You're familiar the old adage, "Everything old is new again." That's what came to mind when I heard a popular marketing blogger suggest a decidedly antique promotional tool for use by his followers who – for the most part – are looking to advance Internet business startups.
Pat Flynn, a new media entrepreneur, added a recent podcast at his www.smartpassiveincome.com website – which I found while noodling around on iTunes for some late-night chatter – with an intriguing title: "Brand loyalty and a 19th century strategy you can use to get it."
So what does Flynn say could be used to sell everything from toasters to technology advice? The factory tour. That's right, he suggests throwing open your doors and giving anyone a step-by-step look at how you perform your job. While it's an old concept, Flynn argues that online technology lets businesses implement the idea of a factory tour in new ways ... and at little cost. I think the idea translates well to portable sanitation providers.
CULTIVATING LOYAL CUSTOMERS
Brand loyalty is critical, Flynn says, because it builds a base of your best customers, those with an unshakable support for your company. In the portable sanitation world, that means the customers who won't be wooed away from your service by a newcomer offering to deliver a restroom for 20, 30 or even 50 percent of the price you're charging. Your most loyal customers don't buy into the low-price argument.
"That's the ultimate in marketing. When you have people who are loyal to your brand, you have it made," Flynn says. "Who cares what the competition is doing? (Loyal customers) naturally become part of your marketing team. They're going to help sell for you because they love what you do; they're excited about you and are going to tell others."
In portable sanitation, you gain loyalty by providing quality, well-maintained products and servicing the heck out of them. Customers like the attention they're given by your crews and have a positive experience time after time. So how do you capitalize on that hard-fought reputation? How do you show others the value proposition you present? That's where the factory tour concept comes in.
WAY BACK WHEN
Flynn explains that factory tours became popular in the 1800s, as large companies like ketchup maker Heinz organized the first tours of their manufacturing facilities. Visitors were fascinated to see how products were made on a large scale and these tours became a popular form of entertainment for families.
"Before the public had access, this behind-the-scenes stuff was available only to potential investors and dignitaries. It became a huge craze," Flynn says. "Everyone was fascinated to see how things worked."
Flynn argues it's the same today, as Americans tap into television shows like "How Stuff Works", taking viewers through hundreds of manufacturing processes in careful detail. The blogger related his own experience touring a chocolate factory where he lived, and then instinctively seeking out that brand of chocolate when hit with a sweet tooth. He said the tour showed him the care workers showed for the product and a tasting that was part of the tour reinforced the quality of the product.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO YOU?
You're not selling candy bars, but there are logical ways you could work the factory tour idea to promote your products and services in a way that builds brand loyalty. Rather than suggest you literally open your yard to anyone who might want to inspect your service trucks or climb aboard one of your restroom trailers, I'll focus in on using YouTube videos posted on your website to bring visitors into your world.
In addition to simply posting words and photography showing the variety of restrooms products you carry, I'm a fan of bringing your website to life with photos of your crew, testimonials from your customers and video commercials. More and more PROs are also turning to social media to further personalize the company, doing things like posting photos from special events they serve or promoting a local charitable cause.
Those are great initiatives, but here are a few ideas for creating videos that provide a virtual factory tour of your business – ways to add a dimension to your marketing that make you stand out from the competition.
Explain how you got started.
When you take a traditional factory tour, a guide usually stops in front of an important symbol of the company, say a wagon full of beer kegs at a brewery tour, and weaves an interesting tale about how the company got started. Every PRO has a similar story to tell; maybe yours is a three-generation company started on your grandfather's kitchen table that's grown to serve hundreds of customers in your hometown. That's an easy story to tell in a video format and a great way to begin the factory tour. Choose an interesting backdrop for the video and use the occasion to introduce viewers to key members of your crew.
Show the craftsmanship of the products.
Today's wide range of portable sanitation equipment is impressive to look at and often has capabilities to surprise and delight users. Too bad many people have a lingering impression of that one miserable experience with a filthy, worn-out restroom they used at the county fair. Create a video that builds a better image of the equipment you use. Show the features of everything from your standard restroom and hand-wash stations to your VIP restroom or shower trailers. Walk around one of your clean service vehicles and make customers comfortable with the rig and technician that will be showing up at their backyard party or special event. Let people know that no matter their impression of portable sanitation, you are offering modern, well-cared-for facilities they would be happy to use.
Share your service techniques.
Make a video showing how a restroom is delivered and set up, serviced, and removed after the customer no longer needs it. Put your top technician in a well-pressed uniform, make sure he or she is outfitted with all the proper safety gear, and then demonstrate, step-by-step, your thorough service protocol. This will give customers the assurance that your units are impeccably clean and that you are concerned with health and safety. Sometimes I think the public doesn't always get the full picture showing the quality of service and cleanliness PROs provide on a job site. This is a way to reinforce that message. And the service video provides a second benefit: You can show it to new employees as a training video on how the work is done to your satisfaction.
Demonstrate how technology helps you.
Part of any good factory tour is a point where you are shown how manufacturing processes have improved over time, making products better and safer, and companies more efficient. You can do the same through a video. Show how service trucks and restroom equipment are tracked through GPS technology. Explain how you control odors with pump exhaust scent products or advanced deodorant formulations. Go through your automated billing process to show how simple it is to work with your company. Bookend the information about your interesting past with the message that you always have an eye toward the future.
A FINAL WORD
Seeing is believing, and when prospective customers see your products and services in action, they'll be more likely to hire you again and less likely to turn to another contractor they don't feel like they know. And that's the power of brand loyalty.
