners who search online for remodeling companies are typically looking for a firm in their immediate area. They may add geographic modifiers when they use search engines like Google and a growing number of people are also going directly to local search engines (like Google Places and Yelp) plus community sites with directories of local businesses including ones with consumer comments.
Basic listings on a variety of sites are often free. But it takes time to methodically find and register with the most important and relevant sites. It also takes some skill to write the most compelling description of your company, select and optimize photos to appear with your free listings, and otherwise make the most of them. Still, remodelers should definitely be taking advantage of local search. Free listings, however, are just the beginning. To rank high enough in local search results to get click-throughs, you may need to integrate a variety of tactics, from improving your website’s SEO (search engine optimization) to integrating a paid-search component, to managing your local reputation as people begin to post online ratings and reviews of your remodeling business.
So many remodelers have been asking about local search that an upcoming issue of Marketing Matters will examine the subject in detail. In the meantime, if you’d like to know about the local search packages Continuum Marketing Group will soon be offering, e-mail David Alpert now or call 703-759-0106.
 daily5Remodel.com
by Leah Thayer Launching Soon!
Looking for a daily dose of remodeling industry news and intelligence, business best practices
and peer-to-peer engagement? Leah Thayer (friend of Continuum) has just announced the imminent launch of daily5Remodel.com, a website and free daily e-letter. Leah, a former senior editor with Remodeling magazine, is the editor and publisher of daily5Remodel.com.
Basic subscriptions are free (a premium subscription model will come) and all industry professionals who register by October 1 will be entered into a drawing for an iPad! Click here to register and forward to other remodelers.
The Results Are In: Close Ratios are Up!
Our last poll asked remodelers “What is your current close ratio from qualified leads?” Our results were that 71% of you said that your close-rate ratio was 1:3 or 1:4. Another 17% cited a ratio of 1:5 or 1:6. This is up from a previous poll we took.
Go to our website to
participate in our current poll:
Do you know enough about Search Engine Optimization to be a wise consumer of SEO services for your remodeling firm?
Marketing Matters Resumes Regular Publication
It’s been quite a few months since you received the last issue of Marketing Matters. Where have we been? We've been using our resources to put the finishing touches on an entire new suite of services that will make it even easier for you to benefit from even smarter marketing for your remodeling business. Soon, we’ll be launching our new websites so you can see all your best new options for everything from websites and e-newsletters to packages of services for awards and certification announcements and PR, local search and SEO.
If you’re interested in learning more about these services now, e-mail David Alpert or call 703-759-0106.
And watch your e-mail for upcoming issues of Marketing Matters covering topics such as:
- Search Engine Optimization for Remodeling Firms
- Local Search
- Effective Remodeler Websites
- What’s Up with Direct Mail
- Branding - It's More Than Logos & Graphics
- Reputation Management
...and upcoming Marketing Webinars and new services from Continuum!
Comments & Questions
If you have questions or topics you would like us to address in future issues of Marketing Matters, please let us know. Send them to editor@continuum-mg.com.
Sincerely,
David Alpert
President, Continuum Marketing Group, LLC
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