E-Z Burr Tool Company

Challenge:
E-Z Burr Tool Company came to us to achieve the following goals:

  • Increase sales
  • Increase brand awareness
  • Diversify into other industries so they wouldn’t be so reliant on automotive
  • Give the perception that they are a lot bigger then what they are.  They are a small shop and compete internationally with some huge manufacturers.  Their deburring tools speak for themselves, but in order to be considered against the competition, they need to look reputable, professional and larger then what they are.

Solution:
Delicious Marketing began working with E-Z Burr in September of 2007 prior to the drop-out of the automotive industry.  E-Z Burr had never conducted research prior to working with Delicious Marketing and was essentially guessing at where to advertise and what tactics to implement.  They had even started an email newsletter campaign that only received a 1% open rate.  We knew right away that E-Z Burr needed to learn more about their competition, target audience’s and the changing marketplace.

  • Research: We contacted all of E-Z Burr’s sales representatives and initiated a comprehensive survey regarding the marketplace, competition, and E-Z Burr’s existing marketing. We also mailed a very brief 4-question benchmark survey out to 1000 end users with a goal to attain a 10% response rate to learn how E-Z Burr’s brand awareness and brand perception rated against their competition.
  • Strategy: After attaining the invaluable research results, we put together a marketing strategy that detailed how to launch E-Z Burr into new target industries, how to position E-Z Burr to those industries (can’t speak to Aerospace the same way you speak to automotive), exactly what tactics to implement and how to implement them, and what specific timelines and budget E-Z Burr needed to adhere to.
  • Tactics – Ads: In following our marketing strategy, we created new print ads and online banner ads for E-Z Burr that effectively positioned them to non-automotive industries such as aerospace and energy.  The existing print ads were very flat, text-heavy, black and white and placed in several trades that we learned were not being looked at.  The new ads are very “attention grabbing”, showcasing a tool in 3D, and deburring a common aerospace application.  There is a catchy headline and the text is meaningful without being overwhelming. The online banner ads are animated and shows exactly how the tools work.  They are dynamic and strategically placed on sites that continually drive traffic.
  • Tactics – Website.  Our research showed that their existing site was doing them little good in looking like a large, reputable company that could stack up to the “big dog” competition.  And it did not effectively explain the advantage of their patented tools and how they work.  The new E-Z Burr website now has 3D animations of all of their tools.  It shows exactly how their tools operate.  There are also transparencies, allowing you to look inside the tool to see how easy the blade changing process is.  In addition, our Search Engine Optimization strategies has E-Z Burr ranked at the top of all of the search engines for specific keywords such as “Deburring Tools”, “Chamfering Tools”, “Deburring”, etc.
  • Tactics – Brochure: We also created an effective brochure to assist E-Z Burr’s reps and distributors in the sales process.  The manufacturing industry is still very much a paper industry in which a brochure is necessary.  This brochure is visually stunning, utilizes the 3D tool illustrations, and dynamically communicates E-Z Burr’s new positioning.
  • Tactics – PR: We constantly conduct research and track online website analytics to gauge whether E-Z Burr’s marketing is working for them or not.  In addition, we have developed case studies and news releases and have gotten E-Z Burr published editorially in several industry trade publications.  We also send out a quarterly newsletter that now receives a 30% open rate.
  • Leading by Example: Manufacturing is all about technology and innovation.  We have captured this with E-Z Burr and market them in a way that showcases their quality, innovation and care for their customers.  In December of 2009 we will  launch E-Z Burr’s “E-Z Tool Calculator”, which makes a difficult multi-step process of finding the correct tool to purchase (out of hundreds) completely easy and do-able in a matter of seconds.

Results: After the launch of the new ad campaign and website in April of 2008, E-Z Burr experienced record sales.

  • They had their 2nd highest month of May in 50 years, their highest month of June ever, and 2nd highest July, just missing the mark by 3%.
  • They were pacing to have their highest year of revenue ever when the automotive market dropped off starting in September and then completely in October.
  • Thanks to our diversification efforts, E-Z Burr went from 80% in automotive sales and 20% “other”, to 40% automotive sales and 60% “other”.  When the auto market dropped off completely and E-Z Burr lost 100% of its automotive business, but only experienced a 40% decline, this saved them from laying off employees or even shutting down.
  • E-Z Burr has consistently seen a 200% increase in website traffic every month from what their old site was reporting.
  • The average amount of time on the site is 2 minutes and 28 seconds and the average amount of pages viewed per visitor is 6!
  • They have also experienced a 230% increase in visitors searching out their name in search engines.  That shows that their brand awareness has increased and their name is well known.
  • As for giving E-Z Burr’s potential customers the perception that E-Z Burr is a large company… feel free to judge for yourself.
E-Z Burr Website E-Z Burr Website E-Z Burr brochure E-Z Burr Brochure E-Z Burr ads E-Z Burr Industry Magazine Ads