Manageable measurable marketing

You know how important marketing is to your business but two things hold you back: not having enough time and not having the confidence in your marketing knowledge. Katie Leese, EAS programme manager at Epwin Window Systems, explores how Epwin’s Excellence as Standard membership programme helps installers overcome both issues.

Let’s start with some obvious statements. Firstly, marketing is vital to the success of your business. Without marketing you could have the best business in the industry but no one would ever know about it.

Secondly, marketing works. A recent Chartered Institute of Marketing survey suggested marketing generates 20% growth in revenue.

Thirdly, the first two statements explain why every business markets itself. Because without marketing, no business would be in business.

However, for many businesses, two issues are a big concern: there never seems to be enough time to do the marketing you want as well as you want; and, in a rapidly changing world, there’s a feeling that you’re not keeping up with current trends when it comes to marketing your business.

These were the issues that came out very strongly when we were carrying out market research for Excellence as Standard, our fabricator and installer membership programme that was launched last year.

Alongside a myriad of benefits, we wanted Excellence as Standard to give members the tools to overcome the issues they face when it comes to marketing. Our customers are doing great work and we want them to grow their businesses and reach their own targets. The more our customers grow, the more we can drive standards of excellence in the business.

So how does Excellence as Standard help members with their marketing?

First of all, there’s access to a range of marketing materials including brochures, drop cards, POS items and more. They can all be customised to include corporate branding and produced to the standards you’d expect from a market leading company, so it’s quick and easy to present a powerful professional image.

It also gives you the means to tap into growing homeowner awareness of Excellence as Standard and what it means for them.

Then there’s marketing training via the EAS Academy. Each of the videos focuses on a specific area of marketing and there’s a particular focus on social media marketing and pay-per-click advertising.

There are also guides to help you to close the sale and receive feedback to add value in every interaction with customers. They’re all designed to increase your confidence and expertise when it comes to marketing and what it can do for your business.

Excellence as Standard also offers active lead generation. You get access to qualified leads via the Excellence as Standard website courtesy of Excellence as Standard-approved fabricators. You also have your own page on the website that you can use to promote your business and give consumers confidence in your products and installation standards.

One of the most important elements of marketing is testing and measuring, so we’ve developed a lead tracking dashboard that helps you keep an eye on your metrics. It gives you the information you need to develop more successful and more effective marketing over time.

The aim of Excellence as Standard is to drive and promote excellence at every level of member businesses. That includes excellence in marketing. And by achieving excellence in marketing, you’re driving up sales and growing your business. It’s one of the most powerful reasons to be part of Excellence as Standard that I can find.