This article originally appeared in the July 2012 issue of SD&I magazine
Integrators often ask me, ‘How can we grow as quickly as we want?’ While I don’t have a secret weapon, I recommend companies promote themselves to customers and prospects by investing in today’s revolutionary marketing tools. Let’s look at how an integrator uses marketing to generate demand, customers and revenue.
Advanced Integration Technology (AIT, a fictional PSA Security Network owner company) had seen aggressive growth, but recently reached a plateau. With a mandate to grow business, Mike accepted the vice president of Business Development position. Pointing out that AIT’s last notable marketing effort was a new website in 2004, he gained commitment to marketing investment in 2011 from AIT’s owner. Mike rolled up his sleeves and got moving with the following:
· Website redesign: Significant improvements have been made in generating demand from websites. Efforts were spent improving the AIT site’s appearance, but key changes were more than cosmetic. Working with professional marketers, they created content to communicate to AIT’s markets and a monthly blog to provide security and safety tips. Above all, the $10,000 site was optimized, putting AIT first in Google searches for “security integrator,” “commercial security” and more.
- Identity program: To strengthen company identity and impart professionalism, Mike augmented AIT’s existing logo with a new look and feel, to create business cards, on-line communications, mailers and billing statements. Addressing government and commercial market capabilities, he produced brochures as sales leave-behinds.
- Email campaign: Mike ran an email campaign to 1,300 businesses moving into a new downtown commercial district development. Relatively simple to execute, a link on the email took respondents to an online form for sales follow-up.
Online marketing let Mike measure tactical success with the following:
- Website: Performance measures like high time-on-site and low bounce rate meant AIT’s efforts were on the right track. Mike could track that the optimized site returned five times the initial spend in new business. The optimized site now generates a consistent inflow of sales inquiries.
- Identity program: With new brochures, sales felt energized. A prospect who received a brochure at a chapter event contacted the company: “You guys speak my language. Let’s meet next week?” The staff’s new logo shirts and phone greeting were favorably noted by clients.
- Email campaign: Four significant jobs resulted from emails sent to downtown commercial district tenants, generating two of the year’s biggest projects.
Mike was able to quantify a successful marketing effort for the year and plans to submit AIT for the SD&I Fast50 in 2013. More importantly, after demonstrating value from online marketing, he lobbied management for a 50 percent increase in the 2012 marketing budget and an incentive-based bonus.
Mike’s boss is now a marketing investment ‘champion.’ For 2012, AIT wants web marketing, including Pay Per Click advertising and social media marketing, and is looking into new markets for the next email campaign.
Business solutions
Cost-effective, measurable marketing resources are more available today than ever before. As part of its Business Solutions program, PSA Security Network recently commissioned Security Dealer Marketing to:
- assist integrators to optimize their marketing spend,
- create customer entanglement, and
- generate more RMR.
Integrators looking to get ahead must take advantage of today’s powerful marketing resources; those who don’t will fall behind.
