Success with the implementation of the strategic plan
- Exceeded fundraising expectations raising more money than the goal. Successfully planned and executed the annual industry golf tournament through registration, collecting fees, advertising, award presentations and all other planning details.
- Coordinated the Industry Banner Awards event from planning to execution including working with two distinguished judges, a two-day judging of Reno new homes and properties, booking banquet, organizing program, awards and theme.
- Produced radio spots for members and edited video for use on YouTube.
- Wrote and managed association newsletter.
- Designed company directory and advertisements for members.
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING CHALLENGE - CASE STUDY #4
Equus Management Group is an HOA Management company. They needed an updated website, marketing collateral and branding so that they could compete more effectively. The key problems were identified immediately when a search for "HOA management company Reno" showed no results on Google. Also, their marketing didn't include important information for buyers such as, "what problem do you solve", and "what is your USP"?
Current client: Social Media Video
Success with implementation of the strategic plan
- Successfully increased organic website search results, leads and sales by 65% through a wide array of marketing strategies including e-mail campaigns, social media, radio advertising, promotions, direct mail and community outreach.
- Re-wrote and updated marketing collateral including a new sales packet, brochures, mailers, proposals, and more.
- Managed all advertising and PR, including radio shows, direct mail, media events, podcasts and videos.
- Surpassed expectations in the launch of the new logo i.e.: videos and animations for logo launch.
- Developed a strategic plan to include annual initiatives achieving all goals on time and on budget.
- Utilized Constant Contact to develop professional newsletters that helped land more jobs than the team could currently handle.
- Developed trade-show collateral including backdrop, logo tablecloth, business cards, handouts and more.
The first step we take for any business is doing a search for your company on the internet with the key search terms your customers would use to find you, not by your company name. In this case, Equus couldn't be found at all under "property management company reno". From there the strategic plan began. The second step involves getting everything ready for a campaign: website, printed collateral, target market research & mailing lists, presentation materials and networking materials. With the strategic plan in place, we began work in identifying the entire B2B market and designed a really cleaver mail piece that captured their attention. Within the first month of the mailing we had 10 leads, 10 presentations and 5 new clients by month 3 large enough to expand the company size and hire new employees to handle the HOA work. Working in-house at the time, the owner was stuck in a lease in a building too small for his growing business. Within the first year we went back to freelance work from home as the client needed our office for the new team members. We have learned that when we speak to a business owner about growing their business through expert marketing, to ask if they are ready for growth. If you hire us, we will grow your sales, the question is, are you ready? A plan for growth needs to be in place simultaneously.
Success with the implementation of the strategic plan
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING CHALLENGE - CASE STUDY #3
Challenge: Put a new business on the map and help increase sales. Infiniti of Reno could not be found on the Internet, even though they had a website due to the lack of SEO being set up. I also helped Acura of Reno. Being one of the top safety pics in the world, the Acura MDX was protecting people and saving the lives of three customers who told me their stories. I came up with the idea to tell the story on a TV commercial and hired a team to produce it.
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING CHALLENGE - CASE STUDY #2
Challenge: The Board of Directors and Executive Director set annual fundraising goals to meet for the year through the development of a wide array of initiatives including: The Annual Golf Tournament, the BANNer Awards, networking events, outreach events, political events, and other industry events. They also needed help providing marketing tools to the sales department to help attract new members.
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING CHALLENGE - CASE STUDY #1
Challenge: The owners of this Reno company came to realize that they have needed a Marketing Director for many years and finally decided to hire one to manage their many visionary initiatives. They were in the process of re-vamping the equipment, the education of their talented employees, branding, collateral and a new website. They were seeking to increase revenue and increase awareness and hired me as a consultant to help them. We doubled their business within three months. Learn how below.
Advice: Was the company ready for growth? Remember to invest in your staff, your fleet, your processes and products before implementing a marketing expert. The truck fleet was breaking down, there weren't enough staff to answer increased calls and e-mails. A business coach is also suggested to help the business prepare for the growth that comes with good marketing.
How to Sell More Cars...
This TV Commercial for Acura sold more MDX's that month than any time in previous years. The moment you find the key reason over any others why someone would buy something, you have to be able to identify it and capitalize on it. In this case, SAFETY wasn't something that was just a report. Safety actually meant saving the most precious thing we have: human life. The MDX was the top safety pick and this proved it. I put together some photos and the general concept and contacted Brian at CID productions to put my idea into action. He created a storyboard. Once I scheduled the spot during the morning and evening news I knew it would be a hit and it was. It still gives me chills today. We managed two websites and the marketing for both Infiniti and Acura for three years. We also did some excellent radio programs where the DJ's rode around in the new Infiniti. We managed the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for Infiniti, including getting the Mayor and other dignitaries from the chamber and hired a small group from the Reno Orchestra members to entertain guests.
Dream Weaver Marketing & Consulting
Marketing & Advertising for Small Business
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING CHALLENGE - CASE STUDY #5
Churrasco Brazilian Steakhouse
The client was introducing a brand-new restaurant in Midtown Reno and needed an experienced small business marketing specialist to increase awareness and help it to be successful. As the ONLY Brazilian style steakhouse in Reno, this didn't seem like too hard of a task at first, but then along came the pandemic of 2020. The restaurant was scheduled to open in February 2020 after a year of renovations, and it did. Staff were trained and in place; reservations were booked solid; the freezer was stocked with a full freezer full of food when the Mayor/Governor closed all non-essential businesses the following month (March, 2020). Any business starting from scratch takes a huge campaign to increase the awareness, but how does a new restaurant survive when many existing restaurants and small companies went out of business during the pandemic? This is the case study about the marketing challenge of a lifetime!
Successes with implementation of the plan during the pandemic
Three months before the client opened the restaurant, we began with signage in the windows "coming soon" which created a lot of excitement from drive-by traffic. To increase awareness and keep people informed of the opening, we offered 100 free dinners if people signed up for the eCLUB mailing list. Prior to opening we already had 4,000 on the list and followers on Facebook. All campaigns drive people to the website with beautiful photos of the meats, dishes and interior of restaurant. The grand opening was delayed due to construction but the anticipation actually helped to drive excitement. We scheduled the free dinner giveaway winners on slower nights so that the restaurant looked busy while new people tried the food and the new servers learned their jobs. These people were the first to review Churrasco on Yelp. (Today the restaurant has almost 1,000 reviews on Yelp with a 4/5 star rating or better on all platforms.)
We wrote a press release before the grand opening and sent it to the media list we developed for the area. Josh Little from Ch. 8 called right away as he was following us on Facebook and was excited about the restaurant. They filmed and aired the next week. They provided us with some professional video footage that we put on YouTube and shared with our social media (including paid FB ads to 10K people), on our website and e-mail campaigns. (YouTube videos with keywords are great for improving SEO). Posted video on Google business posts and local community pages.
We opened to a sold out crowd every weekend. The staff were still new and learning, but the guests were understanding in their reviews during this "soft opening".
With Covid numbers increasing in town, the following month the Mayor closed all non-essential businesses which included restaurants, bars and that included us. All staff, including those who moved here from out of town with their families, were layed-off, my job temporarily eliminated. At this time I forwarded all the information regarding government assistance, and they were able to get a loan to help them later on. We also called local food banks and homeless shelters and was able to donate food to those in need (which of course is a write-off for the business who was at a huge loss.)
By June, 2020, restaurants could open at reduced capacity, but not buffets. Churrasco had a buffet. We had to think out of the box. I called the client with an idea, "What if we had someone at the buffet with mask and gloves serving the guests?" After some thought by the owners, they finally agreed. This decision may have saved the business. We added hand sanitizer, got masks, and served guests from the buffet. But with half the restaurant open, there were no profits. More ideas were needed so we implemented delivery on Uber Eats and Grubhub. This helped a little. Within time, we opened at full capacity and staff stayed in masks & gloves. We wrote and posted Covid guidelines on all of our channels (Website, Facebook, Yelp, Google, etc.). We then prepared all marketing for a second opening.
As their consultant, I wore many hats. I was involved in writing job descriptions, placing ads for staff, writing the company employee manual and helping with orientation. I managed the changes on the website, took photos, worked with photographers, developed relationships with the media, joined the Chamber of Commerce and partnered with the RSCVA and other community organizations. I managed the phone system announcements when I noticed that they were missing hundreds of weekly calls. Relationships with all of the hotels were established and they were invited in for food tastings. Social media was managed in a way that lead more followers in while every question and review was attended to in order to build superb relations with our audience- and it shows in the numbers. All reviews were thanked, and service/food/marketing was rewarded with 4/5 ratings across the board. Worked with Yelp to take off reviews that were against rules. At the time of the second opening, a press release was launched, and it resulted in a great RGJ article and food review.
Near the end of the year, the community voted Churrasco as the Best New Restaurant in Reno. I accepted the award on behalf of the entire staff, managers and owners. When I handed the award over to the team, it was so rewarding because they worked so hard through the pandemic to give the best service and the best food during the most difficult year they ever faced.
In 2022, Churrasco was nominated Best Steakhouse; Best All-Around Restaurant; Best Fine Dining and Best New Restaurant - all well-deserved nominations! They won Best Of Reno for the second consecutive year and were a finalist for the top 3 best steakhouse in Reno in 2023. This is due to marketing efforts and voting from our guests. Churrasco now has two billboards. an airport banner, brochures and a video in the airport baggage claim along with ads in local magazines and newspapers. All advertising is managed by Dream Weaver Marketing. In addition, I have built many strong relationships with local business owners, hotel GM's and concierges and through partnerships with the Reno Riverwalk Association and the Midtown Reno Association.
Churrasco is now building its second location in Palm Springs, CA to open in the fall of 2023. I would consider this venture a success, but not an easy one.