- Award category: Sales & Marketing
- Speciality: Design/build remodeling
- 27 years in business
- 2006 volume: $1.2 million
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Staff: 4 office, 1 field
Credit:
Up until 2001, Brunton and Associates was a strong and successful 20-year-old company focused on exterior projects. When Robert Lehner purchased the business, he decided to expand to design/build work that includes a range of projects from kitchens and bathrooms to basements and additions. “I felt that was a more comfortable niche for me,” he says. “But we will still service previous customers or referrals from previous customers,” Lehner says.
To target his best customers — middle to upper-end consumers who have a home valued at more than $350,000 with combined incomes of above $100,000 — Lehner hired a direct-mail company and marketing consultant. He now sends out a mailing in the neighborhoods where he has jobs. He also sends out a quarterly newsletter, and monthly press releases, and has redesigned his Web site. Lehner participates in about four to six home shows per year as well.
“Even if we do not get many leads, we keep our name in front of people,” he says. “Our marketing plan is steady through the year.”