June 18, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode, Janet and Caitlyn break down a powerful yet underutilized strategy for lead generation: integrating manufacturer leads into your digital marketing campaigns. Perfect for home improvement businesses in growth or scale mode, this episode outlines how to go beyond word-of-mouth and aggregator leads by partnering more effectively with product manufacturers.
Key Takeaways:
- What manufacturer leads are and why they’re so valuable.
- How to build meaningful relationships with your manufacturer reps.
- Unlocking co-op marketing dollars (that manufacturers don’t advertise!).
- Creating product-specific landing pages and optimizing with SEO and PPC.
- Leveraging social media and retargeting to stay top-of-mind with interested buyers.
- Why this strategy supports scalable, smart growth—often without increasing ad spend.
Whether you're already getting manufacturer leads or just discovering the potential, this episode is packed with actionable insights.
Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Caitlyn (00:01):
Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors.
This podcast is brought to youby Fat Cat Strategies, a
full-service digital marketingagency based in Raleigh, North
Carolina.
We specialize in helping homeimprovement contractors just
like you grow their businesses.
Janet (00:17):
Today, you're listening to a series called Build, Grow,
Dominate, marketing strategiesfor every stage of your home
improvement business.
Every Wednesday, we take a deepdive into the lessons that
we've learned from supportingsome amazing business owners in
the home improvement industry.
Caitlyn (00:34):
In part one, we'll cover the essentials from
startup to your first 5 million.
In part two, we're shiftinggears to focus on what it takes
to scale your business to asuccessful exit and or how to
dominate your market.
Now let's get into it.
Janet (00:48):
Hey, I'm Janet, the founder of Fat Cat Strategies.
Today, I'm joined by mycolleague, Caitlin Noble.
Caitlin, what are we talkingabout today?
Introduce yourself and tell uswhat we're talking about.
Caitlyn (00:59):
Hey, I'm Caitlin, head client services, and we're
really excited.
Today, we're diving into astrategy that can seriously
accelerate your lead generationas you scale your home
improvement business,integrating manufacturer leads
into your digital marketingcampaigns.
So,
Janet (01:16):
If you've made it past the early growth phase, like
you're past all those pains andnow you're into scaling and, you
know, taking it to the nextlevel, then you are probably
already running solid campaigns.
But what if I told you there'sa high quality source of leads
that's probably underutilized inyour company and already tied
(01:38):
to the products that you sellevery day?
Oh yeah,
Caitlyn (01:41):
absolutely.
So today's episode is all aboutthose manufactured leads, what
they are, why they matter, andhow to use them in your online
marketing strategy for maximumimpact.
And just to pause reallyquickly, I think we inherit a
lot of Businesses who have onlyused manufacturer leads.
(02:01):
Oh, yeah.
And then they come to us.
And so this is kind of like theflip of that.
A flip of that.
You've got an agency, but nowyou're looking at an opportunity
to add on another agency.
Yeah.
Janet (02:13):
So we just want to acknowledge that, you know,
we've had such an amazingsuccess with so many fantastic
clients who are installingJacuzzi products and James Hardy
products and other well-knownbrands that American homeowners
know and love.
And when we work with thosecompanies, you know, they
(02:33):
already know, oh, mymanufacturer that I buy product
from is such a huge source ofqualified leads.
If you've already cracked thatnut, Congratulations.
Pat yourself on the back.
We are actually, today'sepisode is...
aimed at those businesses thatyou're up and running, you are
profitable, your revenues aregrowing, your staff is growing,
(02:55):
and maybe you really got yourstart buying third party
aggregators.
Or you just have such a greatfootprint in the community and
you've got all these great wordof mouth leads.
Wherever your leads come from,if you are not strategically
thinking about how to partnerwith the manufacturers that you
(03:16):
buy products from as a source ofrevenue growth for you.
That's what today's episode isabout.
Perfection.
Caitlyn (03:26):
Always have to ask the factory.
Oh, yeah.
So let's start with the basics.
What exactly are manufacturerleads?
These are leads generated bythe manufacturer.
You get listed in a few ofthose.
Jacuzzi, James Hardy,Certainty, all those qualities.
So the manufacturer of theproducts you install, whether
it's windows, roofing systems,doors, or siding, these folks
(03:47):
have already shown interest in aspecific product.
Amazing.
And that makes them ahigh-intent prospect and
extremely valuable.
to you.
Janet (03:57):
So just to be clear, Caitlin, what you're talking
about is a homeowner that knowsthat they want to install a
specific type of product ontheir home and they went
directly to that manufacturer'swebsite and they probably
clicked a button that saidsomething like, find a dealer
near me.
They searched by a zip code andthen they filled out a form.
(04:19):
That's who we're talking about,right?
That's exactly right.
So the kicker is what we'vefound is that many contractors
are not fully capitalizing onthese leads.
And the reason we think thatis, is because you guys have not
integrated them into yourdigital marketing ecosystem.
So let's fix that.
I didn't get a bunch of stufffor any go through.
(04:39):
So let's go through step one.
Okay, so step one is to get asteady stream of leads from your
manufacturers.
First, you've got to buildtrust with the manufacturer, not
the homeowner with themanufacturer.
So what you need to do is makesure that you've got a good
relationship with the rep thatservices your area.
(04:59):
So a lot of the manufacturerswe see, their reps will have a
geography.
They'll be, you know, east ofthe Mississippi or they'll be
the mid-Atlantic.
So if you...
Have a rep, but maybe you'veonly casually interacted with
that rep.
What we would encourage you todo is get to know your rep more.
(05:20):
Find out what their goals areto sell those products.
Because just like you have asales goal for your company,
your manufacturer's rep also hasa sales goal.
If you guys can help each othermeet your goals together,
that's where some magic canhappen.
Caitlyn (05:38):
Yeah, I think that, I mean, you summed up exactly what
to do there in terms ofbuilding that strong
manufacturer relationship.
Get to know your rep and attendthose trainings.
Again, that's stay current onthe products and show that
you're serious aboutrepresenting that brand.
I know, you know, as an agency,we've connected with reps of
manufacturers.
Absolutely.
Janet has gone on to do manywebinars and so forth just to
(06:03):
educate, you know, people likeyou who have been introduced
through the manufacturer aboutmarketing tips.
So we're even just like extraperks there.
I think that are offered justby building that relationship.
It doesn't necessarily meanfirst dibs on leads, but I do
(06:23):
think there's opportunitiesthere to like get co-graded
marketing and so forth, which isthe second step they'll kind of
dive into right now in terms ofthat co-op marketing with the
manufacturer.
Janet, you want to talk alittle bit about the marquee
programs?
Yeah,
Janet (06:41):
I'm going to...
take a little sidestep and tella story from a completely
different industry and then comeback to manufactured products
that are construction products.
So years and years ago, whendinosaurs were on the earth, I
used to work in software and Iworked with local companies that
(07:02):
were like IT consultingcompanies and they were, you
know, installing full Microsoftproducts and setting up servers
and whatnot.
Caitlyn (07:12):
Yeah.
Janet (07:12):
And that was kind of when I was introduced to a phrase
called joint marketing dollars.
And so what I came to find isthat local IT companies that
were selling phone systems,Microsoft, hardware and server
closets, all of themanufacturers of those products
would have some amount of moneyearmarked for joint marketing,
(07:37):
but they don't go aroundadvertising it.
They are not going to have, youknow, they're not going to go
out of their way to say, hey,we've got this money that we've
set aside that we will give toour dealer network as long as
that dealer is doing a fantasticjob of promoting our product.
And so the same holds true thatI found 25 years ago in
(08:02):
software and hardware whereCisco systems might sponsor a
lunch and learn for a bunch of,you know, system administrators
in an effort to get them to buyCisco products, but they're
doing that through a local ITcompany.
These manufacturers of decking,windows, insulation, roofing,
(08:25):
doors, and not just themanufacturers, but companies
like ABC Supply, your localsupply companies, they have a
vested interest to sell theproducts.
And they may have a littlepocket or a little bucket of
money that that they're notgoing to tell you about.
And they may tell you about it,but if they don't, it doesn't
(08:49):
mean it's not there.
Yeah, so if you go back to stepone, which is get to know your
rep.
Caitlyn (08:55):
Exactly.
Janet (08:56):
If you've got a good relationship, a good, friendly,
cordial, professionalrelationship with that rep, and
then you bring an idea to thatrep, like, hey, I'm really
thinking about a springpromotion.
I'm going to have a landingpage.
I'm going to market it throughmy TV commercials, you know,
(09:16):
whatever.
You bring that idea to your repand say, hey, I am only going
to highlight your products in myspring promo.
What can you do to help me?
Exactly.
And Caitlin, I'm going to shoutout to her.
She has actually been on thefront lines in many instances
where she will, on behalf of ourclients, coordinate with the
(09:40):
reps from the manufacturers toreally work out the logistics
and negotiate of the campaignand what kind of dollars can our
clients get back from themanufacturers.
Caitlyn (09:50):
And I'll, you know, On that note, where we saw the most
success when we're talkingabout co-op marketing dollars is
the client and or the repidentified an area that they
wanted to expand their productinto.
Do you mean like an area onearth?
An area on earth.
Okay.
Like a specific town that theproduct just isn't.
(10:13):
Because these reps have thatinformation.
Yeah, they know the data.
They know that James Hardyisn't selling in a certain zip
code.
So if you can marry thatinformation with a PM.
Hey, there's co-op or a cityshare.
So,
Janet (10:29):
yeah, I mean, I'm going to give credit where credit is
due.
Caitlin has really been, like Isaid, she's been in the actual
conversations, negotiating thedollars and negotiating the
terms.
And there are terms like you asthe company that the home
improvement contractor is oftenwhat happens is you have to go
ahead and front load and pay forthe campaign.
(10:52):
You're paying for the PPC,you're paying for the event,
you're paying for whatever.
And then you take the resultsback to the manufacturer.
And if you meet certainpre-negotiated criteria, then
they will refund some part ofyour advertising.
So that's one example.
Another example that is alittle bit anecdotal because I
(11:14):
personally haven't seen it allthe way across the finish line.
But we had a client in theMidwest that was doing roofing
and siding and added shadeproducts and awnings onto their
list of products that they wereselling.
And at the time, the awningmanufacturer that they were
getting their fabric and theirhardware from, they told our
(11:37):
client, hey, we really want toexpand into these states that
were neighboring Yes, exactly.
talk through your rep to themanufacturer's marketing
(12:09):
department or see if you caninvolve some other executives to
say, hey, let's craft acampaign together to tackle that
neighboring state.
I think
Caitlyn (12:17):
that's awesome.
So the first two steps, I mean,are really on you to build that
relationship and to get outthere and connect with the
manufacturer.
There's other steps thathonestly don't require, I mean,
They require a different amountof effort, but if you have an
agency or somebody else doingyour marketing, I think this is
(12:39):
a no-brainer.
Create manufacturer-specificlanding pages.
If you're going to promote aspecific product line,
no-brainer.
Create a dedicated landing pagefor it.
Include rich productinformation, beautiful images,
testimonials, and, of course, aclear-cut action.
Some beings do help.
(12:59):
benefit in landing pages wouldbe asking, you know, your
manufacturer, your rep for anaccess, you know, to maybe a
marketing hub where there'sproduct photos or videos that
you can use, you know, so you'renot having to write this
content yourself.
They may already have it thatexists.
(13:20):
So create thosemanufacturer-specific landing
pages just to show that you havethat product and it notes drops
any other thoughts on that canit
Janet (13:31):
yeah i mean if you're thinking to yourself okay i
really install 15 or 20different products it can feel
like a big lift to create allthese different pages on your
website per product but caitlinto your point yeah most of these
larger establishedmanufacturers these are brand
names that people know and loveyou have a Yeah.
(13:53):
Videos is a great one.
using the images and thecontent that they have already
(14:26):
put together.
And then the only thing I wouldadd to what Caitlin said is,
you know, if you're building outthese pages on your website,
don't forget to put some trustsignals.
If you've worked really hard toget certified or achieve a
certain level with thatcontractor, you've checked all
the boxes, you've demonstratedthat you've installed a certain
(14:47):
number of jobs, and you'vegotten a preferred status,
preferred, certified, Whatever.
I mean, literally.
Yeah.
Take those logos and put themon that landing page for that
product.
Caitlyn (15:02):
And write about what those certifications and those
statuses mean.
Janet (15:07):
Yeah.
Write a little blog post aboutall the hoops that you had to
jump through
Caitlyn (15:11):
to become preferred elite.
Yes.
Absolutely.
So now that you have thoselanding pages created, again...
This is, I keep saying, youknow, Breyer, but once you've
had those ideas, one DPCcampaign is targeting those
manufacturer keywords.
I will say caveat with this is,you know, there are many
(15:33):
manufacturers who are alreadyspending millions of dollars
doing this to drive growth.
or drive by clicks back totheir own manufacturer websites
to okay, that looks likesomething along the lines of
find a local contractor.
And then through those clicks,they're then sending a user to
(15:56):
you because you're on thatmanufacturer list.
So there is a little bit of acompetition that could happen
with some of thesemanufacturers.
I'd be curious to like findout, you know, or for you to
ask, you know, is thatmanufacturer writing KDC
campaigns?
And if they're not, do it.
Or, right, because
Janet (16:15):
you don't want to have to bid against the manufacturer
that you also buy your productsfrom.
And then in some instances, youalso have to buy leads from.
That's true.
But
Caitlyn (16:26):
exactly.
You do have to buy some ofthose.
It's sometimes your fault.
So being about right QCcampaigns, I would ask, are they
right?
Their own campaigns gain theirarea.
If they're not, greatopportunity.
Do it.
If they are, tread lightly.
I still think it's a goodopportunity to Just if you can
(16:47):
have the budget, that's for anidea.
And those are some of the keywords that I think Heather felt
a little dizzy
Janet (16:52):
of.
Yeah.
So if you've made someinquiries and you've got a good
strategy behind how much moneyis appropriate to spend on paid
Google search ads, based aroundthat manufacturer name, you
know, you could decide, yeah, Iknow that they're running their
own ads and I want to run it onthat brand name just so I can
(17:15):
like double my chances at thetop of the board.
You could also take sort of along tail keyword approach and
get really specific with like aseries of windows, Anderson 400
series windows installation nearme.
I mean, that's one, two, three,four, five, like six windows.
It's called a keyword, but it'sreally a phrase.
(17:39):
series of windows from thatmanufacturer and targeting
(18:08):
either your town name or thephrase installers near me, then
that search phrase, you're goingto drive traffic to the landing
page that you made in the laststep that we talked about.
Caitlyn (18:20):
Yeah, I think that's fantastic.
So you need to see someopportunity.
And then, of course, becauseyou have those editing pages,
obviously it's going to benefityour SEO.
And we do have actually severalepisodes on the difference
between SEO versus VQC.
You can just search for thosewherever you will see your
podcast.
Let's just break that down inmore detail.
I think another really greattip in terms of how to just
(18:45):
maximize manufacturer leads ispromoting manufacturer content
also.
social media.
Social media is a great way toreinforce your and his actual
partnerships.
They're all, they're all onsocial.
And I mean, Janet, do you wantto share a little bit?
Yeah.
So
Janet (19:02):
it's like, so the, the manufacturer's They have a much
bigger budget than you do, andthey've got likely entire
departments that do nothing butpromote that manufacturer brand
on social.
So you can kind of dovetailinto that.
You can, again, use your ownbefore and after photos, use
some before and after photosfrom the dealer login.
(19:24):
You can highlight warranty.
You can showcase yourcertifications.
You can make posts like, hey,really proud of this job that we
just installed, town name, andthen tag the manufacturer.
Caitlyn (19:36):
Yeah, that's exactly.
Always tag them.
Always, always, always tagthem.
I've gone to see manymanufacturers who will share or
feature your own posts, which isjust an actual exposure for
your own brand.
So fun, Trick, just so you guysknow, and we will mention this
in our show notes as well, is wedo have a DIY social media
(20:00):
chat.
If you are sitting here like,oh my gosh, I just don't even
know.
We're so social.
I don't have the time for it.
We're offering one.
Low price, deal with ourwebsite, go to packages.
We'll also link to it in theshow notes, but it's completely
customizable.
And then you can plug in thosemanufacturer pictures, et
(20:21):
cetera, captions if they providethem and publish those.
That's
Janet (20:25):
a great reminder, Caitlin.
Okay.
So we've talked about social.
Caitlin, talk to everybodyabout what it means to retarget
visitors.
Those are website visitors,people who've come to your
website and they've shown aninterest in a manufactured
product.
So tell our contractors in thisinstance, what can they do to
(20:46):
retarget those visitors?
Like what is retargeting andhow can they do it?
Yeah,
Caitlyn (20:51):
no, how slowly?
I think this is one of the...
more slick and advancedopportunities here to re-engage
with those manufacturer leads.
So you have those landing pagesup on your website.
You have that blog content upon your website.
You've been running ads aboutthat Jay Hardy sighting.
Have a re-narb and retargetingtext file set up to then go on
(21:20):
to capture those people whodidn't age with those specific
pages, or they clicked on yourads that didn't convert.
So we see a lot of success withthis through Meta, where Meta
is also Facebook, where you'vegot, you know, product heavy
images.
So you're once again, so theseventure site, they've clicked,
(21:43):
they've been binged, but maybein the voter form, but now
they're getting followed aroundon Meta with It sounds more
complicated than it is, but thatto me is a no-brainer.
Like, highlight what somebody'salready interested in, and you
can use those product imagesthat have already either been
(22:04):
provided to you or by projectyou've already completed.
Janet (22:06):
And you can do that across Google search and display
as well.
You can.
You definitely can.
I think
Caitlyn (22:12):
visually...
It's better.
You
Janet (22:13):
think
Caitlyn (22:13):
it's better on meta?
It's just, I mean, maybe forthe return.
But, I mean, display ads...
It's lower cost.
Exactly.
Display ads, for sure, would begreat equity.
So, retarget those visitors whohave shown that quality
interest to your advertising.
So...
Let me give you a bunch of tipsin terms of how to maximize
those manufacturing leads.
(22:33):
Great opportunity.
Some of them are free, some ofthem aren't.
But I take me, you know, bringit on home.
Why should somebody do this?
Well, you know, if
Janet (22:44):
you're not already...
Leveraging this as another highquality source of leads.
them.
(23:18):
If you partner closely withyour reps and you ask about
those co-op marketingopportunities or bring your reps
the opportunities, don't waitfor them to bring them to you.
That's where the real, I think,gold can be is when you get
creative and you take the ideato your rep because the rep may
then be able to go up his or hermanagement chain and argue for
(23:43):
a budget that might not havebeen Approved.
It might not have been on thetable.
They can go and argue for itand fight for you.
So that relationship andopportunities through these
manufacturers can really be agoldmine.
You can run targeted campaigns.
You can run remarketingcampaigns.
If you've got all of thesedigital elements set up, then
(24:06):
you've also got...
You've got settings andcampaigns set up to nurture
those leads through email,through social, through possibly
text messaging, because it'sall integrated with your CRM.
You've tagged them and baggedthem.
You're going to nurture themuntil they buy.
So we just really see anopportunity for you to exploit
(24:29):
this channel to everyone'sbenefit because it's a win for
you and it's a win for themanufacturer.
Caitlyn (24:36):
Definitely.
With or without a free seminar,I'd spend.
So, and that's honestly whatSmart Roof looks like.
Next week, we are going to betalking all about how blending
traditional Boots Undergroundefforts works with online
campaigns that can actually helpyou generate more leads, build
(24:57):
more trust, and close more jobs.
So, Do you re-explain what SPSis about?
So if you
Janet (25:04):
are past the startup phase and you are really on that
scale trajectory, you'restarting to hit that exponential
part of the curve, and maybeyou've got some sales reps, you
might have a booth in a Sam'sClub, you might be going to
events, you've got brandambassadors, you're working
neighborhoods, you'recanvassing, and you really want
(25:25):
to tighten all this up and makesure it's really integrated for
this next
Caitlyn (25:30):
episode is for you.
Oh, yeah.
I love it.
And gosh, the success we see bydoing that.
So, thank you all for joiningus for another episode.
If you found this episodehelpful, check out our past
episodes for more ways to growyour home improvement business
in a smart
Janet (25:44):
way.
And if you're ready to workwith a digital marketing partner
who understands the homeimprovement space inside and
out, you know where to find us.
And until then,
Caitlyn (25:53):
keep building, keep growing, and go dominating.
Thanks.
Janet (25:57):
Digital marketing for contractors is created by Fat
Cat Strategies.
Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors.
This podcast is brought to youby Fat Cat Strategies, a
full-service digital marketingagency based in Raleigh, North
Carolina.
We specialize in helping homeimprovement contractors just
like you grow their businesses.
Janet (00:17):
Today, you're listening to a series called Build, Grow,
Dominate, marketing strategiesfor every stage of your home
improvement business.
Every Wednesday, we take a deepdive into the lessons that
we've learned from supportingsome amazing business owners in
the home improvement industry.
Caitlyn (00:34):
In part one, we'll cover the essentials from
startup to your first 5 million.
In part two, we're shiftinggears to focus on what it takes
to scale your business to asuccessful exit and or how to
dominate your market.
Now let's get into it.
Janet (00:48):
Hey, I'm Janet, the founder of Fat Cat Strategies.
Today, I'm joined by mycolleague, Caitlin Noble.
Caitlin, what are we talkingabout today?
Introduce yourself and tell uswhat we're talking about.
Caitlyn (00:59):
Hey, I'm Caitlin, head client services, and we're
really excited.
Today, we're diving into astrategy that can seriously
accelerate your lead generationas you scale your home
improvement business,integrating manufacturer leads
into your digital marketingcampaigns.
So,
Janet (01:16):
If you've made it past the early growth phase, like
you're past all those pains andnow you're into scaling and, you
know, taking it to the nextlevel, then you are probably
already running solid campaigns.
But what if I told you there'sa high quality source of leads
that's probably underutilized inyour company and already tied
(01:38):
to the products that you sellevery day?
Oh yeah,
Caitlyn (01:41):
absolutely.
So today's episode is all aboutthose manufactured leads, what
they are, why they matter, andhow to use them in your online
marketing strategy for maximumimpact.
And just to pause reallyquickly, I think we inherit a
lot of Businesses who have onlyused manufacturer leads.
(02:01):
Oh, yeah.
And then they come to us.
And so this is kind of like theflip of that.
A flip of that.
You've got an agency, but nowyou're looking at an opportunity
to add on another agency.
Yeah.
Janet (02:13):
So we just want to acknowledge that, you know,
we've had such an amazingsuccess with so many fantastic
clients who are installingJacuzzi products and James Hardy
products and other well-knownbrands that American homeowners
know and love.
And when we work with thosecompanies, you know, they
(02:33):
already know, oh, mymanufacturer that I buy product
from is such a huge source ofqualified leads.
If you've already cracked thatnut, Congratulations.
Pat yourself on the back.
We are actually, today'sepisode is...
aimed at those businesses thatyou're up and running, you are
profitable, your revenues aregrowing, your staff is growing,
(02:55):
and maybe you really got yourstart buying third party
aggregators.
Or you just have such a greatfootprint in the community and
you've got all these great wordof mouth leads.
Wherever your leads come from,if you are not strategically
thinking about how to partnerwith the manufacturers that you
(03:16):
buy products from as a source ofrevenue growth for you.
That's what today's episode isabout.
Perfection.
Caitlyn (03:26):
Always have to ask the factory.
Oh, yeah.
So let's start with the basics.
What exactly are manufacturerleads?
These are leads generated bythe manufacturer.
You get listed in a few ofthose.
Jacuzzi, James Hardy,Certainty, all those qualities.
So the manufacturer of theproducts you install, whether
it's windows, roofing systems,doors, or siding, these folks
(03:47):
have already shown interest in aspecific product.
Amazing.
And that makes them ahigh-intent prospect and
extremely valuable.
to you.
Janet (03:57):
So just to be clear, Caitlin, what you're talking
about is a homeowner that knowsthat they want to install a
specific type of product ontheir home and they went
directly to that manufacturer'swebsite and they probably
clicked a button that saidsomething like, find a dealer
near me.
They searched by a zip code andthen they filled out a form.
(04:19):
That's who we're talking about,right?
That's exactly right.
So the kicker is what we'vefound is that many contractors
are not fully capitalizing onthese leads.
And the reason we think thatis, is because you guys have not
integrated them into yourdigital marketing ecosystem.
So let's fix that.
I didn't get a bunch of stufffor any go through.
(04:39):
So let's go through step one.
Okay, so step one is to get asteady stream of leads from your
manufacturers.
First, you've got to buildtrust with the manufacturer, not
the homeowner with themanufacturer.
So what you need to do is makesure that you've got a good
relationship with the rep thatservices your area.
(04:59):
So a lot of the manufacturerswe see, their reps will have a
geography.
They'll be, you know, east ofthe Mississippi or they'll be
the mid-Atlantic.
So if you...
Have a rep, but maybe you'veonly casually interacted with
that rep.
What we would encourage you todo is get to know your rep more.
(05:20):
Find out what their goals areto sell those products.
Because just like you have asales goal for your company,
your manufacturer's rep also hasa sales goal.
If you guys can help each othermeet your goals together,
that's where some magic canhappen.
Caitlyn (05:38):
Yeah, I think that, I mean, you summed up exactly what
to do there in terms ofbuilding that strong
manufacturer relationship.
Get to know your rep and attendthose trainings.
Again, that's stay current onthe products and show that
you're serious aboutrepresenting that brand.
I know, you know, as an agency,we've connected with reps of
manufacturers.
Absolutely.
Janet has gone on to do manywebinars and so forth just to
(06:03):
educate, you know, people likeyou who have been introduced
through the manufacturer aboutmarketing tips.
So we're even just like extraperks there.
I think that are offered justby building that relationship.
It doesn't necessarily meanfirst dibs on leads, but I do
(06:23):
think there's opportunitiesthere to like get co-graded
marketing and so forth, which isthe second step they'll kind of
dive into right now in terms ofthat co-op marketing with the
manufacturer.
Janet, you want to talk alittle bit about the marquee
programs?
Yeah,
Janet (06:41):
I'm going to...
take a little sidestep and tella story from a completely
different industry and then comeback to manufactured products
that are construction products.
So years and years ago, whendinosaurs were on the earth, I
used to work in software and Iworked with local companies that
(07:02):
were like IT consultingcompanies and they were, you
know, installing full Microsoftproducts and setting up servers
and whatnot.
Caitlyn (07:12):
Yeah.
Janet (07:12):
And that was kind of when I was introduced to a phrase
called joint marketing dollars.
And so what I came to find isthat local IT companies that
were selling phone systems,Microsoft, hardware and server
closets, all of themanufacturers of those products
would have some amount of moneyearmarked for joint marketing,
(07:37):
but they don't go aroundadvertising it.
They are not going to have, youknow, they're not going to go
out of their way to say, hey,we've got this money that we've
set aside that we will give toour dealer network as long as
that dealer is doing a fantasticjob of promoting our product.
And so the same holds true thatI found 25 years ago in
(08:02):
software and hardware whereCisco systems might sponsor a
lunch and learn for a bunch of,you know, system administrators
in an effort to get them to buyCisco products, but they're
doing that through a local ITcompany.
These manufacturers of decking,windows, insulation, roofing,
(08:25):
doors, and not just themanufacturers, but companies
like ABC Supply, your localsupply companies, they have a
vested interest to sell theproducts.
And they may have a littlepocket or a little bucket of
money that that they're notgoing to tell you about.
And they may tell you about it,but if they don't, it doesn't
(08:49):
mean it's not there.
Yeah, so if you go back to stepone, which is get to know your
rep.
Caitlyn (08:55):
Exactly.
Janet (08:56):
If you've got a good relationship, a good, friendly,
cordial, professionalrelationship with that rep, and
then you bring an idea to thatrep, like, hey, I'm really
thinking about a springpromotion.
I'm going to have a landingpage.
I'm going to market it throughmy TV commercials, you know,
(09:16):
whatever.
You bring that idea to your repand say, hey, I am only going
to highlight your products in myspring promo.
What can you do to help me?
Exactly.
And Caitlin, I'm going to shoutout to her.
She has actually been on thefront lines in many instances
where she will, on behalf of ourclients, coordinate with the
(09:40):
reps from the manufacturers toreally work out the logistics
and negotiate of the campaignand what kind of dollars can our
clients get back from themanufacturers.
Caitlyn (09:50):
And I'll, you know, On that note, where we saw the most
success when we're talkingabout co-op marketing dollars is
the client and or the repidentified an area that they
wanted to expand their productinto.
Do you mean like an area onearth?
An area on earth.
Okay.
Like a specific town that theproduct just isn't.
(10:13):
Because these reps have thatinformation.
Yeah, they know the data.
They know that James Hardyisn't selling in a certain zip
code.
So if you can marry thatinformation with a PM.
Hey, there's co-op or a cityshare.
So,
Janet (10:29):
yeah, I mean, I'm going to give credit where credit is
due.
Caitlin has really been, like Isaid, she's been in the actual
conversations, negotiating thedollars and negotiating the
terms.
And there are terms like you asthe company that the home
improvement contractor is oftenwhat happens is you have to go
ahead and front load and pay forthe campaign.
(10:52):
You're paying for the PPC,you're paying for the event,
you're paying for whatever.
And then you take the resultsback to the manufacturer.
And if you meet certainpre-negotiated criteria, then
they will refund some part ofyour advertising.
So that's one example.
Another example that is alittle bit anecdotal because I
(11:14):
personally haven't seen it allthe way across the finish line.
But we had a client in theMidwest that was doing roofing
and siding and added shadeproducts and awnings onto their
list of products that they wereselling.
And at the time, the awningmanufacturer that they were
getting their fabric and theirhardware from, they told our
(11:37):
client, hey, we really want toexpand into these states that
were neighboring Yes, exactly.
talk through your rep to themanufacturer's marketing
(12:09):
department or see if you caninvolve some other executives to
say, hey, let's craft acampaign together to tackle that
neighboring state.
I think
Caitlyn (12:17):
that's awesome.
So the first two steps, I mean,are really on you to build that
relationship and to get outthere and connect with the
manufacturer.
There's other steps thathonestly don't require, I mean,
They require a different amountof effort, but if you have an
agency or somebody else doingyour marketing, I think this is
(12:39):
a no-brainer.
Create manufacturer-specificlanding pages.
If you're going to promote aspecific product line,
no-brainer.
Create a dedicated landing pagefor it.
Include rich productinformation, beautiful images,
testimonials, and, of course, aclear-cut action.
Some beings do help.
(12:59):
benefit in landing pages wouldbe asking, you know, your
manufacturer, your rep for anaccess, you know, to maybe a
marketing hub where there'sproduct photos or videos that
you can use, you know, so you'renot having to write this
content yourself.
They may already have it thatexists.
(13:20):
So create thosemanufacturer-specific landing
pages just to show that you havethat product and it notes drops
any other thoughts on that canit
Janet (13:31):
yeah i mean if you're thinking to yourself okay i
really install 15 or 20different products it can feel
like a big lift to create allthese different pages on your
website per product but caitlinto your point yeah most of these
larger establishedmanufacturers these are brand
names that people know and loveyou have a Yeah.
(13:53):
Videos is a great one.
using the images and thecontent that they have already
(14:26):
put together.
And then the only thing I wouldadd to what Caitlin said is,
you know, if you're building outthese pages on your website,
don't forget to put some trustsignals.
If you've worked really hard toget certified or achieve a
certain level with thatcontractor, you've checked all
the boxes, you've demonstratedthat you've installed a certain
(14:47):
number of jobs, and you'vegotten a preferred status,
preferred, certified, Whatever.
I mean, literally.
Yeah.
Take those logos and put themon that landing page for that
product.
Caitlyn (15:02):
And write about what those certifications and those
statuses mean.
Janet (15:07):
Yeah.
Write a little blog post aboutall the hoops that you had to
jump through
Caitlyn (15:11):
to become preferred elite.
Yes.
Absolutely.
So now that you have thoselanding pages created, again...
This is, I keep saying, youknow, Breyer, but once you've
had those ideas, one DPCcampaign is targeting those
manufacturer keywords.
I will say caveat with this is,you know, there are many
(15:33):
manufacturers who are alreadyspending millions of dollars
doing this to drive growth.
or drive by clicks back totheir own manufacturer websites
to okay, that looks likesomething along the lines of
find a local contractor.
And then through those clicks,they're then sending a user to
(15:56):
you because you're on thatmanufacturer list.
So there is a little bit of acompetition that could happen
with some of thesemanufacturers.
I'd be curious to like findout, you know, or for you to
ask, you know, is thatmanufacturer writing KDC
campaigns?
And if they're not, do it.
Or, right, because
Janet (16:15):
you don't want to have to bid against the manufacturer
that you also buy your productsfrom.
And then in some instances, youalso have to buy leads from.
That's true.
But
Caitlyn (16:26):
exactly.
You do have to buy some ofthose.
It's sometimes your fault.
So being about right QCcampaigns, I would ask, are they
right?
Their own campaigns gain theirarea.
If they're not, greatopportunity.
Do it.
If they are, tread lightly.
I still think it's a goodopportunity to Just if you can
(16:47):
have the budget, that's for anidea.
And those are some of the keywords that I think Heather felt
a little dizzy
Janet (16:52):
of.
Yeah.
So if you've made someinquiries and you've got a good
strategy behind how much moneyis appropriate to spend on paid
Google search ads, based aroundthat manufacturer name, you
know, you could decide, yeah, Iknow that they're running their
own ads and I want to run it onthat brand name just so I can
(17:15):
like double my chances at thetop of the board.
You could also take sort of along tail keyword approach and
get really specific with like aseries of windows, Anderson 400
series windows installation nearme.
I mean, that's one, two, three,four, five, like six windows.
It's called a keyword, but it'sreally a phrase.
(17:39):
series of windows from thatmanufacturer and targeting
(18:08):
either your town name or thephrase installers near me, then
that search phrase, you're goingto drive traffic to the landing
page that you made in the laststep that we talked about.
Caitlyn (18:20):
Yeah, I think that's fantastic.
So you need to see someopportunity.
And then, of course, becauseyou have those editing pages,
obviously it's going to benefityour SEO.
And we do have actually severalepisodes on the difference
between SEO versus VQC.
You can just search for thosewherever you will see your
podcast.
Let's just break that down inmore detail.
I think another really greattip in terms of how to just
(18:45):
maximize manufacturer leads ispromoting manufacturer content
also.
social media.
Social media is a great way toreinforce your and his actual
partnerships.
They're all, they're all onsocial.
And I mean, Janet, do you wantto share a little bit?
Yeah.
So
Janet (19:02):
it's like, so the, the manufacturer's They have a much
bigger budget than you do, andthey've got likely entire
departments that do nothing butpromote that manufacturer brand
on social.
So you can kind of dovetailinto that.
You can, again, use your ownbefore and after photos, use
some before and after photosfrom the dealer login.
(19:24):
You can highlight warranty.
You can showcase yourcertifications.
You can make posts like, hey,really proud of this job that we
just installed, town name, andthen tag the manufacturer.
Caitlyn (19:36):
Yeah, that's exactly.
Always tag them.
Always, always, always tagthem.
I've gone to see manymanufacturers who will share or
feature your own posts, which isjust an actual exposure for
your own brand.
So fun, Trick, just so you guysknow, and we will mention this
in our show notes as well, is wedo have a DIY social media
(20:00):
chat.
If you are sitting here like,oh my gosh, I just don't even
know.
We're so social.
I don't have the time for it.
We're offering one.
Low price, deal with ourwebsite, go to packages.
We'll also link to it in theshow notes, but it's completely
customizable.
And then you can plug in thosemanufacturer pictures, et
(20:21):
cetera, captions if they providethem and publish those.
That's
Janet (20:25):
a great reminder, Caitlin.
Okay.
So we've talked about social.
Caitlin, talk to everybodyabout what it means to retarget
visitors.
Those are website visitors,people who've come to your
website and they've shown aninterest in a manufactured
product.
So tell our contractors in thisinstance, what can they do to
(20:46):
retarget those visitors?
Like what is retargeting andhow can they do it?
Yeah,
Caitlyn (20:51):
no, how slowly?
I think this is one of the...
more slick and advancedopportunities here to re-engage
with those manufacturer leads.
So you have those landing pagesup on your website.
You have that blog content upon your website.
You've been running ads aboutthat Jay Hardy sighting.
Have a re-narb and retargetingtext file set up to then go on
(21:20):
to capture those people whodidn't age with those specific
pages, or they clicked on yourads that didn't convert.
So we see a lot of success withthis through Meta, where Meta
is also Facebook, where you'vegot, you know, product heavy
images.
So you're once again, so theseventure site, they've clicked,
(21:43):
they've been binged, but maybein the voter form, but now
they're getting followed aroundon Meta with It sounds more
complicated than it is, but thatto me is a no-brainer.
Like, highlight what somebody'salready interested in, and you
can use those product imagesthat have already either been
(22:04):
provided to you or by projectyou've already completed.
Janet (22:06):
And you can do that across Google search and display
as well.
You can.
You definitely can.
I think
Caitlyn (22:12):
visually...
It's better.
You
Janet (22:13):
think
Caitlyn (22:13):
it's better on meta?
It's just, I mean, maybe forthe return.
But, I mean, display ads...
It's lower cost.
Exactly.
Display ads, for sure, would begreat equity.
So, retarget those visitors whohave shown that quality
interest to your advertising.
So...
Let me give you a bunch of tipsin terms of how to maximize
those manufacturing leads.
(22:33):
Great opportunity.
Some of them are free, some ofthem aren't.
But I take me, you know, bringit on home.
Why should somebody do this?
Well, you know, if
Janet (22:44):
you're not already...
Leveraging this as another highquality source of leads.
them.
(23:18):
If you partner closely withyour reps and you ask about
those co-op marketingopportunities or bring your reps
the opportunities, don't waitfor them to bring them to you.
That's where the real, I think,gold can be is when you get
creative and you take the ideato your rep because the rep may
then be able to go up his or hermanagement chain and argue for
(23:43):
a budget that might not havebeen Approved.
It might not have been on thetable.
They can go and argue for itand fight for you.
So that relationship andopportunities through these
manufacturers can really be agoldmine.
You can run targeted campaigns.
You can run remarketingcampaigns.
If you've got all of thesedigital elements set up, then
(24:06):
you've also got...
You've got settings andcampaigns set up to nurture
those leads through email,through social, through possibly
text messaging, because it'sall integrated with your CRM.
You've tagged them and baggedthem.
You're going to nurture themuntil they buy.
So we just really see anopportunity for you to exploit
(24:29):
this channel to everyone'sbenefit because it's a win for
you and it's a win for themanufacturer.
Caitlyn (24:36):
Definitely.
With or without a free seminar,I'd spend.
So, and that's honestly whatSmart Roof looks like.
Next week, we are going to betalking all about how blending
traditional Boots Undergroundefforts works with online
campaigns that can actually helpyou generate more leads, build
(24:57):
more trust, and close more jobs.
So, Do you re-explain what SPSis about?
So if you
Janet (25:04):
are past the startup phase and you are really on that
scale trajectory, you'restarting to hit that exponential
part of the curve, and maybeyou've got some sales reps, you
might have a booth in a Sam'sClub, you might be going to
events, you've got brandambassadors, you're working
neighborhoods, you'recanvassing, and you really want
(25:25):
to tighten all this up and makesure it's really integrated for
this next
Caitlyn (25:30):
episode is for you.
Oh, yeah.
I love it.
And gosh, the success we see bydoing that.
So, thank you all for joiningus for another episode.
If you found this episodehelpful, check out our past
episodes for more ways to growyour home improvement business
in a smart
Janet (25:44):
way.
And if you're ready to workwith a digital marketing partner
who understands the homeimprovement space inside and
out, you know where to find us.
And until then,
Caitlyn (25:53):
keep building, keep growing, and go dominating.
Thanks.
Janet (25:57):
Digital marketing for contractors is created by Fat
Cat Strategies.
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