Unlocks_Marketing_Workbook

A Business Sense Presentationfrom 1-800-Unlocks, Inc.

LockSmIththe mArketIng

www.1-800-UNLOCKS.com

All rights reserved. No pArt of this publicAtioN mAy be reproduced iN ANy form or by ANy electroNic or mechANicAl meANs iNcludiNg iNformAtioN storAge ANd retrievAl systems without permissioN iN writiNg from 1-800-uNlocks, iNc.

1-800-UNLOCKS is a registered trademark of 1-800-Unlocks, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 1-800-UnloCks, inC.

prepAred ANd edited by: 1-800-UnloCks, inC. 2110 spenCer rd. riChmond, VA 23230 www.1-800-UnloCks.Com

[email protected]

800-865-6257 tel 888-865-6257 fAX

forewordby director of mArketiNg, uNlocks, iNc.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all woke up one morning and found ourselves as the industry leader in our local markets? Imagine how great it would feel to hear our telephones ringing off-the-hook with new and repeat customers who simply couldn’t get enough of our quality service and craftsmanship. Think of the constant satisfaction we would feel, knowing that our competitors were frantically trying to figure out what we were doing right. Picture them picking up their telephones during the day, making sure their lines were working properly.

Sound far fetched? Sound too good to be true? Let me tell you, it’s NOT! Sometimes the slightest changes in how we communicate with our customers (both real and potential), can make an unbelievable difference in the way we are perceived by our customers, and the success we will enjoy in servicing those customers.

This marketing workshop has been carefully designed to unveil some of the most cost-effective and sound-minded marketing approaches that are certain to significantly elevate your company’s image within your local markets. The powerful ideas presented here have been crafted and tailored exclusively for locksmiths, and incorporate specific applications to our challenging and competitive industry. This workshop will help you analyze your own marketing plan and will suggest ways to help leverage your hard-earned marketing dollars to achieve the profitable results that you deserve.

We hope you will find this information both enlightening and practically useful. And we further hope that it will help you to better understand your business, your industry, and most of all, your customers.

There are many more powerful marketing ideas to come. As we expand our partnering and dispatch capabilities, this system will grow with all of us. Unlocks, Inc. will continue its pursuit of marketing excellence, bringing you an even larger breadth of services and knowledge in the months and years to come. I’d like to personally welcome you to this new realm of marketing awareness and implementation. We are looking forward to partnering with you, and making great things happen together.

AcknowledgementsThis book is dedicated to Judith Marie Lefler Musser and Charles Duane Musser, Sr whose patience and endurance were very much appreciated by the whole staff. It is a tragic loss to have neither here in this life to continue to guide us and participate in the growth of a seed that they had a part in planting. Each of them were an itegral part ofdesigning and structuring this company. May they Rest in Peace!

This publication, as well as the entire 1-800-UnLockS® automated dispatch system, would not have been possible without the tireless contributions and advice from the following individuals:

Barry Wilson

President - 1-800-UnloCKs, inC. oWner of ameriCan loCK & Key Co, inC.

Jeff mUsser

VP BUsiness deVeloPment

Founder- 1-800-unLoCKS, InC.

Charles W GaUtney

VPteCnoloGy, it ConsUltant

1-800-UnloCKs, inC.

Also with Special thanks to these people who never gave up hope and have also been an intrical part of submitting ideas, as well as funding special events: David Ashworth, Russell Robertson, Charles Gautney, Charles McKensey, Susan Wilson, all the folks in Research and Development with MCI, ComTel Communications (TNCII), Amie Adams, Lauren Wilson, Marc Goldberg, Greg Mango and all of our friends with the National Locksmith, John Arnold and the Board Members of The Texas Locksmith Associaton and a very special thank you to David Lowell, Tim Mcmullen and all of our friends and fellow members of this industry who interjected opinions (both good and bad) that have led to a bullet-proof business model and a one of a kind concept in automated locksmith dispatching.

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Notes iNtroductioN

Of all the quality-minded things that we as locksmiths do on a daily basis, none can be considered more important than the methods we use to effectively communicate our business’ marketing message to the public. In the competitive business environment that most of us operate within, public awareness and perception are critical (yet often overlooked) realities of our business. In order to grow and prosper, it is imperative that we understand the intricate details of these perceptions. It is equally important that we send the proper marketing message to our customers.

This workshop is exclusively designed as a valuable tool to help you identify and analyze an effective marketing plan of attack. As you move through this program you will learn many things about yourself, your business, and new ways to communicate the valuable skills you possess to your customer base.

Marketing, by definition, is the means in which we go about delivering a message about our business to the customer base that we plan to service or sell to. It is both a science and an art, encompassing many different (and often controversial) ideas, tactics and strategies. Marketing is a one-way channel of communication that we all use to tell our customers who we are, what we can do for them, and why we deserve to have and keep their business. The word itself, “marketing”, sounds like something very corporate and pricey, reserved for the multimillion dollar conglomerates with huge annual budgets. But, the raw truth is that marketing is vital to ANY business, whether you are an International Fortune 100 corporation, or a six-year-old entrepreneur running a lemonade stand on a golf course.

Every time you find yourself asking questions like “what can I do to increase my customer base?” or “how can I better service the customers that I have?” or “I wonder why Jim down the street has that account instead of me?” you are asking marketing-related questions. And, as simple as those questions are, they are probably the most important questions that we, as small business owners, could ever ask.

This program is designed to help us answer those very questions, and we will do so with the empowerment to take profit-producing steps toward marketing success and prosperity. We will learn to think “outside of our box” and

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Notesdevelop innovative strategies that will leave our competitors asking the same WHATs, HOWs , and WHYs that we once asked. If our competitors are already wondering, then this is a wonderful tool to stay on top of our market and to keep the competition wondering why your business is attracting and keeping more and more customers.

In this program, we will learn to include marketing in everything we do. We will gain valuable insight into the easy ways to build repeat customers for life. We will learn how to transfer that knowledge into increased sales and profits. We will also understand the importance of educating our customers on the unique services they will find only with our organization.

Unlocks, Inc. is dedicated to providing the best marketing tools available to this elite group of networked locksmiths. This workshop will remain in a continuous process of improvement, and you will be notified as more and more powerful tools and ideas are introduced and developed.

Programs like our new Key Club membership, as well as professionally produced ads, collaterals and seminar packages, are just some of the many innovative quality services you can expect from Unlocks, Inc. This team-minded approach to the implementation and exchange of powerful marketing concepts and strategies is the answer that we have all been waiting for. And now that it’s here, let’s focus our efforts on profiting from the opportunities ahead.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go in-stead where there is no path and leave a trail...

Anonymous

coNteNts

Section I Your Business A Snapshot of Your Business ...................................... 10 Marketing Questionnaire ............................................. 10

Section II Mission Statements and Positioning ................... 13 About Mission Statements .......................................... 13 Market Positioning ...................................................... 13 Unique Selling Propositions ........................................ 14

Section III The Biggest Marketing Mistakes ....................... 16 Articulating Your USP .................................................. 16 Advertising Mistakes ................................................... 17 Addressing Customer Needs ...................................... 21 The Pleasant Locksmith .............................................. 22 Educating Customers .................................................. 23 Back-End Products and Services ............................... 24 Campaign Direction .................................................... 26 Building Customers for Life ......................................... 26

Section IV Building a Winning Marketing Plan ................... 28 Creating the Budget .................................................... 28 The Marketing Calendar ............................................. 31 Tracking Marketing Results ......................................... 32 Sample Marketing Calendar ....................................... 35

Section V Marketing Power Tools ....................................... 36 Yellow Pages ............................................................... 37 Corporate ID ............................................................... 39 Free Press .................................................................. 39 Coupons ...................................................................... 40 Referral Programs ....................................................... 41 Take One Boxes .......................................................... 41 Local Accounts ............................................................ 42 Seminars/Newsletters ................................................. 43 Flyers, Posters, and Lawn Signs ................................ 44 Radio/ TV .................................................................... 44

Section VI 1-800-UNLOCKS® Success ............................. 45 Maximizing Marketing Results with 1-800-UNLOCKS® ...................................................... 45 Key Club Membership Info .......................................... 46 Logo Sheets ................................................................ 47 Vehicle Artwork ........................................................... 48 Sample Flyer ............................................................... 49 Sample Coupon .......................................................... 50

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Notes sectioN i

A sNApshot

In this section, we are literally going to take a “snapshot” of your business so that we can better understand what your marketing strategy should be about. We will begin with a strategic planning questionnaire that will help us to remember and revisit some of the reasons that we are in business to begin with. Think about each question thoroughly, and write down your answers in the spaces provided so that we can use this questionnaire as a future reference to your marketing plan. If you run out of space, grab some spare paper and fully flesh out your answers. Later in this program, we will come back to some of these questions, and you will see just how important your answers are.

Exercises:

1. Initially, what motivated you to start your business? (ideas, frustrations, etc.)

2. When you got started in your business, how did you attract your first customers?

3. What WERE the reasons customers chose you as theirlocksmith?

4. Why DO customers choose you now?

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Notes5. What is your current, primary method of marketing your business? What percentage of your business comes from thismethod?

6. If you could profile your typical customer, what are someof the things you would say about him/her?

7. What do you think are the three most important things about your business that you would like your customers to know?

8. What do you believe your GREATEST single competitiveadvantage is?

9. What are you most proud of about your business, productor service?

10. What do you think are the three most important aspects ofchoosing a locksmith?

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Notes11. If you had to choose, would you rather attract more new customers, or be able to make more money from your existingcustomers, and why?

Now take a few minutes to read over each of your answers carefully. Did you find yourself having difficulty answering any of these questions? Were you surprised at any of your answers? We will revisit some of these questions later in the program, and we will learn how to take our answers to these and other questions, and put them to greater use in planning our marketing attack.

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Notes sectioN ii

missioN stAtemeNt & mArket positioNiNg

Every company, regardless of size or type, should have a Mission Statement. The Mission Statement is a simple sentence or paragraph, that exactly captures the purpose of our business, and why our business should be more favorably regarded in our customer’s minds than our competition. Our Mission Statement should serve as a governing creed that drives and directs our business down a clear and simple pathway to success. It should be our hallmark that is woven into everything we do in our business. It is surprising just how many companies do not have a Mission Statement, and without one, a company is virtually “steering without a rudder” in terms of marketing strategy and success.

Let us suppose, for instance, that we are known (or want to be known) as the “Locksmith with a Smile”. If that indeed is something we want our customers to associate with, then we should deliver that smile as consistently as possible, even when we feel as though our face might fall off in the process. That smile is our constant reminder to everyone around us that friendliness is what sets us apart from every other locksmith in our market. And we might find that our smile is a very contagious weapon.

Our Mission Statement should be clear and concise and should remind us, our employees, and our customers exactly what it is that is our business’ direction or “claim to fame”. If our business does not have an official Mission Statement, then we should take some time to create one. Think about one sentence that best describes your unique skills, your service policies, and your company’s direction. Write it down and repeat it over and over to yourself. Some people might think you are a real weirdo at first, and some may even ask you to seek help, but they will soon understand the importance of your Mission Statement, because it will represent everything we do as quality-minded.

When you have decided on a Mission Statement that best fits the skills and direction of your company, take a minute to print it, maybe even frame it, and display it where everyone associated with your company (yes, this includes customers) can easily see it. This simple exercise may sound corny, but it can make a tremendous difference in the overall well-being of your organization, because it will keep you focused on what you do best, and it will serve as a constant reminder to everyone associated with our business.

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NotesUnique Selling Proposition

Positioning our business in the marketplace is extremely important in any marketing plan. Positioning will develop the proper format to communicate effectively our UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION, or, in our case as locksmiths, our UNIQUE SERVICE PROPOSITION or USP. Simply put, the USP is that one single solitary thing that sets us apart from our competition, and makes us stand out in our customers’ minds. The USP should fit nicely with our Mission Statement because this is the focal message we want to send to our customers.

Our USP is that one thing that we feel we do better than anyone else, and it would only seem fitting for us to focus and direct our marketing efforts in a way that will highlight our USP, and clearly articulate it to our customers. If our USP is “quality same day installation”, for example, then it would only make sense that we take extra special measures to ensure that we do indeed provide quality same day installation. If we don’t live up to our USP, then our customers will be less likely to identify us with our USP in the future.

The Unique Service Proposition can also help direct our marketing efforts to what is called a “niche” in our local market. A niche is defined as a segment of a market that can be specifically targeted for a particular product or service. For example, our Unique Service Proposition may be that we guarantee emergency automotive lock out service within 30 minutes or less. Our niche market for this USP would be any and all customers in need of emergency lockout service. We may also service hospital access control systems, but that service obviously caters to an entirely different niche in our market. In other words, our hospital customers represent a completely different niche market for us, and are probably not terribly interested in our emergency lockout service USP. Marketing to this specific niche of our market should be focused on enhancing our USP of fast lockout service. This will help attract customers to the services that our company performs better than anyone else, and will ultimately increase our customer base because of their association with our stated USP.

Sometimes a Mission Statement can be too broad or vague to immediately derive a positioning direction. For instance, if our Mission Statement is to be the “Best All-Around Full Service Locksmith in Pulaski County”, then it may become more challenging to specifically define our USP. It is extremely difficult to be all things to all people in all cases. And, in this case, our customers are not presented with a USP that anchors a particular

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Notestaste or interest. Therefore, it would serve us better to define a USP that will give us a competitive advantage in a certain niche market. A more fitting USP might be, for example, “The Deadbolt Specialists”, or “The Safe Pros”.

The Unique Service Proposition is basically the essence of our entire business concept. It should be integrated into everything we do, and every aspect of our business. Most businesses either don’t have one, or do not articulate their USP effectively to the market. Here’s the bottom line, if we don’t convey your USP message to our customers, it is highly unlikely that those customers will identify with it, and even more unlikely that they will associate us with our stated USP.

Exercises:

1. Name the products and/or services that your organization would like to be associated with in terms of a Unique Selling/Service Proposition.

2. How many different niche markets does your organization cater to? And what are they?

3. Can you think of different USP’s for each of these niches? If so, what are they and how do you (will you) incorporate them into your marketing plan?

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Notes sectioN iii

the biggest mArketiNg mistAkesBecause our customers vary in discretion and taste, no marketing plan will ever be the “perfect” one for all of them. Therefore, in order to maximize our marketing success, it is extremely important that we continue to monitor and adapt our plan to fit the needs of a diverse and ever-changing market. As we develop the marketing plan that is best suited to capture and retain the interest and appeal of our customers, it is important that we don’t make too many mistakes along the way. Marketing mistakes can be very expensive, and as small business managers, we should try to avoid wasting our marketing dollars as much as possible.

This chapter will focus on eight of the most common marketing mistakes, and how we can avoid making them ourselves. Every marketing dollar we spend should be done so with a targeted monetary return in mind. In this section, we will focus our attention on some common mistakes that, if avoided, will better protect the investment of our marketing dollars, and help produce the results we expect to achieve.

Marketing Mistake Number 1Failing to properly articulate the company’s message to customers

We spent the last section talking about importance positioning and the development of a Unique Selling or Service Proposition (USP). So, it is not ironic that the number one marketing mistake made today is the failure to develop and articulate the company’s USP to the market. Our USP message should be simple, concise and effective. It should clearly set us apart from everyone else, and convey a message of great benefit to our targeted customers. Remember, the average person is exposed to over 500 advertisements per day, and most have become “immune” to traditional methods of marketing awareness. In today’s whirlwind of media saturation, getting the recognition a small company both needs and deserves, is only achieved if we develop a marketing plan that will separate us from the rest of the pack.

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Notes Exercises:

1. Why do your customers do business with you? Please list as many reasons as you can think of.

2. What are the most important results your customers are seeking when they purchase products or services from your company?

3. Think of three possible USP’s that you could effectively construct a successful marketing campaign around.

Marketing Mistake Number 2Running institutional style advertising, instead of direct response advertising

Institutional advertising is best described as “image-oriented” advertising. Many large companies use various forms of institutional advertising on television and in magazines. This type of advertising may have no real message or result in mind. It is simply there to convey the “image” or vanity of the company sponsoring the ad. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, Budweiser and others are famous for institutional style advertising, with their cute headlines and witty slogans, that are designed to remind you of just how large and important these companies are in their respective markets.

Their messages are often vague, identity driven slogans that really don’t promote any particular USP. For instance, we are all familiar with Nike’s award winning “Just Do It” slogan. It’s catchy. It’s cute. And it’s designed to make us associate their athletic shoes with incredible human performance. But, does it really? Do we, as consumers, honestly think we can jump higher and run faster because of that swooping little logo on the sides of our shoes? It is highly doubtful that we do, but because we see guys like Michael

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NotesJordan and Andre Agassi wearing the shoes, we are prompted to associate Nike with performance. Those endorsements are carefully designed to subliminally tell us that Nike shoes are so good, that Michael and Andre (and we, as consumers) wouldn’t be able to play as well wearing some other, inferior brand of athletic shoes. But what the ads do NOT tell us, is WHY Nike athletic shoes are better than say, Reebok or Adidas (if, in fact, they are). There is no direct USP that pertains to quality or performance in these ads. They are completely image-based, institutional style advertisements.

Consumers tend to associate brands like Nike, Levi’s, and many other well-known brands with an image and not with any particular message or USP, and their positioning has been effective in capturing and retaining market share based on the appeal to our own collective image as discretionary consumers. But because we remain unclear as to exactly what it is that distinguishes those brands as more “valuable”, our tendencies to choose those brands are catalyzed solely on image perception, rather than a distinguishable USP.

Let’s take a look at institutional style advertising in the locksmith and security industry. Suppose we decided that an image type advertisement would somehow garner some credibility with our local market, and we decided to construct a yellow page ad that would convey just how important we thought we were. For days we sat at our desk pondering our image and we came up with a brilliant headline for our ad: “Just Lock It” or “Simply the Best” for instance. Cute headlines that sound pretty important. But what message are we truly sending our customers? Imagine the questions that would emerge in their minds as they flipped through the yellow pages shopping for a locksmith. How are these institutional style messages going to truly set us apart from the other locksmiths in town? “Just Lock WHAT?, and “Best at WHAT?” would probably be the two most likely questions our potential customers will ask themselves.

Our advertising should ALWAYS incorporate our USP. This concept cannot be stressed enough. In today’s business environment, it is becoming more and more important to specifically address the needs and wants of our customers.As locksmiths, most of our products and services are not in the forefront of our customers’ minds. This introduces an interesting and challenging marketing scenario. Since, in most cases, we do not operate within a typical direct marketing business environment, directly prompting our potential customers to break their keys off in their automobile ignitions so that they can enjoy the benefits of our services, would probably not be effective. We

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Noteswant to be there when they need us, and more importantly, we want to be REMEMBERED in their time of need. This is why it is so important that we position ourselves with our customers in such a way that our message or (here we go again) USP is clearly and properly articulated.

It is unfortunate that many locksmiths do not incorporate anything into their advertising that will set them apart from their competitors. Such statements as: “Serving Bland County since 1956, or “24-hour radio dispatched service” or “Free Estimates” or “Emergency Lockout Service” are common in locksmiths’ yellow page advertising. These are all viable and important service features to our customers, but let’s ask ourselves a pinnacle question here: “Does this set me apart from EVERY other locksmith in the area?” Would we not be more effective if we were more concise with our messages? At best, the messages stated above make us “as good as” the next guy.

If we take these messages, and direct them toward a certain USP, we can intensify their perceived value and make them stand apart from any others. For example: Instead of printing that we offer 24 hour service, we might instead print that we are a 23 1/2 hour service. This may sound completely crazy, but think about it for a minute. If everyone else in town claims to be 24 hour service, then that particular USP will fail to be “unique” and will not capture the customers’ attention. 23 1/2 hour service will accomplish two distinct goals. First, our customers will wonder what on earth we do for the other half hour of your day. When they see that message on our service vehicle(s), they will not only remember it, but it will pique their curiosity. That curiosity alone will amplify the unique nature of our message, and in turn, will serve as a memory “anchor” to all of our existing and new customers. Secondly, a 23 1/2 hour a day service may promote an image in our customer’s mind that it is pleasant, or even fun to do business with our company. We will talk more about that a little later in this section.

Examples of this type of “highlighting” are almost endless, but let’s engineer a few more that might increase the uniqueness of a simple USP. Let’s say that we want to be known as the fastest, most affordable emergency lockout service in town, then instead of merely stating that we provide emergency lockout service, we can further highlight that message by stating that we are the “guaranteed fastest and most affordable” service around. For our commercial and residential customers, accentuate our “Free Estimates” message to say “Professional Consulting and Estimates Absolutely Free”. The list goes on, but we can see how the slightest change in our marketing message, can make an incredible

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Notesdifference in how that message is received and perceived.

We simply need to keep in mind that our goal is to make certain that our customers associate our company with something valuable and unique. We are simply taking the basic service features of our company and making them more memorable to our customers by “setting ourselves apart” from other locksmiths.

To summarize, many locksmiths fail to utilize the uniqueness of their service in an effective marketing and advertising plan. It is important to understand that image type advertising in our line of business is simply not as effective as conveying specific, service related features and benefits of our business to our customers. We want to be remembered when our customers are in need of our products and services. With that in mind, let’s be certain that we deliver a message that is concise, beneficial, and most of all unforgettable.

Exercises:

1. Think of several possible advertising headlines that you feel would best describe your company and its products and services. (Remember to be as specific as possible and don’t fall into the “institutional advertising trap”)

2. Think of three “promotions” that your company couldcommunicate to your customers to attract more business.

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Notes Marketing Mistake Number 3Failing to determine and address customer needs

One of the most critical elements of an effective marketing plan is understanding which features and benefits of our service best satisfy our customers needs, wants and expectations. Knowing our customers’ “hot buttons” is the fundamental underpinning of knowledge needed to maximize a well executed marketing campaign. For instance, if we know that the three most important service features of a customer in need of an emergency lockout are (in order): Quick service, Quality service, and Fair Price, then we should position our message so that we appeal to one (or all) of these “anchors”.

Understanding what drives our customers’ satisfaction is the baseline for any marketing endeavor. Understanding what our customers need and want is the first, and most important step in the development of a rewarding marketing plan. Without our customers, none of us would be in business, so it certainly pays to relate to them and to tailor our services to fit their needs.

Exercises:

1. What direct and “hands-on” communication or monitoring process do you (will you) have in place to determine specific customer needs and wants? Please list as many as you can think of.

2. What are you doing (or will you do) to systematically incorporate these customer needs into your product or service?

3. If every one of your employees spoke to one customer per day and asked what was the product or service that they needed or wanted, but was not provided by your company, what would it be?

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NotesMarketing Mistake Number 4Failing to make doing business with your company easy, appealing and even fun

Do we greet each of our customers with a friendly smile and a warm hello? Do we go out of our way to make sure ALL of our customers are completely satisfied with our service? Do we provide helpful, fast and friendly customer service after the sale? Do we work hard to make sure the customer never forgets the effort we made to satisfy his or her needs? Have we ever looked a customer in the eye and let them know that we want to be the locksmith they call every time they need one? Do we provide printed information about our company to every customer we service? If we answered “no” to any of these questions, we need to take a moment to simply ask ourselves ....Why am I not doing these things? What can I do to remedy the situation so that my company is the most appealing locksmith in town?

Creating an atmosphere that makes it enjoyable to do business with our company is not a difficult thing to accomplish. A simple smile and a pleasant cheerful attitude can go a long way in establishing enough personal rapport with our customers to keep them coming back to us every time they are in need of our services. We should take every opportunity we can to make doing business with us as easy and pleasant as possible.

One way to get a customer’s vantage of what it might be like doing business with us, is to simply “shop” our own company. This might sound like another rather crazy exercise, but you might be surprised how many different little things you will notice, looking through the eyes of your customer. One day when you can find some extra time to do so, drive your personal automobile somewhere inside your service area. Purposely lock the keys inside of your car and without identifying yourself, contact your shop for service. Take note of how your business telephones are answered. Did someone pleasantly answer the phone and clearly state the name of your company? Or did someone instead, snap up the phone and grumble the word “locksmith”? Did they follow your standard operating procedure of determining where you are, how long you should expect to wait until help arrives, and what the service will cost? Was their demeanor pleasant, efficient and professional? How long did it take for your dispatched service vehicle to actually arrive to assist you? What was the appearance of the technician upon arrival? Was your service vehicle clean and presentable? If you want to remain inconspicuous during this exercise, ask a friend or someone that would not be recognized by anyone within your company to shop your company for you.

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NotesGive them a checklist of things to look for. Ask this person to be as critical as possible, because his or her opinions may help you improve your service and make doing business with you easier, more pleasant, and even more fun.

There are hundreds of things for you to look for and take note of while shopping your own company. It is important to remember that this exercise is designed to identify areas where improvements in company image, professionalism, and general efficiency can be made. It’s a great way to gain valuable insight into the operations of your business and to get a customer’s perspective on how well you satisfy your customer’s needs.

Exercises:

1. How do you (or will you) systematically “shop” your business to determine what doing business with your company is really like? Please identify a process and the sequence of events.

2. What are you doing to make sure that everyone in your company understands how your customers should be and will be treated?

Marketing Mistake Number 5Failing to educate customersEducating our customers about our service is also a very important task that we, as Marketing Locksmiths, should attempt to do. Since people are curious by nature, we might find ourselves surprised at the level of personal interaction we can share with our customers by simply explaining to them some of the details of our craft. For instance, suppose you are attending to the needs of a lockout victim in a grocery store parking lot. It’s amazing how much personal rapport we can build with our new customer simply by explaining to them the inner workings of the locking mechanism, for example, or how we go about unlocking a vehicle without a key. As Marketing Locksmiths, we understand the difference between a lockout service and a professional locksmith.

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NotesTherefore, we should take every opportunity available to us to make certain that our customers also understand the benefits involved with the skills of a professional locksmith. It’s an opportunity for us to dazzle them with our skills, and at the same time, build a rapport with our customer. That rapport can go a long way in helping that customer to remember us whenever they are in need of a professional locksmith. And that folks, is one of the many ways we go about building a customer base that never forgets who we are, and what we do best.

Another wonderful way to educate our customers, is to conduct educational seminars. This is a great opportunity to invest a little time educating customers on various products and services associated with our business. Try doing a local seminar on Home Security Tips ,for instance. This is a great way to provide a valuable public service to your local community, as well as giving you powerful exposure for future business.

Exercises:

1. Think of some ways that your company can better educate your prospects and customers about your products and services. How will this affect your business?

Marketing Mistake Number 6Failing to provide a “back-end” service or product

Providing emergency lockout service is one of but many services that we, as locksmiths, can do for our customers. We install security systems, make keys, re-key locks, install locks and other hardware, service bank vaults and safes, and provide countless other quality services to our customers. And because of this wide array of products and service offerings, we should always make efforts to let our customers know that we are there for them as their turnkey (pun not intended) locksmith service provider.

In any business, there are two distinct ways to increase revenues. One is to increase our customer base, the other, respectively, is to increase the transaction per customer. That is, to provide more and more value added services to our customers to increase the average revenue per customer. For example, let’s suppose

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Noteswe are called out to install some residential deadbolts. Here is a wonderful opportunity to provide this customer with information on many of our other products and services. A new security alarm system, for instance, or a fireproof safe. We might even run a special promotion or have discount coupons for such items. Just the simple act of conveying these types of messages to our customers can turn a $100 transaction into hundreds or even thousands more on the back-end. There are many examples of how we can create back-end revenues. Take the time to develop a back-end strategy that is best suited for your business. You might consider keeping a database of your customers with their addresses, telephone numbers, and products or services they have purchased from you. This will help you keep track of your customers and will help you create and execute a plan to boost your back-end sales efforts.

Exercises:

1. Do you actively collect customer name and address information, as well as their product/service preferences? And if so, are you currently doing anything with this information? What are you doing?

2. List three new back-end offers that you will present on a systematic basis to your customers/prospects, and why?

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NotesMarketing Mistake Number 7Failing to direct marketing campaigns to specific markets

Many companies tend to take a “shotgun” approach when marketing their products and services. This is to say, that the campaign is not specifically geared to a predetermined niche of the market. How many times have we scanned an ad in a newspaper or magazine and not had the slightest idea what the ad was really about, and who the information was intended for? All of our marketing should incorporate more of a “rifle” shooting method, and incorporate a message that is designed to capture the attention of a specific market.

Exercises:

1. List the products and services that your company provides, and beside each one, describe (in general) the characteristics associated with the customer who would need and purchase that product or services.

2. How can my organization better tailor its marketing plan to incorporate specific messages to targeted niches within my local market?

Marketing Mistake Number 8Failing to make efforts in building customers for life

Building our customer base should be something we constantly strive to do. Building those customers for life is almost as important. It sounds like an insurmountable task, but you might be surprised at how loyal the average customer can be, provided he or she is made to feel important, and feel that we value having his or her business. It all comes down to this bottom line: Treat customers fairly, with courteous, professional and price competitive service, and they will be more likely to continue

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Notesgiving us their business forever. Sometimes, the smallest of gestures can go a long way with our customers. For example, if your customer database is up to date, sending a little note through the mail, thanking them for their patronage, and showing them your appreciation for the opportunity to serving them. Our customers will remember things like this, especially the next time he or she is in need of our service. If we incorporate quality into everything we do, then customer appreciation gestures like this will happen with little or no effort. And the rewards will be more than worth the effort.

Exercises:

1. What are some of the things that you do (or will do) to show your appreciation for your customers’ patronage? And what do you think the results will be from these actions?

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Notes sectioN iv

Building a Winning Marketing Plan

Have you ever heard the phrase, “plan your work, and work your plan”? These seven words capture the essence and importance of having and executing an effective marketing strategy that steers our business toward success. Having a plan that specifically identifies our business objectives is a critical element to visualizing clearly, what needs to be done to achieve that success. In this section of the Marketing Locksmith Workshop, we will focus our attention on some hidden secrets, that will help us build a clear, concise and easy to manage marketing plan.

Our marketing plan is one of the most important tasks that we will ever complete for our business. This plan is so important because it will serve as a roadmap for our company’s marketing success. As Marketing Locksmiths, we should always remember that proper positioning and a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) are the critical elements in the construction and successful execution of our plan.

Building a Marketing Budget

Many business owners wonder why they need a marketing budget. They figure they will run a few ads, and as the business comes in, run some more. This limited thinking can often lead to disappointment, especially if the proper methods of calculating the return on those marketing dollars are not used and understood. A golden rule to keep in mind is this: If we don’t do enough marketing, our business will wither. If we market too much, then we waste marketing dollars or generate more business than we can handle.

The marketing budget is an important first step in determining the scope of our marketing strategy and plan. A good rule of thumb to use in calculating our marketing budget is around 10-15% of expected sales. This means that our budget should reflect about 10 cents for every dollar we want to earn in gross sales or revenue. Some industries typically spend upwards of 30% or more on marketing, depending on the nature of their business.

Let’s suppose we plan to generate $100,000 in sales over the next year. $10-15,000 should be our targeted marketing budget. If our goal is to increase our local market share by 5%, for instance, here are some useful industry statistics that will help us calculate the increase in revenue dollars we will need to achieve this.

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NotesThe first task at hand is determining exactly what we think our local market share is. Let’s look at the automotive unlock service as our model. Take a minute and check your records to find out how many unlocks that your company performed during the course of the last 12 months. Next, try to find out the approximate number of people who live and work within your geographic service area. Since industry statistics show that about 7% of the driving population will use the services of a professional locksmith for an unlock-related service call within the course of a year, we can use the following formula to calculate our local market share of that niche of our business.Now lets get a pencil and paper, along with a calculator and follow some of thses formulas

Population x .70 x .07 = y . Now take the number of lockouts your company performed last year and divide it by y. This equals your Local Market Share

As an example, let’s suppose that we service an area that contains 100,000 people, and our company performed 250 unlocks-related service calls last year. If we take our population (100,000) we can assume that approximately 70% of those persons are within our “driving” population. We simply multiply our population by (.70). Once we have obtained this adjusted population number we then multiply it by (.07). This calculation will give us the number of persons (7% of the driving population) who required the services of a professional locksmith for an unlock-related service call within the last year. Then, simply take the number of service calls that we performed in the last 12 months and divide it by the number of total lockout calls that were serviced within our local market. This calculation (after moving the decimal two places to the right is our approximate Local Market Share. With these examples, the calculation would look like this:

100,000 x .70 x .07 = 4900. 250 / 4900 = .051 or 5.1% Local Market Share

Now let’s calculate the increase in service calls if we are able to increase our market share by 5%. If 5.1% of the service calls last year was 250. Then to add an additional 5% to our local market share, means that we will have to perform approximately 250 additional calls this year (almost doubling the amount of calls) to achieve this.

It is important to remember that there is a tremendous difference between increasing your market share by 5% and increasing our business by 5%. In the previous example, we see that increasing

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Notesmarket share by a mere 5%, is representative of a 100% increase in business.

With this concept in mind, let’s now turn to a quite different approach in the development of our marketing budget. If we generated $100,000 in revenues last year, and we want to increase our business by 10% this year, we would simply calculate last years business ($100,000) multiplied by 1.10 (last years business plus a 10% increase) to arrive at our targeted revenues for this year, ($110,000). Using this years target ($110,000) and subtracting last years revenues ($100,000) will give us our Net Expected Increase ($10,000). To calculate the number of additional service calls needed to increase our business by this number, simply take the Net Expected Increase and divide it by your average service rate. In this example, let us suppose that rate is $40.

($110,000 - $100,000) / $40 = 250 (Increased number of service calls needed)

In simplified terms, we will need to perform 250 additional service calls to generate the $10,000 of additional revenue needed to reach our goal of a 10% growth in our yearly business. Now we must ask ourselves, “how much of an increase in marketing dollars should we expect to spend to achieve this growth?” The answer is simple to obtain. In order to grow our business by 10% (which in this case is $10,000) we multiply the revenue increase by our baseline assumption of 10% of sales.

$10,000 x .10 = $1,000 (additional marketing dollars needed to achieve targeted growth)

Let’s take a few minutes and jump right into some practical exercises for calculating market share.

Exercises:

1. What is the population of my local service area?

2. How many unlocks-related service calls did my companyperform last year (12 months)?

3. How many other locksmiths am I aware of, who provideunlock service in my local service area?

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Notes4. Using the formula (population x .70 x .07) , how many lockouts are likely to occur in my service area within the next 12 months?

5. Using the formula (your company’s unlocks service calls in the last 12 months divided by the number of lockouts likely to occur in your service area within the next 12 months), what is my market share for our local market? (remember to move thedecimal point two places to the right)

6. In order for my organization to gain additional market share, how many additional service calls will we have to perform to acquire an additional 1%__________ 5% __________ 10%_________

7. Increasing our revenues by 10% means an increase in _______ service calls per year. Aside from market share, how many additional service calls will we have to perform to increase our revenues by 1% ________ 5% ________ 10% __________

The Marketing Calendar

After we have constructed a working marketing budget with a specific goal in mind (i.e. 5% increase in market share, or 10% increase in revenue), it is now time to decide how and when we are going to spend our marketing dollars to achieve our desired goal. If we use the general rule that we are going to spend a dime for every additional dollar we plan to gain in revenue, then based on our target goal(s), we pretty much know what we should expect to devote to our marketing budget.

It is now time to develop a marketing calendar that will tell us when our marketing activities should be engaged, and when we should expect to see the results of these activities. This calendar is useful for many reasons. It will allow us to budget quarterly, monthly, or even weekly marketing expenses, so that we can properly manage our monthly cash flows. It will also serve as a barometer to help us gauge the timing of results, and help us to track the success of certain marketing activities. As a very familiar example, let us suppose that we spend $1,000 per month to maintain our yellow page ad. If we have the proper tracking procedures in place, we should be able to gauge the success of that ad on a monthly basis, and make tactical adjustments to our overall marketing plan, if the results specifically related to that ad are not reaching our expectations. A key note here is to always try to find out how a new customer has come into contact with your

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Notesbusiness. How did they hear about you? This information can be vital in determining the success of a particular marketing activity.

Many marketing tools do not necessarily yield immediate results. For example, if we have decided to enlarge our yellow page ad for the coming year, we may have to pay for that increase months before the ad is actually published and out there working for us. This lag time between the expense of that ad and the time that we begin to see actual results is very important for us to manage from a cash flow standpoint because the results from our efforts will not be recorded until some time in the future.

The marketing calendar helps us to plan for those expenses, and will allow us to intelligently forecast their results. With some marketing activities, it is difficult to predict both the quantity and timeliness of their results. For instance, if we decided to give a free seminar to our community on household security tips, we are almost certain to gain SOME additional business from doing so, but it may be difficult to gauge exactly how much additional business we should expect, and exactly when we should expect it. Some people who attend our seminar may call us the next day for our products or services, while others may call us next year.

It now becomes easy to see why we need to develop our budget BEFORE we develop our calendar. The budget is what governs our calendar by providing both the marketing goal, as well as making sure we can afford to schedule the activities that will be listed on our calendar. And, since the results from our marketing activities are sometimes difficult to track with respect to time, it is important that we are able to focus our marketing lens on a monthly basis, so we don’t put additional strain on our cash flow waiting on marketing results.

Tracking The Results

One of the most important ways to understand the success rate of each of our marketing activities, is the development of some form of tracking. As Marketing Locksmiths, we always want to know how well each of our marketing activities is doing, and be able to calculate a specific return on our investment.

An easy way to set up a basic tracking system is to have a tally sheet with a list of all current marketing activities by our telephone. When a new customer calls in, simply ask them how they heard about our company, and put a tick mark beside whatever marketing tool that prompted that customer’s call. Some examples of these tools would be: yellow page ad, business cards, corporate brochures, local merchant associations, customer

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Notesreferrals or word of mouth, repeat customers, newspaper articles or press releases, seminar attendees, 1-800-UNLOCKS® customers, internet site visits, etc. , or maybe they just saw one of our service vehicles driving around and remembered your name or number. Tailor your list around the activities that we are currently using to promote our business.

Another effective and more precise way of tracking our marketing results, would be to have this checklist printed on our invoices. That way we can attribute specific revenues to each marketing activity. This will help us better gauge our returns. For example, let’s suppose we tally our monthly invoices and they total $15,000. Suppose we see that $10,000 of that business was generated from our yellow page ad. Let’s say our ad costs us $1,000 per month. It becomes very easy for us to determine the success of that ad simply by dividing those revenues attributed to our ad by the monthly price of our ad. In this case, our revenues directly associated with our ad ($10,000) divided by the cost of our ad per month ($1,000) yields a 10% marketing cost associated with those revenues. This is an obviously acceptable parameter.

Let’s suppose that the other $5,000 in revenue came from referrals, 1-800-UNLOCKS® customers, repeat customers, coupons, and brochures, each with $1,000 in contribution. Because we know the exact amount of business that was generated from each of these tools, and we also know the exact cost associated with each (word of mouth excluded) it becomes easy for us to calculate the success rate of an individual marketing activity. There are certainly far more detailed ways to account for our marketing expenses, and there are several marketing and managerial accounting books that are excellent references. But since most of the more advanced systems involve additional expenses, they will not be covered in this workshop.

Exercises

1. List the marketing activities that you are currently usingto promote your business.

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Notes2. Calculate your monthly marketing related expenses, and compare them to your monthly business revenues. Divide your revenues by your expenses. What is your estimated monthlymarketing, as a percentage of revenues?

3. Doyouhavesufficientmeanstotrackyourmarketingexpenses and revenues? If not, what are some immediate ways that you can begin to track these items? And how do you thinkit will improve your abilities as a Marketing Locksmith?

sAmple mArketiNg cAleNdAr

tool JAN feb mAr Apr mAy JuN Jul Aug sep oct Nov dec

tool JAN feb mAr Apr mAy JuN Jul Aug sep oct Nov dec

Yellow Pages

Seminar

Coupons

Radio

Flyers

Direct Mail

Referral Contest

Bundled Accounts

blANk mArketiNg cAleNdAr (for your use)

The following is an example of a marketing calendar. Please us the blank copy of the calendar for your use. Make several copies and retain for your records. Explanation of the marketing tools represented can be found in Section V of this workshop.

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Notes sectioN v

mArketiNg power tools

Now that we have zeroed in on what our marketing objectives are, it is now time to decide which tools we will use to effectively communicate our message to our customers. We have defined our USP, we have targeted our niche market, we have developed a marketing budget based on a determined monetary return, and we have implemented our internal tracking measures. With these things in place, let’s turn our attention to the wide array of marketing vehicles that will deliver our message.

Developing a strong marketing mix is essential to any successful marketing campaign. Our obvious goal is to achieve maximum exposure for a minimum of dollars spent. This is not an easy task. It requires some imagination and innovation on our part to construct a mix of marketing tools that will work best in any particular market. In this section of the workshop, we will take a look at some of the possible marketing avenues. Our budget will govern which of these tools will be placed in our little bag of tricks. Each of the following tools represents a unique way of reaching our customers, and it is up to us, as Marketing Locksmiths, to figure out which ones will work best for our market.

Yellow Page Advertising

Yellow Page advertising has historically been a primary means of exposure for most service related companies, including locksmiths. In our business environment, it is almost essential that we have some sort of listing in our local yellow pages. It is so essential in fact, that it is almost a necessary means for survival.

Our yellow page ad should be constructed with many things in mind. Because of the often tremendous expense involved, our ad should be placed with a specific monetary return in mind. We should be particularly sensitive to the size of our ad with respect to the cost vs. benefit ratio. For instance, let’s suppose we decide to take a full page ad in next year’s local yellow pages. Assuming that ad will cost $1,000 per month, we need to remember the logic of our marketing budget. Will this ad yield $10,000 or more in revenues per month? If not, it is probably not worth the expense, based on our 10% of revenues marketing model.

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NotesIf we currently run a half page ad that costs $600 per month, for example, and we are currently generating $7,000 per month because of that ad, we must calculate our expected return of upgrading that ad to a full page. Let’s walk through a simple exercise that will determine the cost vs. benefit analysis of that upgrade.

Last year we ran a half page ad that cost $600 per month. On average, we generated $7,000 in revenue per month directly attributable to that ad. We can derive two different calculations. First if we divide our revenue ($7,000) by our expense ($600) we arrive at an 11.66 times return on our investment. Reversing the formula and dividing our expense by our revenues we calculate an 8.57% marketing expense for the ad. This is obviously an acceptable margin based on our marketing expense model in Section IV.

Now let’s assume we upgrade our ad to the full page version. This ad costs $1,000 per month and we gain an additional $1,500 in monthly sales as a result. Let’s analyze the difference to see if the additional expense was really worth it. If we add $1,500 per month to our revenues, we are now generating $8,500 per month. If we divide this number by our new add expense ($1,000) we arrive at an 8.5 times return on investment (ROI). If we reverse the equation, we calculate an 11.76% marketing expense. We see here that the upgrade (although justifiable) will cost us an additional 3.2% marginal increase to achieve. At some point, continued upgrades will exceed our acceptable levels of return, and will no longer be worth the additional expense.

As Marketing Locksmiths, it is important to remember that yellow page advertising is an important tool for communicating our message to the public. However, it is not the ONLY one, and should not constitute your entire marketing effort and budget.

Creating Your Yellow Page Ad

There are many things that will determine the success of a yellow page advertisement. Size, placement, color, graphics, and message are among the most important considerations to be made when designing our ad. In the competitive industry that we are working within, it is becoming increasingly challenging to stand out in the crowd of other ads.

We should design our ad with certain considerations in mind. There is a simple rule we should follow called the AIDA principal

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Noteswhen designing any advertising template. Attention, Interest, De-sire and Action are the priorities we should keep in mind. Captur-ing attention, sparking an interest, creating a desire, and prompt-ing an action should be our mindset in every ad we develop. Our Unique Service Proposition (Section II) should be the thread of our idea, because it is that which will set us apart from the rest of the pack.

It is important to deliver an ad that is simple, attention grabbing, and informative. It should convey the benefits of our organization rather than the features. Let’s take a minute here to fully understand the difference. A feature is something that PROVIDES benefits. For example, letting our customers know that our service vehicles are radio dispatched is a terrific feature of our business. Letting them know that we can be there to service them in 30 minutes is a BENEFIT of our radio dispatched feature. Our customer’s don’t care about features. They only concern themselves with the benefits they will receive BECAUSE of those features. It is essential that we keep this in mind when designing our advertisements.

Exercises:

1. Using the AIDA principle, take note of some ways that youmight improve your existing yellow page ad.

2. List all of your company’s service features. Beside each feature, list the benefits those features deliver to your customers.

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NotesCorporate ID

As small business managers, we all understand the importance of our professional image. Nothing we do will better represent that image than the marketing collaterals that we develop. These collaterals include our logo, signage on service vehicles, uniforms, business cards, letterhead, company brochures, direct mail pieces, coupons, invoices, etc. We should always strive for consistency and appeal in all of these areas. Our company’s image can instill confidence from our customers and will make a lasting impression on them.

Unlocks, Inc. can, for a small fee, completely design a winning Corporate ID collateral system for your company. For more information, contact us at 800-865-6257, option #2 for customer service.

Free Press

There are many forms of free exposure that we can obtain with very little effort. In most cases the simple act of driving down the highway in our service vehicles is a form of free exposure, because our service vehicles are literally serving as moving billboards for our company. It is important that our vehicles are clean and professionally appealing.

Another good form of free exposure is our local newspapers. Hometown newspapers LOVE to run articles and press releases on area businesses. A good suggestion to keep in mind is to type a concise, informative press release and send it to your local newspaper EVERY time your company does something that warrants the public’s attention. For example, profiling a new staff member, or adding a new product line, or becoming part of the 1-800-UNLOCKS® Nationwide Automated Dispatch Service, or receiving a new certification, or expanding our operations, or offering a free seminar on home security, etc. The list goes on. You’d be surprised how easy it really is to capture the newspapers attention from things such as these.

Exercises:

1. Draft a mock press release to your local newspaper, announcing everything you can think of that might capture the attention of both the newspaper’s editor, and your customers.

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NotesCoupons

Coupons are a very effective and inexpensive way to provide value to your customers, and gain additional business at the same time. Every time we service a new customer, we should hand him or her SIX things: Our business card, a company brochure, a sticker for their automobile window, a customer information card, (so we can put them in our customer database) a receipt/invoice, and a coupon (to prompt that customer to buy from us again).

Coupons can be created for a wide array of offerings. If you are a supplier for a certain line of deadbolt locks for instance, your coupon may be for a 10% discount on all deadbolts purchased and installed within the next year. Another example would be a coupon that is a complimentary invitation to a free home security seminar. If we use our imagination, we can construct an endless flow of coupon offerings that will not only show our appreciation for our customer’s patronage, but will also serve as a catalyst for many different back-end product sales and services.

1-800-Unlocks, Inc. can, for a small fee, design your coupon offering to your specifications. Contact us at 800-865-6257 for more information.

Exercises:

1. Think of five different coupon offerings that your company could offer to increase your back-end product/service sales.

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NotesCustomer Referrals

The most inexpensive marketing tool we can use is a Customer Referral Program. Word-of-Mouth advertising should be something we all strive to implement and increase every single day. Customer referral programs are extremely easy to put together and the sales results can be astounding. For example, extend an invitation to each of your customers a chance to win a 10 minute grocery shopping spree. The customer who refers the highest dollar value of business to your organization wins the spree at the end of the year. This can provide an incredible level of exposure for your company, especially if the grocery store takes part in the sponsorship of the contest. If your customer database is up to date and organized, it will be very easy to track the referrals. It becomes a fun game for your customers to play and you will be surprised how motivated they will be to refer you to everyone they know. There are many profitable and fun-filled ways that you can implement exciting customer referral programs. Just make sure that the contest prize doesn’t exceed our marketing return formula of 10-15%.

Exercises

1. Think of three customer referral programs that youcan implement locally to increase your profits and customerawareness.

Take One Boxes

Take One Boxes are an easy way to get contact information about potential customers. They are designed to be placed around town with an offer to entice people to fill out a customer information card. You might offer a drawing for a color television, for instance, to incent people to give information about themselves. This information can then be used for future marketing efforts such as direct mail campaigns, coupons, etc.

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NotesLocal Bundled Accounts

As Marketing Locksmiths, a good part of our day is spent marketing our products and services to local commercial accounts. Contractors, hospitals, banks, and other commercial entities are important to our growth as small companies. But we tend to do very little marketing to local consumer groups.

Some good examples of bundled local accounts are: Automobile dealerships, local merchant associations, shopping malls, parking lot authorities, community associations, churches, schools, office parks, police and fire departments, coliseums, convention centers, theme parks, country clubs, fairgrounds, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theatres, parks and recreation areas, beaches, airports, train and bus stations, boat/RV/motorcycle dealers, condominium and apartment complexes, hobby clubs and societies, local trucking fleets, local car rental companies, major corporations, manufacturing plants, hotels, casinos, resort areas, area tourist attractions, museums, libraries, health clubs, hospitals and medical complexes, vocational centers, and the list goes on.

These accounts can be a goldmine of new and repeat business for us. It is extremely important that we market our business to these types of accounts. There is a tremendous amount of contract business for us to go after in all of these areas. It is important that we keep these bundled accounts in mind as we develop and execute our marketing plan.

Exercises:

1. Think of ten specific local accounts that you would like to have a service contract with. What are some effective ways thatyou can market to these accounts?

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NotesSeminars and Newsletters

We have talked about putting on local educational seminars in our local markets to gain exposure for our company’s products and services. These seminars are easy to assemble and can yield tremendous rewards in both customer appreciation and increased revenues. It is important that we take full advantage of the attention and exposure we are certain to gain from these seminars. Here are some important things we can do to maximize our results: Provide a guest registry and have each attendee fill out a customer information card, assemble a package for each attendee that includes a business card, a company brochure, and a coupon offering of some sort.

The agenda for these seminars should be educational in nature, so that we don’t turn it into a company advertisement. They shouldn’t last more than a couple of hours and should be highly interactive with the audience. Educating your attendees on new technologies, and helpful tips on home (and/or office) security will inevitably lead to product and service purchases (i.e. home alarms, fireproof boxes, safes, window locks, deadbolts, etc.) If our perceived intent is strictly educational, then our attendees will be far more comfortable with us as product and service vendors in the future. It can be a personally rewarding experience for you, as well as a profitable marketing tool for our company.

Newsletters are another informative and educational tool for our customers. This tool is wonderful as a “stay in touch” gesture to our existing customer base. It is an opportunity for us to keep our customers up to date as to what is going on in our business, as well as informing them about new technologies and product offerings. It is important that we ALWAYS include some coupon offering with our newsletters so that we can maximize our marketing results and increase our back end revenues. After all, we want to be that customer’s locksmith for life, so let’s show them we mean it by capturing their attention every chance we get.

Newsletters can be one page or several pages, depending on how much information we plan to convey. We should distribute one about once every 3 or 4 months to keep a fresh and MEMORABLE image in our customers’ minds. They are fairly easy and inexpensive to construct, and although they can be a bit time consuming to create, they are a wonderful tool in which to keep in touch with your existing customers.

Unlocks, Inc. will be collecting articles and press clippings related to the locksmith and security industry. We are able, for a small fee, to completely produce an informative newsletter for you,

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Notesthat you can use to distribute complimentary to your customers. We can also provide services for seminar development and production. Call us for more information at (800) 865-6257 ext.2.

Flyers, Posters, and Lawn Signs

Handing out flyers, displaying posters, and periodically placing lawn signs in highly visible areas can be a very effective way to let your community know who they should call for their locksmith services. This type of marketing is generally inexpensive to produce, and can increase your exposure dramatically. The following section (called 1-800 UNLOCKS Success) contains a sample flyer that you are welcome to use for your own local marketing efforts. If you would prefer to design your own, let the sample serve as a guideline to your creation. Unlocks, Inc., for a small fee, can design your custom flyers and provide camera-ready art for your use. Call us at (800) 865-6257 ext.2 for more information.

Lawn signs are easy to produce and get tremendous roadside exposure. Be aware, however, of any local laws that may prohibit the use of such advertisements.

Radio and Television

Radio and Television are easily the most expensive marketing tools, and often the most difficult to predicting revenue results. Although it can be an extremely effective tool to use, the fact that most of our business is not derived from a provoked and emotional response, leaves the ability to calculate a specific return rather obscured. Radio and television campaigns often reach areas that are outside of our geographic service ranges, so a portion of the response gained from this type of exposure is wasted.

Radio and television campaigns should be done moderately and carefully (if at all). It is important that the proper message and USP be conveyed effectively, and since both of these mediums are teeming with direct response marketing, it is also extremely important that a specific offering be presented in our ad. Make sure you are aware of time scheduling of your ad. Media ads that are aired at 4:00 a.m. will certainly have a different result than those aired at 9:00 a.m.

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Notes sectioN vi

1-800-uNlocks® success

As a new member of the most elite nationwide network of locksmith service providers, your organization is among the first and only to enjoy both the local and national benefits of this program. For the first time ever, the power of marketing synergy has been brought right to your local doorstep. With the trademarked protection of this highly memorable toll free number, coupled with the unique automated digital technology and national marketing power, we will all continue working together to insure the success of this never before available system.

Our focus in this final section of the Marketing Locksmith Workshop will be on the introduction and implementation of success-minded ways to “get the word out” about this exciting new technology to your local community. We all have a unique opportunity to enjoy the exclusively protected benefits of this program, and it is essential that we all follow the same pathway to success.

The 1-800-UNLOCKS® marketing plan is actually very simple and straightforward. Our common goal is obviously to create a consumer awareness icon that becomes a household name for everyone in your community. Through continuous and prolonged exposure, education, and the leverage of national fleet accounts, the 1-800-UNLOCKS® name and number will be the ONLY number to call for locksmith service needs.

The most important and highly rewarding thing to do is PUBLISH your new 1-800-UNLOCKS® telephone number in your local yellow page advertisement. You will find camera ready logo art immediately following this section of the workshop to use in your ad design. Publishing this number means immediate exposure, and the user-friendliness of providing this highly memorable toll free telephone number will give your customers one more reason to call your shop for their locksmith service needs.

You are also provided within this workshop, camera-ready art to produce highly reflective red and blue signage for your service vehicles. Decide on an appropriate size for your signage and find a highly visible location on your trucks or vans for display. This attention grabbing logo will literally serve as a mobile billboard for your company, and the 1-800-UNLOCKS® service.You will also be supplied with attractive, translucent window

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Notes stickers to use when servicing ANY of your customers. These stickers should be placed right on the window right over the driver’s side lock assembly. This out-of-the way reminder is much like the little oil change reminder stickers we receive when we have our oil changed. This little sticker is an extremely powerful tool to insure that our customers know who to call the next time they are in need of a professional locksmith.

As a proud member of the 1-800-UNLOCKS® network, you are entitled to the exclusive local use of the national trademark and logo. This is a unique privilege that should be incorporated into EVERY piece of your marketing plan. The most successful way to use the 1-800-UNLOCKS® system is to include it in everything you do. You have an opportunity to make this system an integral part of your company’s identity.

Unlocks Inc., is proud to announce yet another highly powerful marketing tool that is available to our members. It is called the Marketing Key Club. Key Club members receive a quarterly newsletter that is distributed confidentially to those 1-800-UNLOCKS® licensed service providers that wish to contribute their local marketing ideas. In exchange for your ideas, you will receive powerful marketing tips from other locksmiths across the country. Because of the highly sensitive information this publication contains, it will NOT be distributed to the general locksmith community. This is an incredible opportunity for you to share success tips with other locksmiths, without risk to your local market activity, since no other 1-800-UNLOCKS® service providers operate within your territory. There is a tabbed section of this workshop reserved as a “hiding place” for these newsletters, and you will find membership information about this exciting program in that section.

We hope you have found this interactive workshop to be helpful in your overall marketing strategy. As your continuous marketing partner, Unlocks, Inc. is dedicated to assisting you as you carve a pathway to marketing success. It is with great pleasure that we have presented this workshop to you, and we anticipate standing beside you as you reap the rewards of this program for many years to come. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about this program, or would like to know more about other 1-800-UNLOCKS® marketing-related services, please feel free to contact us at (800) 865-6257 ext.2. We welcome your comments. Until then, Godspeed in your marketing success.

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xhib

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s

RedPantone® 485cvc

BluePantone® 280cvc

exhibit bArtwork for Vehicle Signage(with color designation)

Output: 600 dpi laserElectronic Tiff version available upon request

Pantone® 485cvc (Red)Type: SpotModel: CMYK

Cyan: 0%Magenta: 100%Yellow: 91%Black: 0%

Pantone® 280cvc (Blue)Type: SpotModel: CMYK

Cyan: 100%Magenta: 72%Yellow: 0%Black: 18%

is proud to announce its new partnership with

One Nationwide Toll Free Number for ALL of your Locksmith Needs

• Bonded• Certified• Insured• CompetitiveRates• 231/2HourService

• Residential• Automotive• Commercial• DiscountsAvailable• NewAccountsWelcomed

Call 1-800-UNLOCKS (865-6257) It’s THAT simple!!!

Exhibit CSample Flyer

123 Maple StreetLocksburg, FL 23685

727-934-7022 or 1-800-UNLOCKS

Able guy’s Lock & key

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Notes

10% Able guy’s Lock & key1-800-UnLockS

• Lockouts • Home security • Hardware• Spare Keys • 23 1/2 hour dependable service

1-800-UnLockSPresent this coupon for a 10 percent

discount on all products and services.Expires 12-31-2025

10%

Unlocks_Marketing_Workbook

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