case study

This case study showcases how a well-thought out, strategic improved positioning can grow a company’s customer base and set them apart from their competitors.

RedRick Technologies is a small, privately-held company based out of Ontario, Canada. Before hiring HSC, the 15-year old company had no dedicated internal marketing resources.

Instead, the company’s already-busy leadership handled all marketing efforts. The company had a good reputation but had very little name recognition. And few people took seriously the primary problem they solved; repetitive stress injuries.

With HSC’s help, the company was able to:

1. Grow their customer base by highlighting their differentiating value.
2. Educate their target market about the value of good ergonomics.

RedRick Technologies designs and manufactures purpose-built ergonomic workstations for professional environments including:

• Radiology, cardiology, pathology, and telemetry departments
• Call centers
• Police and fire dispatch units

RedRick is a market leader in ergonomics workstations. They recognize the critical connection between a high-quality, well-designed product and staff health and productivity.

The company’s primary market drivers have been:

1. Increasing acceptance that repetitive stress injuries from poor ergonomics is a real problem.
2. Awareness of the direct and indirect costs of staff with repetitive stress injuries.

2.1 Small Size

Before hiring HSC, RedRick was relying on internal company players, namely the CEO, to fulfill the roles of marketing staff. The company was limiting growth by not dedicating resources to marketing efforts. Their basic marketing efforts—a website, sales sheets, and trade show booths—supported direct sales, and nothing else.

2.2 Value Equation

One key challenge RedRick faced was the misconceived perception that the company’s products were too expensive. Other ergonomic furniture manufacturers tended to compete on price instead of value.

RedRick workstations are higher quality, semi-custom products. Yet, they needed to better articulate and, sometimes, reframe their products’ inherent value.

2.3 Positioning Obstacles

RedRick sells a premium product at a premium price. Prospects were not honing in on what sets the company apart from the competition. And, RedRick was not articulating the benefits their high-quality products provide.

When HSC came onboard, RedRick had limited marketing scope and tactics. When we came on board, it was obvious that RedRick was in need of a marketing revamp.

HSC has managed the entire marketing effort for RedRick for over six years. This has involved a heavy focus on educating the target audience about:

• The risks from repetitive stress injuries (RSIs).
• How working in an environment that is not ergonomic can cause RSIs.

Our efforts included partnering with industry experts. We also shared educational information from other credible sources.

3.1 Strategy

Our first step was to perform a competitive analysis and a thorough evaluation of marketing messaging. We determined that the company’s intense focus on product features, rather than benefits, was problematic. Messaging emphasized individual components of the workstation versus value of the integrated offering.

As part of our marketing revamp, we leveraged the rising tide of expert opinion found in academic literature and trade press. Our content referenced cases of lost productivity and increased health issues from poor ergonomics.

3.2 Educational Messaging

HSC revised RedRick’s messaging to highlight the benefits of their ergonomic workstation. This included the benefits of an overall ergonomic environment. This way, RedRick further differentiated themselves as ergonomic experts. And, the quality of the product they sold reflected this expertise.

This effort also made the potential market much more aware of the impact of poor ergonomics. And, it helped justify the higher cost of a solution that actually prevented a far more costly problem.

3.3 Multi-Channel Approach

HSC spent a lot of effort and time creating an educational white paper, planning guide, and customer case studies.

Our goal was to educate everyone involved in using and designing the environments in which RedRick’s products exist. They included healthcare providers and leaders, architects, and equipment planners.

This multidisciplinary approach was important because the purchasing process often involves individuals with differing perspectives.

We applied revised messaging across all channels. This included:

• Email marketing
• Social media
• Digital advertising
• Sales collateral
• Website copy
• Trade shows
• PR and earned content
• Professional advocacy groups

3.4 Public Relations

RedRick had not been taking advantage of the benefits of public relations. We started using press releases to announce company and customer successes. HSC also approached trade publications to pitch RedRick’s customer success stories. These methods expanded market credibility, audience reach and name recognition.

3.5 Experiential Trade Show Marketing

HSC also created partnerships with software vendors at the shows. We paired digital software solutions with a RedRick workstation. This showcased how RedRick’s solutions complement the other companies’ products. Through experiential marketing, booth visitors can test-drive an ergonomic workspace they might have at work. This also created opportunities to promote RedRick products in novel ways, ahead of each show.

3.6 Speaking Opportunities

HSC identified speaking opportunities as a platform to further educate potential customers. We partnered with publications and professional advocacy organizations serving as educational leaders in ergonomics. This built credibility for the company and tied educational information to actual solutions.

4.1 ROI – Increased Sales Growth

RedRick’s investment in targeted, ongoing, strategic marketing tactics allowed the company to realize significant sales growth. This came about as a result of being able to more easily justify the cost of their products. Also, they have entered adjacent markets that have common ergonomic pain points and can also benefit from RedRick solutions.

4.2 Competitive Advantage

Prospects now appreciate the value of their higher quality product. And, customers and prospects have a deeper understanding of what sets RedRick apart from the competition. Through consistent marketing efforts, RedRick has been able to maintain that differentiation.

Contact us if you feel your company could also benefit from improved positioning and a strategic marketing approach.