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Case Studies
Redefining Market Opportunity
Creating Differentiation
The Look of a Leader
Case Study: Redefining Market Opportunity
Company - Park52
A property management company with more than $1 million in monthly manager rents.
Problem to Solve
Currently, half of all customers are “reluctant” investment property owners as a result of not being able to sell their homes due to current real estate and economic conditions. This 50% must be replaced as the market will eventually turn and those customers will go away.
Approach
Understand the factors that created the relationships with the most loyal, long-term customers that can then be emulated in their brand, by staff, marketing, new product and service development and beyond.
Insights
On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being “the most important investment of my life,” loyal customers rated their properties between a 9 and a 10. This is because they don’t believe in social security in the future, have no pensions and think that Wall Street is too volatile for them to manage over time. Their properties are tied directly to their retirement and future. Park52 isn’t managing rental properties, as much as they are managing their clients’ dreams for the future.
Brand Strategy
What their most loyal customers wanted is “Peace of Mind” around their properties, to know that they are being taken care of, and to not even need to think about them for months at a time. The new brand strategy is to shift the company’s own perspective from managing rentals to being in the business of providing Peace of Mind.
Results
Tactical applications include employee training, new services such as a red flag system for accounting statements carrying bad news, new consulting packages with legal and insurance guidelines that protect against potential liabilities, a ticker on the website for on-time rental income delivery percentages, all phone calls answered by a live person and more. Once the new brand strategy was set, the company found ways to start living the brand at every level from the individual employee to customer service, marketing and product development.
Owner Quote
“I have been around this business for so many years, but have never quite thought about it in this way. Just hearing you explain the branding makes me more inspired, and I know it will do the same for our employees and business.”
Case Study: Creating Differentiation
Senior Resource Group
A senior living company with resident communities in 17 states.
Problem to Solve
The success of their communities is tied to the satisfaction of residents, which is tied to the facilities and staff that operate the communities. They had already begun a best practices exploration of customer service with the Four Seasons prior to starting the branding project. What they needed was a way to tie their customer service initiative into a meaningful brand for prospects, residents and employees. When we asked the CEO what kept him up at night, the answer was finding the right people that have the heart for the elderly. He knows that people are the most important driver in his company’s success.
Approach
Interview executive management, community management, front line staff, the most loyal residents and the competition to understand the role of customer service and how it can uniquely deliver against the deepest emotional connections to the brand.
Insights
The relationships found between residents and employees were not those of a typical customer-employee type. The relationships exemplify warmth, trust, dependence and acceptance and create the kind of connections that are second only to those of your own family. These employees work in the homes of the residents, see them every day and know them more intimately than ever imagined. Employees are often young and they help re-kindle youthful feelings, sharing pictures of their families, visiting in off hours surrounding special occasions (i.e. show off a prom dress) and all around accepting mentorship opportunities from the residents. The mix of generations and genuine care for the residents was mentioned time and time again.
Brand Strategy
The difference between a Four Seasons and a senior community is the depth of the relationship with customers. At any hotel, they will never know their customers the way that a senior community can know theirs. It is this notion that allowed Senior Resource Group to be the first in the industry to define a new way of thinking about their industry and what they do. The brand strategy is to truly deliver upon Genuine Hospitality.
Results
They immediately created a Genuine Hospitality pledge, trained employees, held introduction events at all communities and invited the press. The company was named the top winner of the “2008 Best of the Best Awards” by Assisted Living Executive, the official magazine of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA). The award recognizes senior living companies for their innovation in operational excellence.
CEO Quote
“The greatest achievement of the Genuine Hospitality program is a significant decrease in employee turnover and notable increase in resident satisfaction scores.”
Case Study: The Look of a Leader
Company – MC Electric Vehicles
The largest dealer in the world for electric powered vehicles.
Problem to Solve
The surge in gas prices and trends to a more sustainable environment have both dramatically and positively impacted the electric vehicle business. The owner’s goal was to create a brand that transcended the typical role of a dealer and positioned the company to address the onslaught of heavy competition from other dealers, established automotive manufacturers and a new wave of electric vehicle producers.
Approach
Truly understand the way that the most loyal clients see the ownership of an electric vehicle as a part of their lives, what it says about them and what kind of statement they believe it makes to others.
Insights
There was a tremendous balance of reasons to purchase that stemmed from both cost savings to being socially responsible for the environment. However, what was equally as interesting is the impact that these cars had on owners’ personal lives. Since they do not go as fast as gasoline powered cars, they had to slow down. This translated to a slower pace of life, less stress, being out of the rat race and noticing things in their community they had never noticed before. They literally said that it changed the entire way that they looked at their lives. CPAs said that they should have been driving BMWs but chose an electric vehicle. Others said that America is no longer the land of “bigger is better”…move over SUVs. They saw cultural changes, personal changes, environmental changes and straight out savings. And they wanted everyone else to be a part of this “movement,” as they called it.
Brand Strategy
MC Electric Vehicles loyal customers are self-proclaimed evangelists because they feel that there is no single larger way to impact the world, rely less on foreign powers and their oil, and make a difference in their own lives, community and world. The new brand strategy capitalized on this trend as summed up by one quote, “I just want to be a part of it!” The brand is all about empowering people to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Results
The company is now re-inventing their web presence and marketing materials, training employees on the branding, re-working the dealership experience, providing ways for the community to get involved in events, offering online petitions and legislative measures. They are aggregating the best of online news and tips on green lifestyles and products, creating partnerships with notable non-profit organizations, and inviting political leaders to take part in their campaigns. Once the company decided that they were going to be all about Making a Difference in people’s lives, community and world, the direct applications to their business became readily apparent.
Owner Quote
“In order to be leaders in this movement and attract investors behind our ambitious growth objectives, this is exactly the kind of thinking that we needed.”
