The lifeblood of every local business is leads, well it’s actually customers, but it starts with leads! In an attempt to generate more leads, you can throw a lot of money at a lot of things these days – online ads, social media, radio, and the next new thing that the internet comes up with.

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

But here’s the good news. All you really need is a proven marketing system.

Below are the 7 essential elements of an effective local marketing system

❶

Create a core message and strategy of difference

Finding a way to stand out in the mind of your ideal customers, something differentiates your business from every other business that seems to provide the same products and services as you, is hard work, but it might be the most important discovery you can make.

To help discover the perfect strategy for your business we’ll:

Define more ideal customer using what you know about your current customers
Discover the characteristics of your most profitable customers that already refer
Interview your current customers to discover the problems you really solve for them
Scan your reviews to find even more clues about what your customers think
Create a core message that targets the problems your ideal customers want to solve

Marketing lives and dies by developing "Strategy Before Tactics" - We think this step is so important that we start every engagement here with something we call Strategy First - In fact, this can be a stand alone engagement that leads into the following implementation steps. Click to see full Strategy First details.

Let's talk about growing your business

❷

Build a website that converts visitors to customers

No matter what your business sells today your website is the hub of your marketing. It must be able to tell your story and guide your prospects to take the actions that turn them into customers. To do this effectively, there are certain elements that every small business website must-have.

To help you build a website that drives growth we’ll:

Design a site structure and flow that engages visitors
Create and feature your core message to help you stand out
Feature your ideal customers to help prospects know they are in the right place
Build the content for your core web pages and SEO plan
Add case studies, accomplishments, and testimonials that help build trust
Tell the full story of your products, services, and mission
Integrate video content for trust-building and engagement
Audit, organize and refresh your existing content

Recent Local Business Websites by Duct Tape Marketing

Denver Auto Shield - Click image to visit

Schloegel Design Remodel - Click image to visit

KC Waterproofing - Click image to visit

❸

Master everyday SEO to help prospects find you

People turn to search engines when they want to find something. In fact, that’s the #1 way local businesses get noticed today. If you’re not showing up on the maps and organic listings you are at a huge disadvantage. SEO isn’t that complicated, but it must be done in a strategic manner, integrated with your content and website structure.

To help you create an everyday SEO plan we’ll:

Create a website structure built for Google
Optimize all of your current pages
Get your Google My Business page producing results
Make sure that your data is correct and complete across directories
Acquire links back to your content from related websites

❹

Let your customers talk about how great you are with reviews

From the beginning of time, people have asked their friends for the names of businesses that can help them solve a problem. A good review from a friend went a long way. Today, we turn to review sites like Google and Yelp to find business and rely on the review, good and bad, from strangers to provide information and proof that a business is one we can trust.

To help you maximize reviews we’ll:

Make sure that your profiles on reviews sites are optimized
Create a funnel for reviews that makes it easy for fans to share
Create a process that allows you to get reviews with every new customer
Find ways to highlight your great reviews on your website.

❺

Use social media to create awareness and build trust

Social media platforms offer many new ways to create awareness for your business, but they can also be a distraction if you don’t have a plan to use them strategically. Millions turn to social media sites every day so tapping this behavior is key.

To help you get the most from your social media we’ll:

Tune up your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram
Create a plan to focus the right message on the right plan
Teach you how to capture those personal brand moments that create engagement
Integrate your content, sharing, and paid social efforts

❻

Capture leads ready to buy now with online advertising

Pay-per-click advertising or paid search as it is called today offers some tremendous benefits. It’s also a place where you can potentially waste a great deal of money. That’s why it’s so important that you work with a marketing professional who understands how to implement effective Google Ads campaigns that are aligned with your overall strategy.

To help you get the most from your PPC efforts we’ll:

Develop a list of high purchase intent keywords for your campaigns
Create targeted audiences based on your ideal customer
Build campaign-specific landing pages for high conversion
Create ads and campaigns focused on generating business

❼

Access real-time reporting to see what’s working and what’s not

The rise of digital marketing gives us more ways to collect and track data than ever. We can now know what the exact return on just about any campaign is, but we can also get flooded with useless data. The key is to establish a handful of useful metrics and use them to help inform marketing decisions.

To help you get the most from your overall marketing efforts we’ll:

Help you construct a Lifetime Customer Value metric
Develop conversion goals around your marketing campaigns
Create a reporting dashboard so you can monitor the progress of your marketing
Install tracking tools that allow you to see where your best leads come from

The real beauty of a proven marketing system is that it can expand and mature just as your business expands and matures.

Let's talk about growing your business

Meet Schloegel Design Remodel

Industry Construction

Location Kansas City, Missouri

Employees 51-200

The Challenge
The Results
The Solution

The remodeling industry, like many industries, can be a price-sensitive, commodity-driven purchase. Standing over and above the competition takes developing and communicating a true brand promise you can deliver on.

Approach

Schloegel approached Duct Tape Marketing in 2004 with the hope of creating a clear point of differentiation.

Identified ideal client personas
Core message development
Core message development
Customer journey map outlined
Set goals to assess results and optimize the strategy further

Sales grew by 27% (double-digit growth for the last 10 years)
Proﬁt grew by 12% (even with current supply issues)
Web trafﬁc grew by 21% (organic trafﬁc by 54%)
Google Business reviews grew 15% (The highest-rated contractor in their area)
Calls and requests from the website grew by 27%
Candidate leads grew by 324%

The bulk of Schloegel's leads now come from organic inbound calls and referrals. While other remodeling firms are struggling to meet demand due to a shortage of qualified skilled workers, Schloegel has seen its growth continue in double digits every year due to a strong presence and consistent brand message.

About Schloegel Design Remodel

Schloegel Design Remodel is a high-end residential remodeling company based in Kansas City, Mo. They have served the community for over 40 years and are currently in the second generation of ownership. They hold a leadership position in the market and are also seen as innovators and leaders in the remodeling industry.