by Sonnhalter | Feb 15, 2017 | Events/Trade Shows, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
We’re in the thick of trade show season, and that brings up the age-old argument: Are they worth exhibiting at?
The ROI of a trade show can be the trickiest equation to manage. Very few feature direct sales, and how do you prove that a sale six months from now had anything to do with a 10′ by 20′ booth?
The short answer? You can’t. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exhibit, just that you should make the most of your customer’s experience.
I just finished reading a great article from Greg Zehe, from GES. It’s his review of a couple of standout booths at this year’s CES and how they succeeded through “hands-on marketing.” And it reminded me of some of the other key strategies to ensure your booth is a standout: (more…)
by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 14, 2017 | Marketing Trends, Tradespeople Insights
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
Recently the sale of Craftsman Tools went through to a conglomerate, Stanley Black and Decker, for two billion dollars and I asked myself: Does the smaller manufacturer have a fighting chance against them? In the case of reaching the professional tradesman, indeed they do, and here’s why… (more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 8, 2017 | Events/Trade Shows, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
Another Super Bowl, er, I mean Big Game is in the books, and like last year, we want to take a look at the ads through the lens of B2T. Are there any lessons? Probably, let’s go to the tape!
You Can Protect Your Brand Too Much
The NFL is notorious for protecting the brand name “Super Bowl.” In fact, I should probably trademark that last sentence, add a disclaimer about how it’s the property of the NFL and let you know that any rebroadcast without the express written consent of the NFL will have lawyers flying at you like DB’s at the QB.
(more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 7, 2017 | Marketing Trends, Tradespeople Insights
By Scott Bessell, Idea Builder, Sonnhalter
There have been a couple of subtle changes (again) in the world of company/corporate identifiers—their logos.
Picture-Only
One of the attempts at winning us over is the elimination of the company name from the logo itself. So, companies like Nike—the swoosh, McDonalds—the golden arches, Starbucks—that mermaid, Shell petroleum—a shell and a growing number of others are simplifying their logos. Those corporations have of course earned through time and billions of advertising this recognition. Joe’s Plumbing, with that flushing toilet logo will probably never obtain that same synchronicity (that immediate connection between you and the icon) the others have earned. (more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 1, 2017 | Marketing Tips, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
By now, if you have a presence on social media, and are involved in sales or marketing, you’ve seen this:
Well, bad news.
- “Fourth” isn’t spelled that way
- The National Sales Executive Association doesn’t exist
- There’s no study to be found that supports any of these statistics
There’s a great blog here that goes in to more detail. But I’d rather focus on something else:
Why do we want this to be real?
(more…)
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 31, 2017 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools
Marketing to contractors is different than general marketing. Instead of pitching products, talk about solving problems. Contractors are busy and looking for solutions on how they can do their jobs better and make more money.
Our new tip sheet gives you 11 ways to help you get in front of contractors, promote your value proposition and become a trusted authority in the contractor’s mind.
Sign up to receive 11 Tips on How to Market to Contractors here.
