Matecumbe Machinery: Brand Strategy Plan
I recently developed a brand strategy management plan for a local company, Matecumbe Machinery. I thoroughly enjoyed cultivating this brand strategy plan because I have watched this company grow from the very start. I have witnessed first-hand the company’s many strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As the marketing consultant for this company, I wanted to cultivate a brand strategy plan because I saw the amount of potential Matecumbe Machinery had if the owner implemented a consistent and well-thought-out marketing strategy.
At the start of my work for Matecumbe Machinery, the company’s primary source of business growth and jobs were generated from word-of-mouth tactics due to the business owner, Nathan’s charismatic personality, strong relationship building skills, and his community connections. Despite their lack of brand marketing Matecumbe Machinery has grown significantly in the last few years but, I felt that if a brand strategy plan was implemented and executed correctly, this company could grow even more to maximize its full potential. The biggest challenge that needed to be addressed when beginning this plan was brand recognition. At this point in time, the brand name was spread purely through word of mouth. Because of this, the services were often attributed to the owner rather than the brand as a whole. Further, within the minds of locals, there was no brand name and owner connection- everyone knew Nathan was in the landscaping and hardscaping industry, but had they heard the company name, they would not know that Nathan was the owner.
Considering the overall business strategy, my branding plan recommended a brand management strategy for Matecumbe Machinery for the systematic development and brand alignment with the current business strategy. In order to drive brand awareness, customer acquisition, and customer retention, I recommended that Matecumbe Machinery begin implementing the proposed brand strategy by first updating the company logo to demonstrate elements of both landscaping and machinery as well as a more tropical scenery to tie together the company’s offered services and the connection the owner has to the Florida Keys. The secondary use of these elements was to expand the brand associations with the logo, so the logo represented the industry of services provided.
Along with the update to the logo, I recommended the use of a bold and manly font, Blue Highway D Font, as it was legible both up close and at a distance. I also utilized coastal colors to represent the tropical nature of the market in which he services.
After making changes to the logo I recommended the use of brand packaging elements. Because Matecumbe Machinery had no brand recognition within the community at the time, the use of branded packaging would work in our benefit to meet our objectives of the plan. Some of the brand packaging recommendations were the use of branded yard signs at current and completed job sites to help associate the finished product with the brand within the minds of locals. Dump trucks and equipment vehicles wrapped with the branded design would drive brand awareness and create a cohesive brand image as the area Matecumbe Machinery services only has one main highway with one lane for 103 miles. As a result, implementing the use of branding trucks would constantly remind locals who navigate in the area of service about the brand and generate brand recognition. Further, competitors who are in the same industry are known for having unattractive equipment. Being that Nathan’s company is in the service of working in customer’s yards, I felt it would be beneficial to update equipment with a more attractive view for his higher-end customers to see in their yards during the time of service. Finally, I recommended Matecumbe Machinery have company branded t-shirts made for employees to wear when working to create trust and credibility. A dual-purpose for the T-shirts can serve as a referral incentive to be distributed to customers who send referrals to the company because everyone loves free t-shirts and will wear them around the community to drive brand awareness.
I also suggested the use of branded stationery to be distributed to customers with job quotes, billing statements, and thank you letters. Additionally, the use of branded local advertisements on billboards, commercial signs, and business cards will create a cohesive brand image in the community and reinforce the brand’s name and the owner’s positive reputation in the community.
In addition to the brand facelift, Matecumbe Machinery needed to enhance their digital presence utilizing both organic and paid methods. The integrated communications plan recommended the use of leveraging organic strategies to focus on community engagement on high-traffic platforms. These platforms include Nextdoor.com to engage with potential customers, Google search engine optimization, Instagram to implement content marketing using a consistent hashtag, #GETTINGDIRTYWITHNATE, and Facebook to reply to customer feedback and post content. Paid strategies included Google display and search ads to target customers in the discovery and research phases, and Instagram and Facebook ads for lead generation.
With a wide variety of communication options at his fingertips, Matecumbe Machinery owner, Nathan, can enhance his reachability for potential customers and generate more leads.
Of course, no branding strategy is complete without a brand equity management system, so I suggested that Nathan track his performance utilizing short term and long-term audit plans. The short-term plan is to track job revenue by customer type, engagement, and website traffic. In contrast, the long-term plan is to monitor social media engagement patterns over time, as well as revenue differences year by year.
Since the implementation of Matecumbe Machinery’s branding strategy plan, the owner, Nathan, has seen a significant increase in business growth and brand recognition. Nathan shared with me, “In the short time since we have implemented this plan, I have had a lot more clients recognize me as my business, Matecumbe Machinery, and recommend me as a business instead of recommending me as Nate. I have also received more referral customers from social media engagement, as well as customer reviews. I honestly wish I’d implemented these marketing tactics sooner.”
"In the short time since we have implemented this plan, I have had a lot more clients recognize me as my business, Matecumbe Machinery, and recommend me as a business instead of recommending me as Nate. I have also received more referral customers from social media engagement, as well as customer reviews. I honestly wish I'd implemented these marketing tactics sooner."
