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Use Your Image
to Build Customer Comfort
Business-to-business and consumer customers are creatures of habit. They buy-in when they are assured or comforted by who is marketing to them. Human comfort levels are reached when we “identify” with a product. Your image, “identity or brand,” is critical to gaining that customer comfort level.
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Use One Core Message
to Build Credibility
Every business needs one core message. I’m not necessarily referring to your slogan. Your slogan may be more of a condensed version (or the spirit) of your core message. A core message is everything you are in one or two sentences.
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The New-Old Standard: Communicate Socially
If you are in business you need a professionally-developed Internet social presence. Not just a one page web site. Your Internet presence MUST communicate credibility, security, and sincere social interaction to your customers.
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Keep It On The Streets
All customers buy at street level, where they live and where they work. Few buy because of product performance alone. Even fewer buy because of price alone.
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The Pen is Mightier than the Sword - or Not
Good copy writing leads readers to take immediate action. Whether you are reading a speech at a business conference or asking potential customers to move on a special sale offer, good copy writing should get the response you need.
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the 5 Basics of Media Communication
1. Your Identity
2. One Core Message
3. 3-second Motivation
4. Street-level Focus
5. Social Communication
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Our customers are our best advertisement!

Read what they are saying...

"Jim Laero's foresight led us to launch multimedia communications long before any national organizations had developed their own... He put us way ahead of our competitors. Our yearly earnings were proof of this when these were continually doubled year after year."

CFO
HV, Inc.

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"Mr. Laero understands today's marketplace and has a multi-faceted strength in design, graphics and marketing communications to execute the particular message needed. His ability to translate a business message into multiple media platforms far exceeds the marketing and design personnel I have worked with over my 40-year career."

Owner
SJM Associates

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Case Study
Case Study

How dynamic marketing and communications brought a small-town company great success.

This is the true story of how new-media marketing principles transformed a small-town company into a multi-million dollar Pittsburgh regional corporation.



Client Status Prior to Marketing Initiatives:
The company was a small technology services and Internet connectivity provider headquartered in a small town just 30 minutes east of Pittsburgh, PA. There were three employees on staff working out of a garage-top office. (And no air-conditioning!)

The Challenges:

 

1. Initial growth projections of the late 1990's for Internet related technology had proven to be drastically optimistic. The dotcom crash brought fresh challenges to all Internet related companies.
2. Regional competition was growing exponentially with players such as Comcast and large telecommunications companies entering the market.
3. The lifecycle of regional technology services and Internet connectivity providers was generally being estimated to terminate in late 2003. The company owners wished the lifecycle to be extended to 2005 or later.


This is where I entered the process. I was hired as the company's new Marketing Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications Manager and Creative Director. (Yes, I wore all three hats - and many more over the decade to follow.)

My Plan:

 

1. RESTRUCTURE BUSINESS and MARKETING
My initial focus was to restructure the company's general business and marketing tactics to take advantage of the company's big-technology backbone but small hometown persona in order to protect the existing customer base from the competition.

2. DIVERSIFICATION of PRODUCTS and SERVICES
Once the focus of the marketing was shifted my next order of business was to diversify the company's products and services to the existing customer base to captivate their loyalty with a variety of contact points.

3. PROTECT the CUSTOMER BASE
If we were to survive the competition we needed to protect our existing customer base and enter new markets. We did this by establishing a unique and media-rich regional Internet social network and community web portal. I created a hub of community activity that expanded from a few local communities to the entire region east of Pittsburgh, PA.

4. OPEN NEW MARKETS
We proceeded to open new markets by establishing a network of hometown based satellite payment & service centers.


The 7 Steps to Success:

 

1. Auditing
First I conducted a thorough internal audit of existing business and marketing practices as well as the current use of media for marketing communications.

2. Research
I conducted thorough research of regional and national market opportunity and competition, and, the media tactics they employed to attract and retain customers.

3. Targeting
I established target customer groups and developed marketing plans, strategies and media according to results of research.

4. Value Added Initiatives
I initiated marketing of value-added products and services as well as increased relationship-based services that far exceeded those offered by the competition; such as customer support that included free one-on-one telephone consultation services. These steps enabled the company to keep pricing at a premium level while the competition battled using price alone. (The relationship became more important than the price.) A flood of media-rich customer communications touting these services became the face of our new value-added company.

5. Street-level Marketing
I targeted the marketing message to reach customers in their homes, jobs, schools, clubs and churches, thus keeping our message in their faces throughout the buying cycle. (A first in the Pittsburgh technology services and Internet connectivity market) We used everything from standard ad copy to locally produced streaming media to overwhelm the competition with a very locally-targeted message.

6. Customer Centric Services
We established partner-satellite payment and service centers to ensure ease-of-use and ease-of-access to customers in newly opened markets. (Another first in the Pittsburgh technology services and Internet connectivity market) While our competitors operated out of distant, faceless payment centers, we had payment, sign-up and service centers in local grocery stores, pharmacies and video stores. We cut our affiliates in on a percentage of the sales. Our customers got the service they wanted and our partners increased their store traffic and made money in the process.

7. New Market Initiatives
We established more aggressive B2B marketing and sales programs targeted at the growing commercial computer services markets.


Details, Details, Details:

 

1. Corporate Identity Development
a. I established a professional corporate identity package; logos, marketing collateral, standards of design, advertising and communications guidelines, etc.
b. I created a lively corporate social persona for our customers to identify with and be a part of. (One of the original Pittsburgh regional web site community portals and Internet social networks.) The Internet presence was then supported by a daily electronic newsletter and a hard-copy print magazine.
c. I retrained staff on customer-centered services, and corresponding communication guidelines, to foster a people-friendly view of the company.

2. Value-added Services
a. Consumer Level
We initiated fresh customer support procedures plus free telephone consultation on general computing issues not related to technology services and Internet connectivity.
b. Small Business Level
We offered free on-site services to business clients; computer configuration & integration, software services etc. I assigned each small business client a personal rep.
c. Corporate Business Level
In addition to the free services we offered to our small business clients, we added 24-hour access to a personal service reps for corporate sized clients.

3. Public Relations
We integrated the company deeply into local communities through sincere charitable and public service activities, such as;
a. we purchased charitable and public event sponsorships;
b. we purchased support advertising in a plethora of local school activity publications and community event publications;
c. we conducted volunteer public speaking engagements;
d. we offered low-cost, or free services, to community groups, clubs and faith-based organizations;
e. we produced multimedia and hard-copy print coverage of local people, businesses, community activities and sporting events on a unique Internet social network and portal.

4. Sales
a. We instituted affinity sales programs to businesses, clubs, schools, churches,etc.
b. We launched telemarketing sales programs and telemarketing sell-up programs.
c. I trained office staff in on-site sales and sell-ups of multiple services and products.
d. I trained sales staff and instituted sales incentives and tracking programs.

5. Internal Marketing
a. I managed a smooth shift of business strategy with proper communications and instruction to existing staff and new employees.
b. I instituted a comprehensive corporate culture program.
c. I developed and communicated new employee and departmental guidelines more consistent with the new corporate mission.

6. Diversification
I initiated a comprehensive corporate diversification process developing four new divisions complete with corresponding marketing and sales programs relying heavily on a variety of media-rich collateral.


Results
The proof is always in the fruit.

The company retained its customer base while other technology services and Internet connectivity firms were losing large blocks of customers. And, more importantly, the company increased its customer base dramatically from 1997 through 2005 becoming one of the top-five largest Pittsburgh regional technology services and Internet connectivity firms (as per the Pittsburgh Business Times Top Companies Lists for that time period) In 2001 the company was named to the prestigious Pittsburgh Business Times 100 Fastest Growing Companies List as #19 out of 100 and #10 in the highly competitive Technology category.

The company then remained viable in the face of aggressive national competitors broaching the territory. Viability continued still even as the mega-corporations targeted the company's customer base directly. At the conclusion of the company's presence in the market through the year 2007, it had, against all odds, turned back its competitors and successfully passed its customer base to another regional technology services company ensuring its customers uninterrupted quality service.

As a result of the diversification process, which the company went through in the late 1990's, the corporation's publishing division produced the Pittsburgh eastern region's most popular online and monthly print magazine. The web site responded to millions of hits per month and tens of thousands of unique visitors. The hard-copy print magazine itself grew from a circulation of 2,000 to more than 30,000, and remained a favorite of readers through 2008.

Bottom line - corporate profits increased 30 %. The original challenges were met and far exceeded. The company went from a garage top office to its own high-tech building. From a small one-division company to a corporation with five divisions employing more than twenty people with its technology backbone in the technology district of downtown Pittsburgh. The company's footprint went from three small towns to all of the Pittsburgh / Southwest PA region as well as a growing presence in the national market.

That was good fruit indeed. I was proud to be a part of this company, to work with its leadership and to be a part of each of the corporation's departmental development teams. True success in marketing comes from the people who are the company. This was never more true than at this firm. Throughout the process leading to the overwhelming success of this company, media-rich marketing was critical to nearly every phase. From the professional handbills we used to market our services door-to-door, to the live community streaming video events we published on our cutting edge community portal, multiple formats of media made the difference. Used properly, in conjunction with a smart growth plan, media can communicate the heart of your efforts and stir action in your target customers. If you are interested in putting these concepts to work for your business, contact me today.

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Your satisfaction is guaranteed!Your Satisfaction Is Guaranteed!

If for any reason you are not satisfied with any of my products or services you can return the item(s) for correction or discard them and pay only any deposited amounts (or agreed-to deposits) paid at the start of the project.*

* Limitations on Guarantee: 1. Clients who terminate a project prior to completion may not use created content, or portions of created content, without written permission of James Laero. 2. Returns for correction are limited to 5 instances per item. Following the 5th return for correction the remaining balance on contract will be billed in full. 3. In the event of an hourly-based fee, client shall pay 80% of the fee incurred to the point of termination of the contract. 4. Termination of a contract or agreed-to services must be done in writing and delivered via dated Email, or via certified postal delivery. Termination of contract or services will commence upon receipt of the same.



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