Client: Small Business Growth
Extreme Metal and Paint
This classic car customization and restoration shop struggled during the 2008 recession and fell behind in its digital marketing strategy.
I designed videos and slideshows for customers, the website and social media using Cyberlink Powerdirector 365.
It was critical to communicate budget expectations for customers and to communicate it in multiple ways and this infographic was one of them.
From the Owner
Chris Odom
I couldn't get my business back to where it was before the 2008 recession. I needed to find the best digital marketing services to get me back to where I was, but I never expected the level of growth Stephanie provided. In the first year of working with her, we doubled our gross sales and saved money by trimming the marketing budget.
Not only did she provide marketing strategy, she also resolved problems in our production, billing and customer service that affected the bottom line. Business picked up so much, I’ve hired additional employees, increased pay and benefits, expanded storage and even started looking for a larger location.
She trained our staff too, so when her services ended, I was setup to keep improvement going, and she’s always made herself available if we need additional help.
Project 1: Procedures and Communications
Before I could do any digital marketing at Extreme, I needed to reform customer communications, billing procedures and customer onboarding and exiting processes.
Without onboarding, communication from the owner to the office broke down and staff didn't always receive customer information to enter into the CRM. Billing was inconsistent and without regular communication, expenses grew higher than customers expected and often went over the budget without warning.
Dissatisfied, customers viewed finished projects with the expectations of poor work and often refused to pay in full. The owner ultimately refunded or discounted their project to prevent poor word-of-mouth. These issues were costing a 30%-70% profit loss for every project.
Billing, customer service, etc., may appear to live outside of the marketing realm, but quality products and service are the first step in growth hacking strategy. Every touch point in a customer's journey, online and offline, is critical to the overall marketing strategy.
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The lack of a delivery procedure for finished projects also led to significant loss, sometimes up to 100%. Staff often left keys in the finished vehicles, expecting the clients to pick them up. However, there was no procedure to check in with the customer to make sure they paid and no procedure to tell staff what to expect. There also wasn't a procedure to notify the office that a customer was picking up. Likewise, the customer didn't receive communication about what they should do on arrival. With the keys in the ignition, many simply drove away. Once the client had the completed project in their possession, collecting payment became twice as difficult, and some refused to pay at all. With no contracts or agreements, the owner was powerless to enforce payment.
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THE FIX
To resolve these issues, I collaborated with the owner and management and trained the shop and office staff on new and effective procedures.
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For the onboarding issues, I drafted a contract that included expectations from both parties, the customer and the shop. The new steps also ensured that staff entered new customer information into the CRM and took notes on each client.
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​I changed the billing process to require reliable, weekly billing as projects racked up costs fast and customers needed consistent and regular bills and updates. Further, I made sure these communications included a running tally of total money spent. This helped the client and staff keep track of their budget, so the shop couldn't go over without talking to the client. Weekly billing also promoted good customer habits of paying in instalments throughout the project, so they didn't face a massive bill at the end. These fixes significantly improved customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth and prevented demands for refunds or discounts.
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Finally, I created staff procedures for when a customer's project ended. These issues were all fixed by clear and consistent communication to customers and staff for the pickup. I also provided steps to keep shop staff more informed about what they should do when a customer showed up.
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For the first time since before the 2008 recession, the shop saw significant growth, which allowed for improvements, new industrial tools, paid trainings, benefits and much more. With higher customer satisfaction, the shop received a lot of positive word-of-mouth and referrals. This attracted higher paying customers, increasing top customer project spend from around $20,000 to $800,000 and rising.
Project 2: Website Optimization
Extreme already had a website when I started with them, but it needed some optimization and clean copy. I also:
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Redesigned for aesthetics and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)/user experience
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Added new pages like services, about, estimates and careers.
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Keyword research and SEO
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Added videos to home page for SEO
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Took and edited new photos
- Set up eccommerce store
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Added social proof logos - this helps potential customers see that others have worked with you.
Project 3: Social Media Management
Extreme already had their social media accounts and specifically worked with Facebook and Instagram. I managed the accounts and:
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Developed and managed active community
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Took photos and video daily for posts
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Edited photos and designed short videos/slideshows
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Ran contests, quizzes, and other engagement posts
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Responded to messages, comments and other forms of communication
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Responded to urgent social issues when needed
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Conveyed shop atmosphere and employee personalities
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They continue to operate their social media channels under the guidelines I created and via the training I provided.
Project 4: T-Shirt Campaign
The company's logo was dated and hard to read, so I commissioned a redesign and setup print-on-demand for promotional items with mutiple designs. We started giving them away to customers and contest winners as promotional gifts on social media. I setup a store and print-on-demand distribution on the website. This was a multi-channel campaign, appearing in social media, the website, in fundraising events and on our customer ambassadors via T-shirts.