Rick Marchetti’s Auto Service was a long-standing company, well known among locals and offered great service. However, they needed growth to cover their climbing overhead. Real estate costs had gone through the roof in recent years and lease costs had skyrocketed for their property. They needed change.
Originally, the website for this shopping center appealed only to those wanting to lease space. The management company approached us for assistance. Appearing on the website was only simple corporate contact information on who to contact for leasing. This was to be expected, as their focus was to lease out the facility, not to attract retail customers, it was simply a business listing.
The owner of Payment Love was not looking for a change in branding when we met. On the contrary, he was looking for a “quick-fix”, a high-quality, professional website, done fast. After meeting, we asked him to put the brakes on, something we rarely do. You see, his previous business name, really didn’t carry with it the name brand recognition he wanted and although he took great care of his customers, he didn’t really feel the brand was something to “hang his hat on”. The near-cryptic url for the website made matters even worse. That spelled caution in our eyes. This was a clear case of a company needing a rebrand.
Our construction client, a professional painter, was a third generation specialist in their field. Their marketing materials belied this fact with a simplistic, old-style design. As a result of not having up to date, modern marketing materials, the contractor had difficulty acquiring larger residential or commercial jobs due to being perceived incorrectly more as a small company, a one-man show.
Our hospitality client owned a dated property connected to an existing franchise who’s high franchise fees made it difficult to operate the facility as well as maintain and upgrade at the same time. These franchise fees, while they brought brand recognition, also brought it at a high cost. The owner believed the property could stand on its own and do well without the franchise cost. It was time for a change.
As a specialist for almost 10 years in Hawaiian flowers, Pano Ranch is a very unique business. That uniqueness made them difficult to find, except perhaps for someone knowing exactly what to look for. What further hindered the business was that their logo varied from piece to piece, every piece was a different color, just like their flowers. Unfortunately, that gave them zero brand recognition making them “lost in the shuffle”. This is actually a very common thing amongst small business owners. The lack of specialization and the effort to “do it all” themselves is a double-edged sword.