The IMI case studies are some of the most viewed pages on their web site. They have helped create a loyal following of online viewers.
Engaging customers through content marketing
Client: IMI
Project: The client wanted to promote their devotion to quality product development and their high level of expertise
IMI is a producer of
ready mix concrete. They mix and deliver concrete to the construction
industry in six states. They are a leader in their industry in
developing and testing new concrete to solve common construction
problems. Their edge is their devotion to research and development.
Therefore, it is important that they sell the quality of the product and
not on price alone.
We were charged with coming up with a marketing plan that sold the case
for quality through content marketing. We targeted general contractors,
as well as architect and engineering firms with a series of online case
studies that described how using IMI products and services solved real
life construction problems, sped up the construction schedule and saved
the customer money.
Any time you write content for a customer, you have to understand their
industry. It is not only a matter of knowing what they do, but it is
also imperative that you know why they go about business using certain
methods and procedures. That means you have to understand their
customers, the larger industry, common roadblocks and how they
circumvent those problems. Otherwise, you sound like a communications
idiot trying to sound smart. We have been writing case studies for IMI
for over 7 years now. Writing content for IMI often takes us to
construction sites with boots and hard hats as we learn the details of
the job.
Writing any piece of content marketing, like a blog or, in this
instance, a case study that is worthy of reading is one half of the
marketing equation. The other half is getting people to actually look at
it. At first, we made the case studies topics of a regularly scheduled
email marketing campaign. This worked very well. In the first year,
viewership of the case studies increased 400% and became some of the
most sought after information on their web site. This led to numerous
RFPs and consultations with firms who were looking for construction
solutions. However, with any campaign, the delivery method can begin to
lose its appeal. We made a strategic decision to do two things that
helped our reach. First, we segmented our e-blast lists better than when
we first started the project. This gave us the ability to be more
selective in who received the case studies in an email campaign. If the
project discussed in the case study had to do with bridge construction,
we did not send it to a contractor who built homes. Second, we began to
post the case studies on social media on a regular basis. We knew from
our analytics that there were a lot of entry level people following the
company's LinkedIn page, but we began to pay more attention to the
demographics of the visitors to the page (those who looked on a regular
basis, but had not chosen to follow the page.) We found that there were a
lot of decision makers who regularly visited the LinkedIn page. This
became another method to reach IMI's target market with their quality
message through content.
You can access the IMI case studies by clicking here http://www.irvmat.com/CaseStudies.asp
All of these case studies were selected and written to be targeted to a specific segment of IMI's customer base.
"I would stack our
web site up against anyone in our industry. We have been able to attract
a lot of attention to our products with our case studies. Our e-blasts
have given us real tangible results from our marketing efforts. It has
been a great way to track response and see a visible ROI. In times
where everyone is looking at their bottom lines, Yaney Marketing has
helped us effectively remind our customers that quality really counts in
construction.”
Bob Haldrup
President, IMI Indiana