Case Study:
Schloegel Design Remodel
Kansas City, Missouri

Situation
• Mid-size remodeling contractor in Kansas City doing
$1.5 mil in sales – 18 employees
• Almost 25 years in business, well respected and involved
in the community
• Wanted to differentiate themselves from other
contractors
• Wanted to climb into the upper ranks of Kansas City
remodelers at $3 mil in sales/year

Planning
• New orientation call with owner and one key
marketing/sales staff
• Established benchmarks and goals
• Helped them gather list of competitors, 8 clients &
potential strategic partners
• Reviewed all past marketing materials and lead
generation activities

Planning (2)
• Interviewed 5 past clients using Client Survey
• Reviewed web sites and materials from competitors
locally and nationally
• Researched advertising opportunities for industry
• Researched industry media and publications

Planning (3)
• Collected overall themes from client interviews
• Created initial marketing core message from
opportunities in the market
• Prepared Initial Marketing Plan
• Prepared Initial Marketing Tactics

Strategy Issues
• Owner thought quality was #1 differentiator –so did all
competitors
• 25 year history led to wide target market range
• Industry slow to use the web effectively
• Overall look of marketing materials was inconsistent for
upscale target market

Strategy Recommendations
• Focus only on upscale design/remodel projects – refer
the rest
• Focus on the remodel process
• Differentiate with design
• Invest in the web as a lead generation tool and
differentiator for upscale market
• Move to messages and content that appeal to upscale
market

Core Message
“Does your home deserve a
Schloegel Design Remodel?”
• Upscale appeal
• Design focus
• The process is as important as the project

The Plan
• New Identity
• Marketing Materials
• Lead Generation
• Lead Conversion
• Website & Search Engines
• Timing & Budget

Identity
• Changed name from Schloegel Contracting to Schloegel
Design Remodel
• Updated Logo
• New stationary and signage

Marketing Materials
• Created Marketing Kit
• Case studies
• Design process maps
• Client newsletter

Old
Newsletter
Format

New
Newsletter
Format

Pocket
Folder
(Inside on next slide)

Website
• Marketing kit content
• Virtual slide show
• White papers/Free Reports
• How to and articles
• Optimized for local keywords

Old Website

New Website

New Website - Before/After of Remodel Job

Advertising
• Neighborhood postcard mailings (see image on next
slide)
• Public radio sponsorship
• Dropped – Yellow Pages, Magazines

Neighborhood Postcard Mailing

Public Relations
• Staff member answers ?’s in paper
• Was winner of local Business Ethics Award
• Once a month press release
• Articles in industry
• Home and remodeling shows

Staff Member Answers ?’s In Local Paper

Referral Marketing
• Pardon our dust series (see slide for details)
• Jake’s list (see slide for details)
• Carpenter for a day
• Client artisan events

Pardon Our
Dust Series

Jake’s List

Lead Conversion
• Changed qualifying process
• Created in office meeting
• Created interactive presentation

Lead Conversion Piece / “Our Process”

Advanced Website Use
• Owner blog, design blog (see slide for details)
• eZine newsletter
• Local search directories (see slide for details)
• Video testimonials (see slide for details)
• Audio message from owner

Owner blog / Design blog

Video Testimonial

Local Search Directory

Timing & Budget
• Created annual plan
• Initial plan contained projects
• Ongoing contained advertising, pr, web updates, revisions
• Created annual monthly budget

RESULTS
• Leads decreased from 894 -695
• Lead conversion increased 89%
• Revenue from $1.5 mil to $4.2 mil
• Average job size increased 218%
• Number of employees stayed stable