Development of a Digital Marketing Strategy for Steel Production Company
Mike
PPC Expert
Dmitry
Project Manager
Yuri
Marketing Analyst
Boosting Sales of Branded Rolled Products
Enhancing Product Recognition Among End Customers
Increasing Sales to the Established Dealer Pool
Increasing Sales of Products to the End Customer
Project Challenges
Unrelated Brands
Promoting three different brands is much more complex and costly than promoting just one. Steel Velvet, Silk, and Cashmere are products, but promoting them under same brand name is not appropriate.
Absence of Client's Brands on Most Websites
On most websites, it is not announced that the tile is made from Severstal's branded rolled products.
Weak brand recognition and lack of standardized naming among dealers
No specific product for the end consumer. Brands are not linked to the classifier on dealers' websites.
Expert Comment:
Dmitry
Project Manager
“We are accustomed to working with complex B2B and B2C markets, so the challenges of this project only served as an opportunity to delve deeper into the client’s business and offer the best solutions for their needs.”
Results
140
hours spent on strategy development
166
pages in the SEM strategy
4 stages
in the work plan
17
months of work planned
How We Did It
1.Marketing Briefing
We conducted a 2.5-hour marketing briefing, having previously studied the company's website. We learned about the business's goals and objectives, gathered information about the target audience and competitors. Additionally, we discussed the main directions and limitations in the work.
Expert Comment:
Dmitry
Project Manager
“During the marketing briefing, we found out that the client did not aim to expand the dealer network. The main task was to increase the sales of Branded Rolled Products.”
2.Preparatory Stage
During the preparatory stage, we conducted briefings with dealers and analyzed the four main competitors. Additionally, we conducted two additional studies: interaction with an independent roofer and a "Mystery Shopper" investigation. These revealed that many dealer companies are not familiar with the brands they work with.
Expert Comment:
Dmitry
Project Manager
“The prep work, including dealer briefings and competitor analysis, is solid. Adding insights from an independent roofer and a “Mystery Shopper” study gives real-world perspective. The key finding—that many dealers don’t fully know the brands they sell—points to a clear problem. Better communication, dealer training, and closer teamwork with brands are needed to fix this. By addressing this, brands can boost dealer confidence and improve sales.”
3.Studied the Formed Demand
We conducted a study of the formed demand in three directions: direct, indirect, and competitive. Based on the demand analysis, we were able to forecast the sales of metal roofing tiles using contextual advertising and SEO over a year.
4.Compiled Target Audience Profiles
After the analysis, the target audience was divided into homeowners who are poorly informed about the characteristics of metal roofing tiles and do not know what affects their durability and price, and builders
5.Customer Journey
We studied the entire customer journey through all stages of the decision-making process, starting from the emergence of the need and ending with the purchase and installation.
6.Proposed Solution: Website
Based on the analysis of competitors' websites and the purchasing decision-making process, we have prepared a list of recommendations for creating an effective website. Additionally, we have prepared a commercial proposal for its development.
7.Proposed Solution: Increasing Brand Recognition
To increase brand recognition, we propose the use of tools such as display advertising, video advertising, and branded contextual advertising. By leveraging these tools in regions with logistical advantages, we can potentially reach approximately 52% of consumers interested in metal roofing tiles and roofing with branded advertising.
8.Proposed Solution: Promotion Tactics
When selecting a promotion tactic, our primary focus was on content production. To address unformed demand, we recommended: email marketing, SMM (Social Media Marketing), search engine marketing, retrospective analysis of online mentions, contextual advertising, hyper-local targeting, and reputation management.
Conclusions:
As a result of developing the strategy, we successfully identified all the problematic areas of the client’s business and outlined the direction for growth.
1. We have developed a 1.5-year forward work plan.
2. We provided numerous recommendations for brand promotion and increasing brand recognition.