Dealer Marketing Guide
2
Our Success is Based on Your Success
Boost Your Business with
Pentair Water Pool and Spa’s
5-Step Marketing Program
Step One–Your Plan: shows you how easy it is to set up a plan of attack with goals and ideas to get it done.
Step Two–Your Brand Story: helps you define your unique selling proposition, to offer something your competitors can’t. Step Three–Your Message: helps you communicate your identity in words and pictures to help you attract prospects and close more sales.
Step Four–Your Media: offers surprisingly powerful and affordable ways to reach and connect with your future customers. Finally, Step Five–Your Follow-Through: shows you how to maintain contact with customers and prospects and put your marketing on autopilot throughout the year.
Best of all, our marketing staff is standing by to help you along the way. Our website has downloadable samples of all of the materials and artwork mentioned in this guide. Call your Pentair Water Pool and Spa representative with any questions. This innovative program is just one more reason to choose Pentair and Sta-Rite for pool products and marketing support!
At Pentair Water Pool and Spa, we
know that our success is based on
your success. And in these challenging
economic times, you need more than
ordinary product sales tools, you need
a helping hand. That’s why we are
offering this Dealer Marketing Guide,
with a proven 5-Step Program to
capture more business. We’ll walk you
step-by-step through the entire process.
Just as a general plans for battle, you need a plan to succeed in your marketing campaign. Every plan has a Budget, Goal, Timetable, and Duty Assignments. A great way is to use our Pentair Promotion Plan Form (www.pentairpartners.com/marketing). This form helps you to create a plan that works for you. It also has links to many websites and resources to help carry out your plan. Budgets. Most marketers set budgets by using either a
Percent of Sales or Cost of Sales method. For example, a pool service company might spend 5% of their sales on advertising whereas a builder may only spend 2% of sales. Generally speaking, the higher the ticket item the lower the percentage. To find your current Percent of Sales for advertising, take your total advertising and promotions budget last year and divide it by your total annual sales. Others use the Cost of Sales method (your total ad costs last year divided by the number of new customers acquired). By multiplying that cost per sale by the number of new customers you plan to acquire, you can arrive at your budget. If your goal is to add 50 new customers this year and it cost an average of $400 per new customer gained last year, you should budget $20,000 to hit your target. Remember, the goal of your marketing and advertising is to make you money now and in the future. Every new customer gained this year could reward you with leads on other new business as well as repeat business for years to come.
Goals are best when they are specific. A poor goal is “Sell as much as we can, whenever we can.” A good goal is “Gain 100 requests for proposals (RFPs) and quotes for new pools, converting 50% to buy from us, resulting in 50 new pool construction contracts for 2009. Gain 30 of those RFPs requests by references from previous pool buyers, 20 from home builders/trade references and gain 50 from new prospects from our tri-county area. Total budget not to exceed $400 per customer, times 50 new customers or $20,000 in calendar year 2009.”
Timetables are based on external factors as well as your own internal needs. Pool opening and closing seasons have defined dates. Look at your own past track record and dates of selling. Use off-season times to attract new leads, thank existing customers, ask for referrals and plan new programs. Also remember that it takes weeks or months to see the result of new marketing programs. Give your new messages time to be seen at least 3-4 times with a variety of media by your target audience before you rush to judge its performance.
Assigned Duties. If you have a sales staff, office assistants or project supervisors, they can help with phoning, trade shows and expos, lead follow-up and tracking results. You have many resources available to you to help start and run your marketing program. Once you settle on your unique message and the proper medium, you can have your staff help execute your plan. Using the artwork and templates we provide in following sections, you’ll have all the tools you need.
Step 1–Your Plan
6
Why should I
buy from you?
Step 2–Your Brand Story
Can You Tell Your Brand Story in 7 Words or Less?
Every company and product has a unique Brand Story. It is the reason why customers buy from you and recommend you to others. The best Brand Stories are simple, memorable and believable. If you can state your Brand Story in seven words or less, as you shake someone’s hand, you are on to something. These can be best summarized in taglines or positioning statements that appear under your logo in every message you offer.
Your Size Can Be Your Brand Story
Company Size Benefit Tagline
Small Pool Builder Individual Attention “Pools as Individual as You Are” Largest Pool Builder Leadership Position “The Area’s Number 1 Pool Builder” Small Retailer Personalized Attention “Where You and Your Pool Come First!” Large Retailer More Variety & Selection “We Have All the Fun”
Small Service Company More Thorough Care “We Take Your Pool Care Personally” Large Service Company More Experience “Nobody Cleans More Pools”
Other types of Brand Stories can come through
characteristics like these:
• Older Staff–“Experienced, Reliable, Proven” • Younger Staff–“In Touch with Today’s Needs” • Customer Service–“Satisfaction Guaranteed, Just Ask Our Customers”
• Upscale Pools–“When Only the Best Will Do” • Economical Pools–“Making Pools Fun & Affordable” • Family Pools–“For Family Fun, Just Add Water!”
Another source of discovering your firm’s Brand Story is to
hold a contest. Ask your staff to offer their reasons why customers should come to you in seven words or less. Award a prize such as a dining certificate, paid day off, etc. for the winning entry. You can also ask your customers to rate the best of the above themes chosen, and award a small prize to them (gift certificate for future purchase) for playing along. The result will be a campaign filled with enthusiasm from your staff and pre-tested by your own customers for very little investment.
One way to gain in stature or quality for your firm is to tie-in quality products that you offer with your firm’s name. Pentair products are viewed around the world as a sign of quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. Let the Pentair brand and logo speak for your dealership’s professionalism. Whether you’re a Builder, Service Company or Retailer, hook your brand’s “wagon” to the Pentair star!
However you select your Brand Story, settle on one statement and stick with it in every message you send. Say it in your ads, on your business card, and when you answer the phone. If it is simple, memorable and believable, it will build value for your company every time you use it, for years to come. Nike’s “Just Do It” and Harley Davidson’s “Live To Ride, Ride To Live” didn’t just happen overnight. It took dedication and repetition to make their brands legendary. The same is true for your brand.
Now that you have your Plan, and your Brand Story, you are ready to create your Message. How do professionals make messages stand out? Keep It Simple!
Great copywriters always write Copy as if they were speaking to one person. (Tip: Use a voice recorder to speak into for more conversational copywriting style.) Often you will hear and see the words “You” and “We” in advertising copy, to make the message more personal and approachable. “Power words” like FREE, IMPROVED and NEW are called “power words” because they work at attracting attention. You should mention the name of your product or service at least three times in the message. Reasons to buy should be simply stated and repeated in the message’s summary. Another tip is to include a “Call To Action” at the close of the message. This should be easy for the reader to do, i.e. “call for our free report, stop by for a free soak or visit our Web site to learn our top tips on making your pool and spa energy efficient.
Artwork should also be simple and inviting. Research has proven that 90% of all communication is visual. Large
inviting graphics of people enjoying, relaxing, smiling, or laughing are attention-getters for a variety of consumer products…including pools and pool products. Make the layout inviting to the eye, not too “busy” with too much clutter to get in the way. White space (the area surrounding the photos and text) is as important as the rest of the graphics in your ad, so they stand out. Eye pattern research shows that people tend to look at the elements of an ad in the following order:
1. Headline
2. Visual Photo or Large Graphic 3. Logo and Tagline (Brand Story) 4. Body Copy or Text
Your headline needs to grab them in under two seconds, your visual in another one second, your logo and tagline one second more and finally your body copy (for as long as they remain interested). Below are a few good examples of ads that worked well for dealers just like you. For more tips on creating ads with impact, go to www.pentairpartners.com/marketing.
Step 3–Your Message
10
TV
RADIO
Internet Pay Per Click
Public Relations
NEWSPAPER
Magazine Ads
Newslet
ter
s
Direct Mail
7%
23%
38%
24%
8%
The greatest Brand Story and Message is worthless if nobody hears it. Media is the vehicle that can carry your message to your target audience. In the pool business, you have seen a variety of mediums used over the years. Everything from the Weather Channel to racing cars to TV ads to YouTube videos have been used to reach pool owners. The truth is, any media combination can work if you have unlimited funds. If you don’t have an open checkbook, you need to use the best medium for each type of job. Media plans need to accomplish two objectives–to Reach the right audience at the right Frequency. Reach is the measure of how many of the right people will see, read or hear your message. Frequency is how many times those people will see, read or hear it. Remember our 3-4 time rule for people to see our message in the planning section. A newspaper campaign typically has high reach but low frequency due to cost. A radio campaign offers high frequency and lower reach as its audience is smaller for each format. Direct Mail (to lists of pool owners) affords the smallest, most targeted reach, so you could afford more frequency than other mediums. Shown below is a comparison of several media choices by relative Cost per Lead and whether it is best used for Reach or Frequency.
Another medium frequently overlooked, powerful and FREE is Public Relations or “Earned Media”. If you have news about new products offered, latest pool designs or backyard living trends, new staff members, famous customers, an anniversary or anything newsworthy, send it to your local paper, radio and TV stations (perhaps media you can’t afford today, but might tomorrow).
While PR is Free, it does take effort to write and submit your story, thus the name “Earned Media.” But you should always include the media on your mailing lists, newsletters and invitations to open houses as well as your news releases. Building a relationship with your local media is a good long- term strategy. It increases the odds of being called for a quotation about the pool business for the next newspaper, radio or TV story in your area. What a great way to get your name out there for FREE!
Here are a few guidelines on uses and benefits for each type of media you might consider:
Type of Media Relative Cost/Lead Reach/Frequency
E-mail Low Frequency
Direct Mail Low Frequency
Step 4–Your Media
Get Your Message Out to Your Target Audience.
Millions of dollars worth of publicity was earned by Pentair Water Pool and Spa® on
the IntelliFlo® Pump and line of green Eco
Select™ products, simply by submitting the right story to the media.
Okay, you have done everything just as we suggested. You created your Plan, Brand Story, Message, and made all the Media insertions in the plan. Now you are done and can relax for the next 12 months, right? WRONG! 90% of all Marketing Plans fail from lack of follow-through. Did you know that 50% of all sales leads go unanswered or are answered too late? Don’t let this happen to you!
As the leader of your organization, it’s your responsibility to track every lead that comes in. You need to find out how new prospects heard about you, so you can alter next year’s marketing plan to be more productive. You need to take every lead and personally call them back. Make the personal contact to build a relationship. Answer every request for more information as thoroughly and happily as you would want it answered if you were the customer.
You need to show your staff, by your own behavior, how important this program is. If you are paying $400 for every new pool customer lead, do not let that prospect’s phone call wait. Instruct everyone on staff that you want them to care for each new lead like it was your best customer… because it just might be! Make lead follow-up everyone’s top priority. Make sure when answering the phone to smile and state your Brand Story in the greeting. Put your Brand Story on your answering machine message, your website, your business cards and your trucks! Give your staff a FAQ sheet to properly answer questions. Give staff the names of the media you have sent press releases to along with a copy, so they are prepared if called. Always get the phone
Also, add your customers’ names to your E-mail and Newsletter lists, because past customers are six times more likely to buy from you than a stranger! Even if you sell pools, past customers are the best source for referrals for neighbors, friends and relatives.
Past customers are also a great source for repeat business through remodeling and equipment upgrades in the future. Finally, after each new customer is sold and satisfied, ask them how they heard about you and why they bought from you. These make great testimonials for use in future advertising. Record the answers and see how you can incorporate their valuable insights into your Brand Story, Message and Media Plan. Measure what parts of your plan worked best and what didn’t. This is the most important research you can do and will help you sharpen your Marketing Plan for the future.
Now, here is our Call to Action. If you liked this Dealer Marketing Guide and want more promotion ideas for your business, go to www.pentairpartners.com/marketing and sign up for future e-mails. We will send you more great promotion ideas, sample ads, and all the best practices from the pool industry to help your business. It’s FREE and it just might give you the new ideas you need to make next year’s marketing results your best ever. Sign up and see!
Step 5–Your Follow-Through
You Paid for Every Lead.
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Reserve your Stay in Paradise, December 1-6, 2009. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis only. So call us today at 1-800-693-0171 to request your reservation form.
Partners Incentive Program
To learn more about how you can earn cash, travel and merchandise rewards when you sell Pentair Water Pool and Spa products, call 1-800-693-0171 and we’ll send you a complete information kit.
Start Your Marketing Program Today!
And Join Us in Hawaii, December 1-6, 2009.
All right, you have learned about every step in our 5-Step Plan. You have created a powerful Marketing Plan, Brand Story, Message, Media Strategy and set up the Follow-Through program to convert leads and measure results. By putting your plan into action, you’ll position your company for greater sales success in 2009 and the years ahead. Let us reward you for all your hard work in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii. Make sure to sign up for our Partners Incentive Program to earn your place in paradise this December.
2/09 Part # P2-091 ©2009 Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Inc. All rights reserved.
800.831.7133
www.pentairpool.com www.staritepool.com
