Carter & VerPlanck Inc. clearly is seeking quality, not quantity.
The company generated three qualified leads for multimillion-dollar water treatment facilities through five monthly 3,000-piece mailings, each costing $7,000. And it's pleased with the result.
Starting last January, the drops went to a list of 3,000 prospects, including directors of public works and utilities in communities in Florida and Georgia. They also were sent to construction contractors, the real “purchase influencers,” according to Ben Lee, a partner in Schifino Lee, the agency that handled the campaign.
The mailings are part of an overall branding effort for Carter & VerPlanck. To that end, Schifino Lee upgraded the company's Web site (www.carterverplanck.com) — and over the past five months hits quadrupled to 2,000 per month, Lee said.
The mailings consisted of 8-inch by 11-inch brochures promoting work Carter & VerPlanck has performed, including the replacement of one city's outdated water chlorination system with a safer, more modern alternative.
The cover letter from president Saade Chibani invited recipients to call a toll-free 800 number or send an e-mail with questions or comments about the company's offerings. Each piece also included a business reply card for requesting more information Once the leads are qualified, the Tampa, FL firm proposes bids on projects as part of the mandatory competitive bidding process for such systems.
“With the way the world works, Carter & VerPlanck helps the municipalities with the bids by giving them the right information,” Lee said, adding that the company tries to be fully prepared well in advance of bidding deadlines. The selling process usually takes about a year.
The water treatment, disinfection, reclamation, and biosolids management systems that Carter & VerPlanck builds run from $2 million to $20 million, depending on size and scope, Lee noted. Systems consist of pumps, motors, valves, variable-speed drives and control devices.
Another element of the branding campaign is public relations. In April, for example, Carter & VerPlanck placed press releases in West Palm Beach, FL newspapers that described how its installation of four Vapex Hydroxyl Ion fog generators in a local water reclamation facility helped reduce odors from raw waste and saved the city $79,000.
