While we wait for the return of trade shows and other in-person events, join Matt Sonnhalter for a Marketing Minute to learn about some of the ways your company can utilize the latest digital technology to effectively reach your customers, distributors and employees in 2021. He outlines three tactics to consider–social media, virtual training and webinars–and offers some tips for success when using virtual platforms.
To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here and let us know if there’s a B2T marketing topic you’d like us to cover.
Whether in Cleveland, or on the North Pole, 2020 was the year the world recognized just how much we need our professional tradespeople to keep the lights on, the water running and the reindeer fed. We’ve all experienced major changes to our way of life, but Sonnhalter would like to extend our appreciation to all essential workers for whom the job never stopped.
We are also grateful for another constant in a most unpredictable year: the support we receive from our wonderful clients, business partners and friends like you. We thank you for another successful year, and we hope you and your family have a safe, wonderful holiday season.
Sonnhalter, your B2T partner – let’s build something together.
If your company has recently missed an opportunity due to a trade show cancellation or the postponement of another event, it can have a significant effect on your bottom line.
This is especially true for manufacturers who market products and services to construction, industrial or similar markets.
Trade shows are a huge opportunity to promote your company, connect with potential clients, do demonstrations and network for referral opportunities. Therefore, if you miss one, you need a way to make up for the loss of revenue and business benefits.
In this article, we will discuss several ways to do damage control for these missed opportunities. With these strategies, you can turn a bad situation into something that helps your company grow instead.
You should get your sales reps to reconnect with these companies and attempt to maintain the relationship and gain new sales deals. Here are some ways you can do that: (more…)
Sonnhalter wins Silver Davey Awards in the Print Campaign-B2B for Design/Print and Social Features-Best Community Building & Engagement for Social categories.
CLEVELAND – December 2020 – Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, won two Silver Davey Awards with its clients, General Pipe Cleaners and Kapro Tools. Sonnhalter won a Silver Davey with General Pipe Cleaners in the Print Campaign-B2B for Design/Print for General Pipe Cleaners’ new “Duotone Look and Feel” creative. Sonnhalter also won a Silver Davey with Kapro Tools in the “Social Features-Best Community Building & Engagement for Social” for the launch of Kapro’s influencer program.
For the award it received in the category of Print Campaign-B2B for Design/Print, Sonnhalter wanted to give General Pipe Cleaners’ print and digital creative a completely new look and feel that felt more contemporary to today’s audience. By using a duotone, high-contrast effect, Sonnhalter was able to develop creative that felt very modern and allowed the products in their distinct orange color to pop.
For the award it received in the category of Social Features-Best Community Building & Engagement for Social, Sonnhalter worked strategically in finding and pitching woodworking, DIY and contractor influencers in the U.S. and Canada who would be willing to use Kapro Tools’ products on upcoming builds and give honest opinions on the product’s features. Sonnhalter drafted personalized letters to accompany each package of Kapro product samples. Since the launch of the program in 2019, Kapro Tools’ number of Instagram followers has grown more than ten times its original number of followers, and the company has greatly increased its presence and credibility across many crucial online communities.
With nearly 2,000 entries from across the U.S. and from around the world, the Davey Awards honors the finest creative work from the best small shops, firms, and companies worldwide. The Davey Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA). The AIVA is an invitation-only member-based organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
“These awards are a testament both to the collaborative relationship Sonnhalter has with our clients and our ability to incorporate the latest trends in order to help them resonate with a modern audience,” said Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter. “Sonnhalter is very pleased to be recognized for our efforts by these industry experts, and we extend our appreciation to them, as well as General Pipe Cleaners and Kapro Tools, who made winning these awards possible.”
About the Davey Awards
The Davey Awards exclusively honor the “Davids” of creativity, the finest small shops, firms, agencies, and companies worldwide. David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock – the sort of thing small agencies do each year. The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the “Creative Davids,” who derive their strength from big ideas rather than big budgets. The Davey Awards is the leading awards competition specifically for smaller agencies as they compete with their peers to win the recognition they deserve. Please visit www.daveyawards.com for more information.
We are in unchartered waters of a global pandemic and macroeconomic uncertainty. In this environment, how should businesses adjust their strategies to best address the unpredictable market? Are price cuts – or price increases – warranted to protect growth and margins?
Pricing in a volatile market is challenging. Dramatic pricing decisions can have a lasting effect on the profitability profile of a business long after a downturn. Conversely, best-in-class businesses use market volatility to their advantage by identifying opportunities to maintain, and even expand margins and reset their profitability. Now is not the time to overreact. Rather it’s a time when data analytics can help considerably to make informed decisions. With the right strategy, tools and approach, businesses can turn what appears to be a poor market situation into greater profitability and improved market positioning in the long-term.
What To Do
Resist the urge to immediately lower pricing. Impulsive decisions often have unanticipated consequences. If competitors respond with their own price reductions, it could start a price war that will decrease industry profitability across the board and reset the competitive dynamics in the market for years to come. A lower price in the downturn becomes a new normal in the minds of customers and sets new reference price and margin expectations for the business. And when the market rebounds, there’s no guarantee that price increases can recoup lost profitability.
In the same vein, don’t mirror competitor behaviors without a data-driven strategic review. These actions may trigger a race to the bottom all market participants want to avoid. Try to balance the need to stay competitive against implementing a policy that will reduce industry profitability. (more…)
Over the past decade, we’ve watched Instagram transform from the “app with all the cool filters” to an essential marketing tool for companies marketing to the professional tradesman. Its video capabilities, poll/Q&A functions and other interactive features have become extremely useful for companies to showcase new products, spread the word at trade shows and connect with customers in ways that were not previously possible.
Join Matt Sonnhalter for a Marketing Minute to learn more about the exciting potential of incorporating Instagram into your social media plan!
To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here and let us know if there’s a B2T marketing topic you’d like us to cover.
