Dan Antonelli The most common question we’re asked about investing in branding is, “What is the ROI?” And, of course, will it work?
As much as we love building beautiful brands—and marketing materials— what’s the point if it doesn’t move the needle? So, you get a killer brand and a head-turning truck wrap. So what? How will it affect your bottom line?
It’s easier to measure better booking and close rates and increases in average tickets. Those almost always come with a better brand, as do culture and mindset improvement and a renewed passion for your business. But how does this beautiful brand affect the biggest advertising expense most home service businesses have—their online spend?
People have heard me speak about Google and say, “Google loves weak brands.” As witty as that might be, it’s also true that it gets rich off weak brands, and it hates it when the customers you’re targeting actually know your name before Googling “HVAC near me.”
But sadly, when it comes time for the people you are targeting to search for a contractor, more than 80% have no idea what name to look for. But what if they did? What do the numbers below suggest?
We asked our friends at 1SEO Digital Agency to run some numbers to see if any conclusions could be drawn as to whether becoming more visible, sticky and memorable in your community has an effect, and if so, how that translates into your digital marketing.
We looked at four benchmarks and compared 1SEO clients using our brand with 1SEO clients not using a KickCharge brand. For all of the company comparisons, they are in similar market types in different locales, so their customer bases are homogeneous.
Here’s what we found:
For branded monthly organic searches, we compared 15 KickCharge brands with 15 non-KickCharge brands. Our brands were averaging 1,600+ more searches per month compared with non-KickCharge brands, or a 252% increase.
For branded monthly display ad creative click-through rates, we compared four KickCharge brands with four non-KickCharge brands. Although this data set is obviously smaller, our brands were averaging 13,574 more clicks per month compared with the non-KickCharge brands. That’s an astonishing 960% increase.
Next, we looked at LSA conversion rates and compared the results of seven KickCharge brands with seven non-KickCharge brands. For these, we see KickCharge brands converting at a rate of 74.6% versus 48.8% for non-KickCharge brands, which equates to 25.8% more conversions.
We looked at four benchmarks and compared 1SEO clients using one of our brands with 1SEO clients not using a KickCharge brand. KickCharge brands are converting at almost double the rate (94.5%) in comparison with non-KickCharge brands. The sample set isn’t huge, but I think we can make some assumptions on the data. And I think every digital marketing company would agree that better brands deliver better results—and make their jobs easier. That’s why so many love working with brands we’ve created.
It’s easy to blame your digital marketing company when the results aren’t what you’ve hoped for. Sometimes they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with, and sadly, sometimes that poor foundation hampers their ability to win for you.
It’s also worth noting that many of our clients are working super hard to be visible in their community. Certainly, the disruptive trucks are playing a role, but being involved in grassroots community events helps a ton, too. Get out there and meet the customers you are courting! While colorful truck wraps play a huge role, nothing is “stickier” than face-to-face interaction with members of the community you serve.
Thanks to CJ Bachmann and BJ Bergey at 1SEO Digital Agency for providing the data.
