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CASE STUDY: MANUFACTURING COMPANY

The Client:

A mid-sized metal forging plant located in the in the Midwest, in business for over 60 years. They primarily sell non-ferrous materials, mainly copper alloys into 9 specific market segments worldwide, ranging from high-technology applications to industrial applications and even to research markets.

This company had superior expertise in providing quality products; in fact they delivered defect- free products to their customers 99.9% of the time.

The Challenge:

In spite of their longevity and outstanding quality record, they faced several challenges in their "Lead Generation" activities. They included:

• Many of the industries serviced were either stagnant or declining, some due to newer technology making existing methods obsolete, but in most cases, because they could not get exposure to clients being serviced by the competition
• Traditional "sales rep" networks were becoming ineffective
• Other lead sources that had been effective in the past, like the Thomas Register, were changing delivery mediums from print to online format

In short, they were at risk of stagnation, which would adversely affect the long term success of the company.

The Solution:

So, what we needed to do was:

• Provide new and varied sources for Lead Generation
• Provide information to the sales force that would help build their credibility with prospects
• Develop on overall Strategic Message that could be used company-wide to effectively communicate with their customers and prospects

As with all of our clients, we started by conducting an Internal Audit to assess the inner workings of the company. This helps us to identify the best way to develop lead generation programs and overall makes communication with customers and prospects more effective. We then evaluated Industry Trends to determine which industries would provide maximum results from a marketing campaign. We Analyzed the Competition in the industry to see where we could make inroads in capturing more market share.

We then determined their Target Markets and carried out Customer Research & Analysis. By talking to their customers and prospects we clearly identified the things that were most important to them when buying forgings. We determined what information they would need to have in order to make an informed decision about buying forgings. And finally, we determined where the prospects might look to find the type of products that our client makes.

By taking the information above and linking it with Evidence to support our claims, we were able to identify their Unique Selling Proposition, which included different aspects of quality, aspects of delivery and cost effective methods of getting products to their customers. From there we constructed a Strategic Marketing Plan with an effective Strategic Message.

Here is a list of the things included in the Tactical Plan that we carried out over a period of time that proved to be very effective:

• We developed a brand new website that was very specific about the niche offerings for each of the 9 industries. We were able to effectively communicate the advantages of working with this company to their customers and prospects
• We implemented an on-line RFQ system that made it much easier for customers and prospects to communicate with them
• We instituted an "opt-in" mechanism that allowed us to collect contact information from prospects and communicate with them over a long period of time
• We developed Educational Information that was delivered to prospects on a continuous basis via email, so they had all the information that they needed to buy from our client
• We enhanced the website through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, which gave them favorable rankings for the specific keywords that their target markets used
• Additionally, we implemented a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaign, also known as pay-per-click marketing, using Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing, which delivered almost immediate results
• We developed Article and Link Campaigns designed to be more educational in nature and would drive interested parties to website
• We developed several Direct Mail campaigns, some targeted toward industries that we knew had room to grow and others more general in nature, that opened up more effective lines of communication
• We took advantage of the changing medium of the Thomas Register (now Thomasnet) and added additional internet marketing services through companies like Industrial Quick Search
• We maximized opportunities in Trade Publications, both print and online to increase exposure
• We conduct monthly Customer Satisfaction Surveys to keep in touch with customer needs and concerns
• We implemented monthly reporting systems that effectively gauge our on-going performance

The Results

After implementing the changes made by Luftig Warren and discussed in this Case Study, the manufacturing company new customer sales from marketing activities went from $58,100 in 2005 to $680,100 in 2006, to $1,772,000 in 2007.

In terms of overall sales volume the company realized a 90.9% sales increase in the period from 2005 to 2007. About 30% of this was related to increased material costs and the remaining 60% was due to marketing activities.

This is what they had to say:

"Not only did the process of implementing marketing not disrupt any of our systems‚ but through an innovation to our website, we saw dramatic results in our quote requests. The number of quotes increased from 2% to 13% and those quoted were 41% more targeted to what the prospect ultimately needed. The client research even opened our eyes to the actual client values as quality, delivery, and price, in that order. We were quite surprised that our original perception was incorrect.

Needless to say, I am delighted to recommend the system that Luftig Warren uses. Their scientific approach to assessing, addressing, and testing what the clients really want not only makes sense, but genuinely works. We look forward to the next steps in our marketing endeavors."

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