Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing (Case Study 1)

Jackson Composite Repair

Setting up on your own can be a daunting prospect, there is just so much beyond the financials to think about. Suddenly you have daunting questions to think about like:

1) What sort of branding will best represent me and my business?

2) How do I communicate my services, skills and products?

3) Where do I advertise to reach my customer base?

For some people these questions are difficult to answer, but the answers are often as individual as you and your company.

1) BRANDING:

Jackson Composite Repair was set up in 2017 by Pete Jackson. After many years experience Pete had decided to go freelance with his skills in composite, wood, carbon, metal and fibreglass repairs. His skills are transferable across so many different industries (cars, boats, planes etc ... ) that he wanted to create a brand that didn't tie him specifically to one. He wanted a simple typography style design that was easy to embroider onto clothing and for it to be in his favourite colours orange and grey. Fair enough I thought and with a few tweaks we were there. After the logo was sorted I created some business card artwork to give him the beginnings of his company branding.

2) COMMUNICATING YOUR SERVICES:

After talking it through we decided that word of mouth and facebook posts with his before and after images were the things to focus on.

Pete does a great job of using his facebook feed to communicate his skills and services, often posting a before and after image to show the repairs he has performed on various projects. His posts create quite a bit of interest and are a talking point for his followers on facebook to comment on and they often ask Pete questions about his techniques or materials.

Pete was keen to spread the word through word of mouth to, so I created some A4 posters for him to hang up in near by sailing clubs, gliding centre and garages. In keeping with his facebook posts I designed them to include before and after images, to communicate the quality of the finish Pete can achieve.

3) ADVERTISING

Moving on from Petes poster adverts we decided to build on the word of mouth by making a 'calling card' style vinyl sticker which Pete applies to all of his completed projects. In this way his customers can quickly hand Petes details over to friends who need his repair services. The stickers are small enough to be discreet and classy, while still carrying all of the relevant information somebody would need to contact Pete.

The bulk of the stickers were printed in full colour to apply to the majority of his projects. We also printed some in black & white to apply to the black carbon masts, of which he seems to repair quite often.

Another subtle way Pete advertises is by getting some clothing embroidered with his logo, which is a great way for people to put a face to a service. Especially as Pete is a keen sailor and many of his customers have come from his local sailing clubs and the events he has attended.

I enjoyed taking an active role with helping Pete tackle the first steps of his marketing. Just by being clear on what he wanted to achieve with his branding and the avenues that he felt most comfortable with in terms of marketing we were able to define the sort of message he wanted to give his customers. From there we created some marketing solutions which communicated the services he could offer his growing customer base.

Jackson Composite Repair Contact Details:

Pete Jackson - 07496 826061

jacksoncompsrepair@gmail.com