Marketing muscle: leveraging big-time corporate assets for local marketing gains, 84 Lumber, Carter Lumber, and ORCO Construction Supply back their brand and relationship-building efforts with consistent customer service to become titans of contractor marketing

Prosales, Feb, 2005 by Chris Wood, Katy Tomasulo

The show, which became a two-hour special that aired during sweeps last November, continues to generate buzz among Carter's customers, which McCafferty says has been the greatest marketing payoff of all. "ROI is the age-old question on marketing campaigns. Can you specifically quantify that number? No, but if you take marketing assets away, what kind of impact is your company ever going to have?"

As a bonus, the experience introduced Carter to a new contractor, and Carter's commitment to service success with the project has sealed the partnership and secured a new account. "It was a pleasure working with Carter Lumber on Extreme Makeover," says Adam Becker, vice president of Fairway Construction in Southfield, Mich. "Because of how they stepped up to the plate, we definitely have brought them into our supply system and will probably start to throw a lot of business their way."

That type of feedback from satisfied customers is the ultimate objective of any marketing program, says McCafferty. "You ultimately want them to say 'Hey, you know that promotion you did? You hit it out of the ballpark.'"

Vital Statistics

Company: The Carter lumber Co. * Year founded: 1932 * Headquarters: Kent, Ohio * Number of locations: 240 * Number of employees: 3,500 * 2004 gross sales: $675 million * Pro sales percentage: 70 percent

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

ORCO Construction Supply continues its no-holds-barred marketing campaign with a high-end gift aimed at top customers.

Late last year, select customers of ORCO Construction Supply received a surprise in the mail that would make any baseball fan wish he were in the construction business. The Livermore, Calif.-based distributor of tools and hardware, and winner of a 2004 PROSALES Excellence Award for marketing (November, page 56), continued its impressive branding campaign by sending top customers a one-of-a-kind baseball collection designed to say thank you, and also as a creative way to kick off the New Year with face-to-face meetings between ORCO salespeople and leading customers.

Mailed out in early December, the "Legends of the Game" gift package is a sports-enthusiasts dream: Each kit contained a wood plaque with display ledges for three baseballs. Included was one baseball--autographed by Brooks Robinson, a former Baltimore Orioles player considered one of the best third basemen of all time. Each box was packaged with bags of peanuts and included a signed thank you letter from ORCO president and CEO Bill Kern.

The two remaining ledges on the plaque wouldn't sit empty for long. In January, ORCO salespeople hand-delivered two additional balls to each customer, one signed by three-time MVP Stan Musial and another signed by famed pitcher Nolan Ryan. The limited edition collection includes certificates of authenticity; an accompanying brochure details the careers of all three players.

"It's one thing to say you appreciate a customer's business; it's another to send them a gift like this that shows them just how much they're appreciated," says Director of Marketing Kathleen Roulet, who helped create the program along with Marketing Communications Manager Rob Lewczyk and Arlington, Va.-based consultant Pete Hanley.