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A Heavy Equipment Company Success Story

How Cohesive, Strategic Planning AMPed Up a Business

4 Rivers Equipment is a multi-million-dollar company that sells and services John Deere heavy equipment to both the agricultural and construction markets. At the time, they had 10 locations in Colorado and Wyoming, but they were acquiring four new locations in Texas and New Mexico.

The Business Challenge

When Nicole Glover started working with 4 Rivers Equipment, it was operating under three different names across 10 locations in two states. The names it used were Colorado Equipment, Colorado Machinery, and Wyoming Equipment. The company had revenues of $125 million but had the potential to greatly increase that figure. This was the situation:

The name of each of the company’s 10 locations depended on its target market and state. Locations that catered to both agricultural and construction clients used two different names on their buildings and both names for marketing and documents. The various names confused customers and created artificial divisions within the company. The company was planning to expand into Texas and New Mexico which promised to compound the problems they were having by using multiple names.
There were three distinct logos and no consistent look and feel. Marketing collateral was not recognizable as belonging to the same company, and neither was the fleet of over 150 vehicles.
There were two outdated websites, one for each target market. Marketing outreach did not have a consistent direction across all locations and messaging was also inconsistent. There was one junior marketing person at headquarters, but admins at each location made their own marketing initiatives with little direction and independently of the other locations. No goals were set for marketing ROI.
Without a strategic plan, the sales and marketing departments were leaving money on the table.
- Sales did not proactively sell under 90-horsepower lawn and agricultural John Deere equipment, simply assuming customers would be unwilling to pay, because they could get cheaper equipment from other manufacturers.
- One location was challenged because very few customers brought their machinery in for service during the winter. However, come the spring and harvest time, the company was deluged with service requests as heavy agricultural seasons began. The demand was often so intense that it resulted in severe backlogs, unhappy customers who were waitlisted, and stressed service employees working 90-hour weeks.

The Solution

The company hired Nicole Glover to revamp their marketing. She analyzed the marketing, sales, and customer service efforts, and developed a plan to meet the company’s short-term challenges and position them for long-term growth.

The plan addressed

Cohesive marketing and sales practices
Cohesive branding
Recognizing market opportunities and implementing steps to expand revenue

Cohesive Branding and Marketing

Nicole Glover took control of the marketing and stopped the practice of local admins doing hodge-podge marketing initiatives on their own. In order to create unity in the company and strengthen branding to the market, she:

Ran strategic marketing initiatives in all locations with consistent messaging targeted to specific markets.
Carefully analyzed success metrics.
Renamed the company under one name instead of three. This not only created one front to the markets in Colorado and Wyoming but also a naming issue as the company expanded into Texas and New Mexico. The company was now named 4 Rivers Equipment.
Combined two websites into one that directed people according to their needs. The new website looked polished and professional as well as giving customers updated, useful information.
Replaced three logos with one and developed a consistent look and feel. This look and feel was carried into all of the company’s marketing materials, and also on the branding of their fleet of over 150 vehicles.
Developed new clothing with the company logo for everyone in the company, not just the service staff.

The Result

By following the plan Nicole developed, the company increased its revenues from $125 million to $300 million, more than double, in just a few years. (we can keep this here, but I moved it lower)

Nicole implemented a complete rebranding, including logo, marketing initiatives, vehicle fleet, storefronts, uniforms, and websites across all locations of the company in just five months. This positioned the company for a $125 million merger and the acquisition of four more locations in Texas and New Mexico.

The new name and company clothing created a team atmosphere. The employees began to work

together and collaborate more than they had in the past. John Deere saw so much merit in the new employee uniform program that Nicole implemented, that they offered the branded clothing program to other John Deere dealerships.

Seized Opportunities

A Previously Neglected Market

Despite some internal resistance from the sales department, Nicole Glover set up comprehensive marketing campaigns aimed at the under 90-horsepower equipment market in conjunction with a program to motivate salespeople to sell to this market. Nicole developed TV and radio commercials to reach customer segments that would be interested in the light equipment. This demographic was new to 4 Rivers: significant disposable income, over 50 years old, and living in areas where many people had two to 50 acres of property.

The Result

The focus on the under-90 horsepower equipment increased sales in that category by over 300%, increasing market share from 3% to 7%. Driven by targeted marketing, customers flocked to the 4 Rivers stores to buy lawn tractors and other small equipment. Salespeople had wrongly believed that nobody would pay for John Deere lawn tractors, because there were much cheaper choices on the market. They were shocked to find that the new customers didn’t even want to negotiate the advertised price, unlike their agricultural customers who always wanted to bargain.

An added plus, by reaching John Deere’s required level of sales in the under 90-horsepower lawn and light agriculture market, the company became eligible for six-figure bonuses for its substantial equipment sales.

Seasonal Sales That Become Year-Round

Nicole solved the issue of service departments laying almost dead during the winter months by developing a business-to-business marketing plan complete with promotions and loss leaders that were a win/win for the company and its clients.

The Result

The off-season promotions motivated people to bring their equipment in for service during the off-season, to take advantage of special offers. While customers might come to a location for basic service, they often ended up buying additional maintenance packages once they were there. The locations that were struggling to get any work over the winter months saw an increase of over $400,000 in the off-season.

A Free Consultation to Find Out How Glover Strategic Marketing Can Help Your Company

Look For Tandem/Adjacent Market Segments

At Glover Strategic Marketing, I have helped companies like yours grow; I want to share how you can achieve growth even when a small customer base limits you. You can achieve growth without relying on new leads by expanding your offerings, informing your customers of your offerings, expanding your geography, becoming better at serving your customers, working in tandem industries, and being more targeted.

Look for Tandem/Adjacent Market Segments

Many Business-2-Business companies know every prospective company in the customer base. So how do you increase your leads when you know all of the customers in your customer base?

Increase your customer base by expanding beyond your core business. Expanding into tandem or adjacent market segments is a tried and true way to outgrow your competitors and seize massive growth opportunities.

“In a five-year study, researchers analyzed the growth and performance of 1,850 corporations. They found that the companies with the most sustained profitable growth had used a systematic, disciplined approach to expand the boundaries of their core business into an adjacent space. Some companies expanded from one geographic market to another, while others applied an existing business model to adjacent segments.” Source MarketResearch.com

Start your search to find an industry that you can expand into by asking:

What employee knowledge and skillset does your company have that can be utilized in a new market?
Do any industries overlap that have a similar offering?
What industries do your customers already use that are similar to your company?
Which industries are saturated, which are under-serviced?

Ideally, you can find a new offering that will allow you to penetrate a new customer base that can easily fit your current offerings and your employee skillset.

For example, a heavy equipment company could expand by offering equipment for a similar industry, selling service agreements for other industry machinery, or offering job site software.

Sometimes a tandem industry is obvious, such as a heavy equipment company carrying mining equipment or a pool installation company offering excavation services.

However, the industry that isn’t obvious can often lead to the biggest growth opportunities. Using market research, employee interviews, and customer interviews can help you uncover new viable markets.

When you find a market you want to evaluate, “these high-level questions come into play: Source MarketResearch.com

What is the market size?
How quickly is the market expanding or contracting?
How many buyers are there?
What are the barriers to entry?
What is the bargaining power of suppliers?
What is the industry value chain?
What is the intensity of the competition?
Is there a threat of new entrants or substitute products or services?”

When you are ready to expand into a new market, I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Uncovering potential new markets and then developing a strategy to tackle the new market effectively are some of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Read the series on how to achieve growth without relying on new leads: expand your offerings, inform your customers of your offerings, expand your geography, become better at serving your customers by becoming the gold standard, expand to tandem industries, and expert opinion: be more targeted.

Become The Gold Standard

Become the Gold Standard

Often one of the easiest ways to grow your bottom line is to improve your service to your current employees.

You have been in business long enough to know that it costs more to attract new customers than to keep the customers you have. Right now, you are probably thinking that you are doing a great job taking care of your current customers. But, are you doing everything you can?

Questions to ask if your company can improve the service for current customers:

Is the vast majority of support time spent on new customers?
Once your customers are established, are they left with little to no support?
Are your salespeople only calling to make a sale rather than to uncover new ways to provide value?
Do your long-time customers sometimes get bumped to a lower priority because you “know the customer” and “they will be fine with it”?
Do any of your customers work with you because you are the only choice?
And most importantly, are your customers working with your competitors for the same products or services?

Yes, there are valid reasons for a well-run company to have all of the above in their organization. However, we both know that you have many opportunities to do better for your customers.

At the end of the day, taking better care of your customers will increase your bottom line. Task your entire organization to provide fantastic service every time. Providing all of your customers with more value than they expect will result in a better customer experience, and you will have cultivated a loyal customer.

Start evaluating your operation.

Do your current clients enjoy the experience of working with you?
Can your product or service be improved to provide more value?
Can you offer additional paid services to increase the value the customer receives when working with you?
What are your competitors doing or not doing that you can implement in your company?
What can you do to become the Gold Standard in your market?

A quick note of caution. Sometimes people confuse “improving the customer experience” with “lower prices.” Do not automatically assume the way to make your customers happier with your company is to lower prices. Often the path to improving your customers’ opinion of your company results in increasing prices.

Are you having a hard time growing the revenue of your long-time clients? I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Evaluating your company’s operation and creating a strategy for your company’s specific needs are some of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Expand Your Geography Through Acquisition

Hey, it may be obvious that a great way to grow is to tackle a new market, but it is still worth mentioning. Taking on new geography is a fantastic way to grow your business. The question then becomes “How,” “When,” and “Where.”

In some industries, the only way to expand is through acquisition. While other sectors are not so strict. There are fewer hurdles when expanding without having to acquire an established business. However, the process is not as simple. Your team will be required to do a lot of due diligence to uncover if a potential market is suitable.

Evaluate resiliency

When you are looking to expand in an area, how resilient is the potential market? The potential in the marketplace can be fantastic today, but what will it look like in a few years or when the economy sputters. Market research can help you quickly evaluate your prospective geography. While assessing, ask:

What is the potential customer base?
Is the proposed expansion in an area dominated by a volatile industry? “If the economy faces rough waters, will yours be one of the first vendor expenses to be cut?” Source Kinesis
Is the population in the area expanding, contracting, or are the psychographics changing?
Talk to the prospective customers. What is their response to the move?
What is the competitive landscape?

Acquisitions

Entrepreneur published an article full of great information: 10 Factors To Consider When Making An Acquisition. Read the full article here.

Look at the rationale behind the acquisition
Study what you’re acquiring
Have a third party as a mediator
Manage expectations well
Get to know the team management
Have a proper integration plan
Focus on human capital
Impact on financials
Consider the pros and cons of a new market
Analyze line of business

Acquisitions have always been an adventure, but the fun does not stop once the acquisition is complete. You must inform your customers of the change and share more than just the name change.

Here are a few topics to consider when developing the marketing and messaging with an acquisition:

Do the customers gain anything from the acquisition, such as access to more resources, a more knowledgeable workforce, or better guarantees?
Will the customers continue to work with the same team?
Does the new area have the same customer breakdown that you are familiar with, or are there new customer segments?
Was the acquired company better or worse at marketing, and can you leverage any of their previous activities to improve the overall strategy?

If you are ready to expand and want to make sure your customers understand the value you are bringing into their area, I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Creating custom messaging and strategy for your company’s specific needs are some of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Expand Your Offerings

It may be a little obvious, but you can expand your offerings to sell more to your current clients. However, not many companies effectively take advantage of this easy growth path.

There are two ways to approach expanding your current offerings. 1. Provide additional offerings to serve your customers better. 2. Deliver offerings that will help your company expand into similar or tandem industries.

First, evaluate what your customers need. Interview your customers and prospects, or conduct open-ended surveys to uncover available options. Narrow the offerings to what will best serve your customers. You will provide increased revenue with the benefit of a more extensive potential client base.

To expand into tandem industries:

Deliver offerings that will be a good choice for some of your clients
Conduct interviews and market research into prospective industries
Evaluate products that will gain you new clients in a similar or tandem industry

In the retail world, a manufacturer will pitch a “great product,” but it may not be a good fit for your customer base. Asking salespeople to push a product that isn’t a good fit can cause a loss of momentum, let alone losing your customer’s trust. But on the flip side, just offering to “see what happens” is an ineffective way to grow effectively.

Adding a new offering should never be a quiet event. Your customer base trusts you and will be interested in the new product offerings. However, if your company repeatedly pushes products that are inferior or unrelated to their needs, they will lose confidence in your company.

Partnering with your marketing team or a marketing company that can help you interview, conduct surveys, and conduct market research will help you vet new offerings that will exponentially increase your success.

With accurate and extensive research, you will make an informed decision on what offerings your company should provide. Then, ensure you are doing all you can to get the message out to all your current and prospective clients. When you are confident the offering has great potential, you are less likely to “see what happens” and let the offering become stagnant.

Let’s get started

Are you ready to expand to your offerings? Glover Strategic Marketing can help uncover the best options and a plan to implement. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Discovering the best offerings and developing a strategy for your company’s specific needs are some of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Inform Your Customers

Do your customers know what you offer? If you have more than one offering or location, your customers may not be aware of all your business can provide. I come across many companies that do not effectively communicate their offerings.

No. Your locations listed on their bill is not a good way of letting your customers know you have multiple locations.

We want referrals and word of mouth to grow our businesses, but do your customers know about enough of your offerings to help you grow organically?

Real case

I have worked with clients with multiple locations throughout the U.S. However, none of their customers know about their many locations.

One of my clients wanted to grow. However, their clients didn’t know about many of their offerings and multiple locations. We surveyed their top ten clients, and not one of their top clients knew of the additional offerings that would benefit their business or that the company had locations that overlapped with their service areas.

It’s not always the salesperson’s fault

Salespeople work their list for the highest return because they are busy. If salespeople are not rewarded for pushing a new offering or someone else’s location, you better believe the salespeople will not waste time on something that will not result in a sale for them.

Every salesperson has a message they share with their customers. Do you have any input on the message they are telling their customers? Providing a message for your salespeople to use in their interactions will easily increase their revenue, your revenue, and professionalism. Marketing can help with that.

Yep, it is a marketing problem

What is the message your salespeople share with their customers? If your message is not something crafted with insight and strategy, you can miss many opportunities to serve your customers better.

In business-to-business industries, communication with customers is often minimal, sporadic, and rarely fantastic. Most of the time, customers receive minimal advertising or messaging from the company as a whole.

It is not the customer’s fault they do not know what offerings or locations you have.

Companies that have clear messaging and regularly reach out to their customer base have customers with a larger lifetime value than their competitors. Meaning, on average, each customer spends more with companies that have better messaging than companies that do not.

“The roughly one-third (31.8%) of organizations that had a content strategy in a CSO Insights study achieved 27.1% higher win rates and 18.1% higher quota attainment than those without a content strategy.” (CSO Insights, 2020) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)

So you ask:

What is the right message?
How often should our company reach out?
How do I know if my customers know about all of our offerings?

Glover Strategic Marketing can help. Schedule a free consultation.

If you cannot say for certain that your customers know of the relevant offerings, you need to act. Talk to your customers to see how large the knowledge gap is. Work with your marketing team or consultant to craft a message and formulate a plan to inform your customers and prospects.

If your products and services can better serve your customers today, you owe it to your customers to let them know about your offerings.

If you are ready to improve your messaging but unsure how to get started, I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Creating custom messaging and a strategy for your company’s specific needs are some of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Expert Opinion: Are Your Offerings Targeted

As I’ve put together this series on how to grow your business, my inbox has filled with some fantastic advice from experts on how to be more targeted with your offerings. I want to highlight two pieces of advice that go hand in hand with delivering a successful offering to your clients.

The advice is two sides of the same coin: Make sure to offer your customers something they are interested in; however, don’t make so many different variations to your offerings that your customers don’t know what to buy.

Seth Godin published a thought-provoking bit to make you ask, “are you happy with your offering because you like it, or because it serves your customers’ needs?” Read the whole piece here

‘”Well, it seems great to me”
Of course it does, you made it…
Empathy is at the heart of design.
What do people in this group think looks great? What do they need?
Make that.”

When Steve Jobs made his return to Apple, Apple was unfocused in its offerings. At the time, Apple had hundreds of computer products, making it difficult for consumers to know what product to choose. A woman asked Jobs what computer she should buy; there were so many different choices he couldn’t quickly provide the woman a recommendation. Jobs decided Apple needed to simplify its offerings. After Jobs was done eliminating superfluous products, Apple was down to only ten offerings.

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
Steve Jobs

You can disagree with Jobs’ approach, but the result is indisputable. Apple was near solvency, according to Jobs, when he returned. A year later, Apple had over $300M in profits.

So what is the point of these two experts?

When it comes to providing offerings for our customers, we forget to ask what our customers want. But we can also fail to deliver what they need.

Providing an offering that the customer wants (and making it easy to make a decision) is the gold standard.

When you are ready to provide your customers with unparalleled value, I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Glover Strategic Marketing can help you understand your customers’ wants and needs and develop a strategy for your company’s specific needs. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. What are you waiting for?

Urgency Vs. Importance: How to Lead When Your Team Is Exhausted — and You Are, Too

Business is different right now. The pandemic’s ongoing uncertainty is causing businesses to focus on the urgent fires rather than important long-term strategies that will allow companies to survive after this period of uncertainty.

The Harvard Business Journal recently published an article about “How to Lead When Your Team Is Exhausted — and You Are, Too” by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg. Read the HBJ article here.

Even thriving companies are struggling right now with what is being referred to as ‘”pandemic fatigue,” “mental fog,” “work/life blur,” “extended vacuum,” and an “endless wait.”‘ It is affecting everyone from the top-performing executives to the work-from-home team.

The article does a fantastic job of addressing how the pandemic has led to multiple types of stress, leading us to the dangerous game of only seeing fires in work and life.

“One reason is our natural response to crises: We become short-sighted and push aside all that is not urgent. Once we have fixed what is urgent, we feel we deserve a good rest. In several of the top teams I currently advise, there is a tendency to either fail to see the coming challenges or to rationalize, “When Covid-19 is over, we will address the problem.”‘

Our workforce has been dealing with these feelings for most of the last year, and we are not creating a healthy environment or a productive one by staying short-sighted. Our teams need decisive action and strategic plans.

As the article states, even if the company is doing well, it does not mean that you cannot focus on the future. What steps can you make today that, over time, will make a significant impact on your future goals and objectives?

If you are only living in “the now”, will you be ready for the frenzy of activity when most Americans are vaccinated? Will you be ready for when consumer confidence and spending return to normal levels?

“Ask yourself and your teams: Are you doing all you can do to emerge from the crisis as a stronger company? The window for change may be closing, and the time to turn good intentions into action is now.”

Develop a task force to decide what you want your company to be after the current pandemic is over and beyond. “Take a good look at the battles that will meet you next year. How can you stay ahead of the curve? How can you prepare for the next stages? How can you mobilize and be able to attack before dawn?” Then develop a strategy and actions your team can embrace today to get you where you want to go. Give your team something to fight for rather than the daily fires that are draining them.

If you are ready to build a task force to move your company forward but are unsure how to get started with a plan or what actions to take, I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Creating a custom plan for your company’s specific needs is one of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. You will finish the call with some concrete ideas for growing your company.

Read the original article

Public Service Announcement: Don’t Badmouth Your Competitors

It can be easy to forget that your competitors aren’t the bad guys. In fact, many of your customers may use your competitor’s products or services; some may like your competitors.

Your customers like your competitors

As business leaders and top sales professionals, we often think our customers are diehard supporters of our brands when they usually are merely satisfied customers.

Every business would like to be the exclusive supplier, but in reality, few industries and products can be the only provider for their customer’s needs.

Your customers and prospects are probably already working with your competitors. They may need multiple suppliers; they may not remember their preferred product.; they may be trying a new offering. Whatever the reason for doing business with you, don’t make your customers second guess their decision to work with you.

It makes you look bad

Telling a customer about how bad your competitor is can quickly backfire. Your customer may feel you criticize their decision-making abilities, feel you are arrogant, or merely a bad sport.

The fastest way to turn me off‌ ‌your‌ offering is to tell‌ ‌me‌ ‌something‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌isn’t‌ good or ‌make‌ ‌me‌ ‌feel‌ ‌foolish for my buying choices.‌ ‌

I come across companies that think the best way to position their brand is that they are better than their competitors and approach their marketing like a political campaign.

Emphasizing your strengths is more effective

Tell‌ ‌your‌ ‌customers‌ ‌how‌ ‌superior ‌your‌ ‌product‌ ‌is‌ ‌without‌ ‌putting‌ ‌down‌ ‌your‌ ‌competitors‌‌, and‌ ‌your‌ ‌customers‌ ‌will‌ ‌respect‌ ‌you‌ ‌more.‌ ‌You are demonstrating confidence and maturity when you refrain from speaking poorly of others, which is what your customers are looking for in a business relationship.

By focusing on your company’s strengths and advantages, you are perceived as a company that can outperform your competition without lowering yourself to unflattering bashing.

When in doubt, remember the classic advice from Bambie “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all” -Thumper.

If your messaging revolves around putting your competitors down, it is time to revamp your marketing. I can help. Contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Creating a custom plan for your company’s specific needs is one of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. You will finish the call with some concrete ideas for growing your company.

Social Media has changed in 2021

Is social media part of your 2021 marketing plan? It should be even if you have tried social media and have seen less than stellar results.

I’m often asked about social media tactics. Let’s face it, social media is a tricky beast that not many people do well. The algorithms are always changing, and audiences are getting smarter at recognizing (and ignoring) marketing tricks.

2020 has changed how people do business and how they engage with companies. Social media is no exception.

I have repeatedly found that strategy is ignored when it comes to social media. Often, companies allow someone to run the account as they see fit. That really will not work in 2021.

So, let’s take a step back from tactics.

Before any marketing endeavor, you should start with the end in mind. What result do you want to achieve?

Then ask the why. Why should my audience care?

Go a little deeper and answer:

Why do you want your business to be active on social media?
Who is your ideal target audience?
What message and content will your ideal audience find valuable?
What action do you want your audience to take with your posts?
If you were your audience scrolling through your feed, what content would make you stop and look at a post about your business?

The best social media tactics will not deliver your desired results without asking the above questions and then developing clear objectives and a content plan.

Here are some great articles from a few social media experts to help you implement your social media strategy.

If you would like to AMP up your established B2B company’s growth, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Transforming the customer experience is one of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. You will finish the call with some solid ideas for growing your company.