Connecting with new customers online is challenging for any business. But that
task becomes even more difficult when you’re a sustainability-minded brand
targeting blue-collar buyers in a saturated market. However, with the right
digital-marketing strategy, brands can break through the noise and attract
dedicated customers to fuel future growth.
Over the last few years, Logical Position
(LP) partnered with a sustainable lighting brand to revamp its
digital-marketing strategy with the goal of
attracting a new group of blue-collar buyers. What we learned offers a roadmap
other brands can use to find similar success in the marketplace.
About Revolve LED
Revolve LED (RL) is a direct-to-consumer supplier of
LED lighting systems for indoor and outdoor applications. Their products include
simple offerings like lamps and overhead lighting to more complex illumination
solutions for commercial and residential buildings. All RL products are mercury
free and sustainably manufactured using 100 percent recycled materials.
RL’s target customers are contractors that install lighting systems in
commercial and residential construction projects. Eager to grow, the company
wanted to invest significant resources to reach this demographic through online
advertising.
Updating your strategy
Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
Join us Thursday, December 5, at 1pm ET for a free webinar on making circular behaviors the easy choice! Nudge & behavioral design expert Sille Krukow will explore the power of Consumer Behavior Design to drive circular decision-making and encourage behaviors including recycling and using take-back services. She will share key insights on consumer psychology, behavior design related to in-store and on-pack experiences, and how small changes in the environment can help make it easy for consumers to choose circularity.
With this goal in mind, Logical Position partnered with RL to create and
implement an updated digital-marketing strategy that would target blue-collar
buyers at every point of their purchasing journey. The updated strategy included
five key elements: Google Ads, YouTube, product reviews, email marketing
and Amazon ads.
It takes time for a new brand to build awareness in the marketplace —
particularly in a crowded field. But RL was patient and willing to test
different approaches — which ultimately paid off with impressive results and
sustained growth.
Learn about the buyers
The first step in launching RL’s updated digital-marketing strategy was
understanding how blue-collar buyers shop online. Google offers artificial
intelligence tools that can do most of the work for advertisers. However, we
wanted to obtain as much incoming search data as possible to see how blue-collar
buyers found RL and make informed adjustments to our advertising
approach.
To do this, we rebuilt RL’s Google Ads account from scratch and took complete
control over ad placement. Once we had the data we needed, we slowly began
turning the account over to Google’s automated software without sacrificing any
results.
We also expanded RL’s paid strategy to include Microsoft’s Bing ads
network. Bing is often the default web browser on many work computers; so, this
was low-hanging fruit in our efforts to reach more new customers.
Paid ad results
From 2021 to 2022, RL’s impressions grew from 12 million to 16 million, clicks
increased from 116,000 to 143,000 and return on ad spend grew by 113 percent.
Grow brand awareness
Contractors aren’t always willing to take chances on new brands, because their
results are synonymous with their reputation. Therefore, we needed to take the
time to build brand awareness with our target audience.
YouTube played a significant role in accomplishing this. We used the platform
for retargeting users who had previously visited the RL website to keep the
brand top of mind. We also created dynamic, illustrative and informative videos
to promote RL products to blue-collar buyers.
Build customer trust
In addition to building brand awareness, we wanted to instill confidence in RL’s
products. To do this, we partnered with Shopper
Approved to implement a star rating and
product-review system that connected potential first-time purchasers with
satisfied customers. Once prospective buyers could see how much others loved
RL’s products, a new level of trust was established that ultimately drove
additional sales.
Product review results
After hitting its 100th review in February 2022, RL’s click-through rate doubled
from .7 percent to 1.4 percent the next month.
Speak authentically
Email marketing was a big part of RL’s success story. However, before
implementing this strategy, we worked with RL to understand how to best
communicate with this particular, blue-collar audience. Under the direction of
keeping the tone professional and never cute, we crafted creative that used
straightforward language and supported RL’s commitment to customer service and
beating the competition.
Email results
At the end of 2022, nearly 15 percent of RL’s total business revenue came from
email marketing.
Sell where customers shop
Of course, no eCommerce strategy would be complete without an Amazon presence.
After all, 56 percent of
consumers
visit Amazon first when researching a new purchase. To capture blue-collar
buyers on Amazon, we built a strategy that took full advantage of the platform’s
advertising offerings — so RL could reach buyers whether they knew the brand,
were new to the brand or shopping with its competitors.
Amazon results
Amazon returns grew to more than $54,000 in average monthly revenue.
Tips for achieving similar results
After more than a year of active management, Revolve LED saw a significant boost
in eCommerce results. Impressions grew to 16 million, clicks rose by 68 percent
and the company’s return on ad spend increased by 113 percent. Targeting
blue-collar buyers in authentic ways through a cohesive digital-marketing
strategy not only enabled RL to scale its business, but it also did so
profitably.
Here’s a summary of our learnings that other sustainability-focused brands can
emulate to achieve similar results:
-
Be patient: Building a new brand takes time. Revolve LED accepted lower
initial returns knowing it would pay off over time with increased
profitability.
-
Trust your partners: RL gave its marketing partners the space they
needed to run tests and optimize results.
-
Take a diversified approach: Layering in Amazon, email marketing,
website improvements and brand awareness promotions enabled RL to target
blue-collar buyers on multiple channels.
-
Stay flexible: Digital marketing constantly changes; so, be prepared to
adjust your approach when necessary.
-
Keep advertising budgets open: If you’re exceeding your targeted return
on ad spend, you’re leaving money on the table by limiting your advertising
budget.
Cutting through the noise
Despite the inherent challenges, sustainability-focused brands can successfully
fuel growth by keying in on the specific needs of their demographics — from the
blue-collar worker to the soccer mom. However, it requires patience to allow
time for proper brand-building and a crystal-clear understanding of how each
customer set buys products. When customized factors are incorporated into a
thoughtful digital-marketing campaign, sustainability-focused brands can shine
brightly even in the most crowded markets.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Karly Scott is a Senior Account Manager Team Lead for Enterprise Search at Logical Position — an Inc. 500 company headquartered in Oregon, with offices nationwide. The award-winning agency offers full-service PPC-management solutions for businesses large and small — including SEO, email marketing, paid social, retail media and creative services.
Published May 19, 2023 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST