Success is a story
Here are a few.
The most common marketing strategy is spamming: Just start talking and hope people listen. A great deal of money is wasted on this approach. It forgets that the most important person in the conversation is the customer. And customers don’t care about our products and services; they only want problems solved, stuff fixed and life improved. The client stories below focus on our work to help businesses explain how they:
Solve problems.
Make life better.
Change the world (or their little part of it).
This includes emphasizing:
Subject matter authority “We can trust these people. They know what they’re talking about. And they’re sharing information with us for free.”
Excellence “They really do what they say they’ll do. They show up on time. The product (or service) is as good as they said.”
Goodwill This is particularly true of nonprofits: “These people are really making a difference. I didn’t know this kind of work was going on. How can I get involved?”
ROLL CALL: client case studies
Ministry Pacific: Helping a broker break through to its clientele
Ministry Pacific is a veteran insurance brokerage dedicated to serving the nonprofit and faith communities. It counts more than 1,200 organizations as its customers. Ministry Pacific managed a website, social media channels and an email marketing system, but was seeking stronger engagement with clients and greater exposure to prospects.
Our assessment began with the website, which was aesthetically beautiful but lacked content and resources to drive traffic. Task No. 1 was to rewrite the entire website, adding thousands of words. In collaboration with the Ministry Pacific team, each insurance product was identified, described and posted to the site. Sparsely attended annual policy group webinars were replaced with one-on-one customer meetings. Further, a brand new series of information Q&A webinars were scheduled, featuring industry experts as guests. Topics include cyber security, financial fraud, building valuation, child safety, regulatory compliance, physical security and other topics relevant to churches and nonprofits. All webinar content was published to the website, open for all to view.
Other features of the new website include an active blog, rich with practical ways for clients to reduce risk. Free e-books were written and posted.
The website was also switched to a new platform and redesigned with a fresh framework for all of the new information. As a result, web traffic has increased more than 500% since the re-launch. In addition to numbers, the site has resulted in consistent inbound sales inquiries.
Each webinar is recorded, edited and reposted to YouTube, Vimeo, podcasting platforms and social media in order to reach additional prospects with ungated, free content relevant to the faith and nonprofit audience. Consistent communication with clients and prospects continues via email marketing, social media, webinars and a consistently updated website.
STRATEGOS INTERNATIONAL: PROTECTING PEOPLE AND PROPERTY
Strategos International is security firm that provides training, consulting and personal protection services for individuals and organizations worldwide. The company’s reputation was (and is!) excellent, but it struggled to achieve the visibility it deserved. The Strategos team possessed a wealth of knowledge, so we set out to make the most of their wisdom. Our strategy was to focus on creating marketing content that would forever belong to Strategos and which would continue to draw viewers, readers and listeners for years to come. This included:
Buyer persona research, which focused on interviews with clients to identify the company’s allure, strengths and weaknesses.
Video interviews on key security topics that were published to YouTube, Vimeo, podcast platforms and social media.
Launching new media platforms, including podcasts, Vimeo and images posted to Flickr.
Original blog posts on current security issues of concern.
Original photography and videography that captured Strategos training.
Co-authoring and publishing security books and white papers.
A social media strategy focused on educating and informing instead of spamming.
The largest component of our work was the redesign of the company’s websites. Previously, three sites existed, with each dedicated to a specific component of the business. These were consolidated into one new site, which included the above-mentioned media and original content. The result was a nearly 1,000% increase in overall website traffic and a massive increase in visibility.
More recent projects have included security personnel recruitment campaigns, which hit hiring targets. We are humbled to play a role in Strategos’ work protecting people and property.
BELLE TOFFEE: helping a client taste “sweet” success
Belle Toffee is an independent, multi-generational family candy maker – just the kind of business we want to see thrive. The company approached us with an antiquated website that had also experienced compromised security. They wanted to start over, but weren’t sure whom they could trust. We met the owners through a free-lance article we had written on their business. They loved the article and wanted to see if we could do more. The answer, “We’d love to!” After thoroughly interviewing the owner, we wrote the website, focusing on the multi-generational roots and the origin story that centered on a family recipe. In addition to building the website, we took custom product photos, created a custom video and engaged in media relations on behalf of the company. In addition to heightened visibility, the company experienced genuine e-commerce success – something that had initially eluded it. We’re thankful for the opportunity to help create “sweet” success.
SEEK HEALTH FAIR
SEEK Health Fair stands for Screening Educational Event for Kidneys. We were commissioned to publicize a free community health fair and children’s day sponsored by Dialysis Clinic, Inc. The goal was to create awareness of the event and to increase attendance from the previous year. A secondary objective was to educate people about kidney disease and kidney health. In addition to those goals, the event was to be a free, fun day out for anyone who came.
Our work included:
Website content creation and design
Social media campaign management (paid and organic)
Graphic design for digital, print and apparel
Photography and video on site at the event
Post-event media and analytics reporting
FIDLER ON THE ROOF KC: ROOFING THAT’S A CUT ABOVE
Roofing is an ultra-competitive industry. In addition, good actors have their reputations damaged by bad actors and fly-by-night corporations who take the money and run. Fidler on the Roof KC is a hometown, family-run business seeking a foothold and bigger footprint in the Kansas City roofing market. They had made the most of their resources, putting together a do-it-yourself website, a Facebook page and a YouTube Channel. But they wanted to be better known and to generate more leads. We initially began working with Fidler on social media and website updates. This work expanded to:
Redesigning the website.
Weekly social media posts.
The addition of Fidler on the Roof KC content on LinkedIn, Twitter and Flickr.
The creation of original videos that tell the story of individual roofing projects.
Onsite photography and videography to capture the company’s excellent workmanship.
Paid social media and niche advertising.
Graphic design projects ranging from vehicle wraps to business cards.
Consistent SEO efforts to boost the company’s organic (free) exposure.
As a result, Fidler has gained more exposure and followers through print and social media, resulting thousands of organic (free) views each month. Fidler’s reputation continues to be enhanced and better known as referrals lead to new and repeat business. Five-star reviews continue to roll in. These factors are working together to build a strong brand and business.
