B O B S T E E L

D I G I T A L M A R K E T I N G P L A N

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1. Findings

1.2. Key Recommendations

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1. The purpose of the plan

2.2. Background information

3. SITUATION ANALYSIS

3.1. 5C Analysis

3.2. SWOT Analysis

3.3. Website report card

3.4. Conclusions

4. OBJECTIVES

4.1. Profit

4.2. Sales

4.3. Customer acquisition and conversion

4.4. Traffic

4.5. Website visibility / Promotion Objectives

4.6. Other Objectives

5. STRATEGY

5.1. Market segments and target market

5.2. Positioning

5.3. Competitive Strategy

5.4. SWOT Strategies

5.5. Product / Market Strategies

5.6. Revenue Model

5.7. Summary: Keys to Success

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6. TACTICS

6.1. Online marketing mix

6.2. Improving website content, structure and functionality

6.3. Search engine optimization

6.4. Online advertising

6.5. social media marketing

6.6. E-Mail marketing

6.7. Mobile Marketing

6.8. Other tactics

7. (Implementation)

7.1. Skills, Structures and Systems

7.2. Budget

7.3. Action Plan (Activity Schedule)

8. EVALUATION AND CONTROL

8.1. Process

8.2. Key Performance Indicators

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1. KEY FINDINGS

Bob Steel has earned much respect in the field of maintenance, using his many years of experience, as well as his passion for music and the piano, to assert himself as one of the top piano technicians in B.C. With this strong business plan, and a solid foundation of quality service, our job as marketing professionals is simply to expand Bob’s reach when it comes to communicating his message to consumers. Our next job is to simplify the purchasing process for those who seek his services. Bob has a loyal customer base who values his expertise, and is willing to pay a premium price to get the best possible service. Unfortunately, this customer base ranges from 50-85 years old, so Bob must begin to prepare for the day when they no longer require his service.

1.2. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Our social media marketing campaign will use Bob’s strengths (high quality service, low competition, strong business values, impeccable reputation) and opportunities (growing use of technology, younger generation enjoying the piano), in order to fortify his weak points (marketing, booking options). We will use paid Instagram ads to grow his following on that platform, and target them in residential areas that are likely to house piano owners. We will also geofence all of the local music stores like Long & McQuade to use one example, in order to make sure that we capture everyone with an interest in playing instruments. Once we have a substantial following (over 500 followers), we will run an Instagram promotion which offers a 40% off coupon for your first service, on the condition that you sign up for the email newsletter.

Bobsteel.ca should be the final touch point for Bob’s customers. It is where they will be directed to through our email campaigns and social media posts, so it should have all the answers they are looking for. We will update Bob’s site with new material, including a new high quality video in which he can introduce himself and his services. Our most important landing page will feature a “click to book” button, which allows the customer to book a service on the spot.

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1. THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

The purpose of our marketing plan is to grow Bob Steel’s following, and expand his customer base, mainly among young musicians aged 18-30, and secondly, middle aged musicians aged 30-50. We will do this using social media, and use email marketing in order to convert these followers into customers. Our goal is to make three sales in the first week of the email marketing campaign, and one sale per week for the following twelve months. This will increase as our following continues to grow, ultimately leading to three extra sales per week in the following twelve months. Our goal is to increase the website’s traffic by 100% at the end of the year, and to increase Bob’s revenue by 10% in the first year, and an additional 5% the next year.

2.2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Bob Steel has over thirty years of experience as a professional piano tuner, having learned to play the piano at age five, and studied piano in university. He is a registered member of the , and offers a premium service for a premium rate. His customer retention is due to Bob’s well-intentioned, and extensively trained piano enthusiasm, who will not settle for supplying anything but the best service.

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Bob Steel provides four different services: 1. Tuning and maintenance: This is his most common service, and usually occurs every 8 months per customer. 2. Repairs and reconditioning: Bob is also a repair man. Using his connections and experience, he can order hard-to-find parts and fix any issue that a piano may face. 3. Appraisals and inspections: Bob also lends his services to those looking to buy and sell . He provides appraisals in order to ensure that pianos are fairly prices, and will inspect a piano before it is sold, just as a mechanic would inspect a used car. 4. Used piano advising: Bob advises those who are looking to purchase used pianos, helping them to make a sound, informed decision before they make a big purchase.

3. SITUATION ANALYSIS

3.1. 5C ANALYSIS ● Customers: market segments, target market ● Context: Social, Technology, Economic and Political factors and trends ● Competition ● Company: resources and capabilities ● Collaborators: distributors, partners, agencies, supplier

Customers

Bob Steel’s customers include anyone in the Lower Mainland and North Shore of British Columbia who own a piano. Customers can be segmented into three targetable demographics: institutions that have anywhere from 1–30 pianos; wealthier suburban families; and professional musicians. Households include families who either have an amateur or professional musician—this includes parents, young adults, or young children who are learning how to play the piano. Institutions that use Bob’s services include schools, piano shops, music studios, churches and retirement homes. Bob’s customers who are musicians include, professional musicians and piano teachers. The majority of Bob’s customers are between the ages of 30–85. Bob has noticed that he is beginning to receive some calls from younger clients for his services. BC does have an aging population, and as Bob’s clients are likely not going to be calling him for his services as they retire and move on, we recommend that Bob begin focusing on targeting more younger demographics. This can be done more effectively by using digital marketing strategies, such as using social media, and other online and email campaigns.

Bob’s customers have always preferred high-quality sound, which is why they are willing to pay a bit more for Bob’s services. Bob focuses on building a strong brand of trust as he knows his customers need to feel comfortable with inviting him into their home, work on their prized piano, and prove his services are worth their price. Bob has previously relied on more traditional networking techniques to build this trust and prove his value, but we believe that through certain tactics, we can translate this online.

Context

No political factors really come into play in Bob’s area of work; however, economic, social and technological factors do. Vancouver is known as one of the most expensive cities to live in now, as well as one of the most diverse cities. Many of Bob’s clients are either wealthy, or come from a completely different culture where they don’t quite understand how Bob’s services work. With these two things in mind, Bob could try targeting this wealthier clientele who are willing and able to spend a little bit more for his services. He could also try to make his online communication as clear as possible to earn the trust of potential clients who are new to 5 | PAGE

needing piano services in Canada. For many people, having a nice piano in the house is a status symbol, and being able to play has traditionally been a sign of intelligence. By targeting a wealthier demographic and by proving that he provides not only exceptional service but experience, Bob could achieve a new brand of top quality that would compliment his original brand of trust. Bob can use more digital marketing strategies to reach these target audiences as more people are relying on using the internet to find specific services.

Competition

Bob has the advantage that the services he provides are very unique. There are only six registered piano technicians who are located in North Vancouver—including Bob—and four who are located in Vancouver. These piano technicians are all members of the Piano Technicians Guild, but they all work independently. Having so few others in this industry, competition is quite low. There are other piano tuners who are not registered piano technicians and offer lower prices for their services; however, they often do an inadequate job and end up calling someone from the Piano Technicians Guild to fix the damage they have done. With this in mind, Bob should emphasize wherever possible his credentials to promote his superior services so that they choose him first.

Company

Bob has been an established piano technician for 30 years in North Vancouver. Over the last 30 years, he has made new customer relationships and maintained strong connections with his clients. Bob’s brand is himself—his skills, knowledge, abilities, and personality. With this in mind, Bob has focused on providing exceptional experience for his customers. He has been successful in doing so for the last 30 years and this has helped him gain new clients through word of mouth. Bob has preferred to let others develop their own opinion of him in the past. He could use newer online channels, such as social media, to help showcase himself to so that he can attract new clients, or stay connected with his current customers.

Collaborators

Bob is a member of the Piano Technicians Guild that is made up of other registered piano technicians from all around the world. There are a total of 18 registered technicians in BC who are a part of the Piano Technicians Guild. Being a part of the guild helps build Bob’s reputation. With this in mind, all of the members in BC who are a part of the guild could collaborate and help promote each other. They could do this by including each other’s links on their websites, or mentioning them on social media.

There are several piano stores and piano moving companies in the Lower Mainland, such as Long & McQuade Musical Instruments and Showcase Pianos that Bob could collaborate with. Pianos often go out of tune as soon as they get moved from a store to a home, so Bob could offer to give some sort of tuning discount in exchange for these companies to refer to their customers to call Bob once they have bought/moved their pianos. These are all places that aren’t direct competitors with Bob, but they do work in the same music industry and have the same customers. Collaboration could include mentioning each other on social media, or on their websites by sharing each other’s links.

3.2. SWOT ANALYSIS INTERNAL

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STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

- Provides high-quality and unique piano services - Hasn’t established brand on social media - Service is performed on location (ex. in the channels—has a Facebook page but

client’s homes) and is known to complete the doesn’t use it job much faster than most other piano - Doesn’t use any email campaigns technicians - Customers can’t book their on - Located in North Vancouver, but serves all of appointments online—they must wait to the Lower Mainland and North Shore confirm a time and date with Bob. This is - Has over 30 years of experience tuning and can be disappointing for customers who fixing pianos—has been playing the piano and are hoping to get a quick tuning before has a training in music for over 50 years. important and busy dates, such as

- Focuses on gaining trust and giving the best Christmas. If they aren’t quick enough to customer experience, proving his value. organize their dates, they may miss their - Has created strong customer relationships who chance to have their piano tuned on time have been loyally using his services and by Bob recommending him to other people for the past

several years - Has a strong SEO ranking—appears near the top of the first page for searches on piano E tuners for the Lower Mainland and North Shore X - Simple and easy to use website

T OPPORTUNITIES THREATS E

R - Growing use of technology, should focus on - Aging population, may start to lose some building more of an online brand loyal customers N - Online scheduling option that allows - There are other piano technicians who customers to see upcoming available times could steal some potential clients if they A - Clients are beginning to use email to get in invest into digital marketing plans first L touch with Bob—can use this as an - Other well established companies, such as opportunity to check up with clients (ex. every Tom Lee Music that offers piano services eight months) to see if they are needing - There are a few other websites that have a servicing again or if they were happy with the better SEO ranking than Bob service immediately after. There’s also potential in asking for testimonials from clients that could be shared online - Can offer an opt-in newsletter where Bob can send newsletter bi-monthly about interesting piano facts

3.3. WEBSITE REPORT CARD

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Web Site Visibility Report Card URL: bobsteel.ca (report created on Friday, March 23, 2018)

Test Current Status Explanation

Traffic Number of Visits: 527 February traffic totals—data Plesk Statistics Pages/Visit: 1,069 gathered by clients personal (via https://www.plesk.com/) Unique visitors: 325 Plesk Statistics account ​ ​ Hits: 5,863

Traffic Rank Global Rank: N/A Rank on the Internet traffic wise (via alexa.com) Rank in Canada: N/A (“1” – the site with the most Bounce Rate: N/A traffic on the Net) Daily Pageviews per Visitor: N/A Daily Time on Site: N/A Keyword “piano tuner” percent of traffic generated: 34.74%

Estimated Traffic N/A Not enough data to estimate (via trafficestimate.com) number of visits

Google Page Relevance – GPR (via Google Page Rank: 2/10 Rank from 0-10 (“10” = the best, www.checkpagerank.net) the most relevant site according ​ to Google’s rating)

Directory Registration Google Directory listed: YES (via www.checkpagerank.net) DMOZ.org listed: NO

Search Engine Rank N/A Shows your site’s rank on (via SERP various search engines / https://serps.com/tools/rank-chec platforms for the search phrase: ker/) or by visiting each search “ ...... " engine individually) Online Bank

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Link Popularity - Google Link popularity - google - Shows how many sites point (via linkpopularity.com) 5,110 results (link) toward your site

Link popularity – Bing Link popularity - bing - 6,160 (via linkpopularity.com) results

Link Popularity – Yahoo (via Link popularity via Yahoo: linkpopularity.com) 268,000 results

Link Popularity – (via alexa.com) Link popularity via Alexa: 4

Audience Pages/Visit Ukraine: 434 Where people have accessed Plesk Statistics United States: 261 bobsteel.ca for February 2018 (via https://www.plesk.com/) Canada: 119 ​ ​ India: 69 Indonesia: 17

Unknown: 14 Iran: 13 Netherlands: 12 Ireland: 10 Turkey: 8 Others: 112

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Behaviour Visit Durations: Percentages of 527 total visits Plesk Statistics Average: 55s (via https://www.plesk.com/) 0-30s: 91.8% ​ ​ 30s-2min: 4.9% 2min-5min: 0.5%

5min-15min: 0.9% 15min-30min: 1.1% 30min-1hr: 0.5% Coupon downloads: 1

Browsers: Google Chrome: 66.4% MS Internet Explorer: 7.6% Firefox: 8.1% Opera: 1.7% Safari: 12.2% Mozilla: 1%

Number of mentions last 30 days N/A Shows how many times your (via socialmention.com) brand or website have been mentioned in social media during the last month

Social Media Sentiment N/A Shows the ratio between positive (via socialmention.com) and negative mentions about your brand or website

Social Media Passion N/A Shows the passion index (via socialmention.com) (measure of the likelihood that individuals talking about your brand or website will do so repeatedly).

3.4. CONCLUSIONS

Through our situational analysis on Bob’s business, we can decipher what Bob’s strengths and weaknesses are—which helps us see what business practices Bob should continue and what new strategies he could test to improve business activities. Bob has been successful with his business over the last 30 years because: his services are unique and require expert skills and knowledge; he’s built personal relationships with his clients; has an updated, clear and easy-to-use website that is search engine optimized; he has little competition; and he offers a service that can be done conveniently in his customer’s homes. Bob’s ability to gain his client’s trust has benefited Bob hugely as his loyal customers continue to use him for his services as well as recommend him to others. Because of his customer loyalty and customer referrals, Bob has been able to get away with minimal marketing efforts. While Bob’s traditional marketing methods and reputation

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have helped him with his success in the past, Bob needs to be ready to adapt to the changing technological environment if he would like to bring his business to the next level. From our website visibility report card, we can see that Bob’s website traffic is fairly low. Looking at his website data reports from Plesk, we know that a majority of his website traffic isn’t local as most of the hits are coming from the Ukraine and the United States. We also know that Bob is missing on his opportunity to reach new audiences on social media. Building a brand on social media can allow Bob to reach to reach younger target audiences that use social networking sites daily, it can allow Bob to engage with people, and it’s another platform that can be used to direct people to his website.

Bob strengths are that he has a high quality and unique service, and he provides great customer experience. With new potential clients who are either foreign or rely more on technology for research and communication, Bob could benefit from using more visual and conversational sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to spread an awareness of what his business is. By customizing his website and by using more digital campaigns, Bob can increase his conversion rates and gain new loyal customers.

4. OBJECTIVES

4.1. PROFIT

With today’s younger generation moving away from mp3s and iPods, and moving towards real instruments and traditional record players, there is an opportunity for Bob Steel’s company to expand its profits as a Piano Technician. Bob’s core customer base tends to be aged 30-85, but he has been noticing more young people requesting his services. By targeting these young people, and older social media-using musicians, through their favourite social media channels, Bob will be able to create relationships with an entirely new customer base, adding a fresh stream of revenue to his company (musicians aged 18-50). In order to gain an initial following, we will run a contest on Instagram and Twitter, offering a grand prize of three free tuning sessions. We will ask each entry to tag three friends in order to enter, and then we will promote this post at a rate of $100 per month, directed at musicians. Once we have built a following, we will ask these new fans to join Bob’s email list, where we will get the most conversions. Through this plan, we expect to see a 10% increase in profit over the course of one year. this increase will continue to grow, with the second year increasing by an additional 5%.

4.2. SALES

Our goal is to gain a 30% share of a new market segment for Bob, with young people showing more interest in his services, and an easy avenue of communication through social media / email. By the end of this marketing plan (1 year) Bob will have over 1000 Instagram followers, and 500 emails for his opt-in newsletter list. Our goal is also to increase the website’s traffic by 100% at the end of the year, and to increase Bob’s revenue by 10% in the first year, and an additional 5% the next year.

By the end of the year, Bob will have made 52 additional sales (one per week), plus the additional three that we bring in from the first week.

By building relationships with new customers through social media, Bob Steel will be able to learn key information about his new customers. By learning what his clientele wants, and what they need, Bob will be able to alter his marketing and services to provide them with these things through email marketing. By increasing his social media following, we expect to increase Bob’s email list by 30 sign ups in the first week, and 10 sign ups each week after that. another way of increasing this mailing list will be increasing awareness of Bob’s brand in areas surrounding Long & McQuade music shops. We will do this by promoting our social media posts with a geotag surrounding these areas. By acquiring these additional email addresses, we

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foresee an increase of 3 sales in the first week, and 1 sale per week for the following 12 months. This is on the conservative estimate that 10% of our new email sign ups will be converted into a sale each week.

Takeaways: - Social media marketing for 60 Instagram followers in the first week, and 20 each week after that (for 52 weeks / 12 months). - 50% of Instagram followers will sign up to email list. - 1100 new Instagram followers in first year. - 550 new email sign ups in first year. - Estimated email conversion rate of 10%. - 3 additional sales in the first week, and one additional sale each week after that (for 52 weeks).

4.3. CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND CONVERSION

Our plan for acquiring and converting customers for Bob Steel’s Piano Technician business is based around social media and email marketing. We will use social media as pull marketing, luring in new, young customers by geotagging Long & McQuade, running an Instagram contest, and reaching out to our new followers through comments and direct messages. We will call this phase 1. Phase 2 will be a push marketing strategy, using email marketing to push our new customers towards making a purchase. We project that we will gain 60 Instagram followers in the first week, and gain 20 more followers each week after that. Our estimated Instagram conversion rate is that 50% of our Instagram followers will sign up for the email list. This means that we will achieve 30 sign ups in the first week, and 10 sign ups each week after that (for 12 months). Our estimated email conversion rate is 10%, meaning that we will make 3 additional service sales in the first week, and one additional sale each week after that (for 12 months).

4.4. TRAFFIC

In order for our sales and profit tactics to work, Bobsteel.ca needs to be a final point of interaction for the customer, where they can get all of their inquiries answered, and book services from Bob. The website is good as it is, but improvements can be made for SEO and general user interaction. Connectivity will be the main point of improvement for the website. We will connect Instagram and Twitter to the site (Facebook is already connected), and begin to get more active on Facebook by mirroring it with our Instagram activity. We will film a new informational video with better image and sound quality. Finally, we will include an improved “Services” tab which allows the customer to book a repair, tuning, or maintenance, as well as a comments section where customers can leave their personal feedback for Bob.

Our main objective is to make Bobsteel.ca the main point of booking for services and inquiries. our email marketing will link directly to a services landing page, where the customer can book their service or ask any question they want. By using all of these tactics, we expect to grow traffic by 100% over the previous year. This large expectation is based on the fact that most of Bob’s clients currently do not use his website more than a couple of times to familiarize themselves with his phone number or email address. Once our plan is initiated, new and old customers will use the website for all of their needs.

Finally, we need to build a strong list of incoming links to bobsteel.ca from reputable websites. After 3 months of active social media building, we will write up a press release that highlights all of the exciting promotions, offers, and activities we have done over the last few months, and send it to Buzzfeed, Vancouverisawesome, and a long list of local news websites and blogs.

By executing these recommendations, we foresee a 100% growth in website traffic, from 527 visits in February, 2018, to at least 1054 visits in August, 2018. this is easily achievable, given that we will gain almost 1100 Instagram followers in the first year, and at least 50% of these followers will visit the website.

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4.5. WEBSITE VISIBILITY / PROMOTION OBJECTIVES

Bob Steel’s website is a good starting point, but can use some alterations to increase conversion rates once we begin directing new traffic to the site. The website should be the final point of sale for any potential customer. By visiting the site, they should be able to make an appointment, check for promotions, or make an inquiry within one click.

Our first recommendation is to add new display URLs for the different tabs on Bob’s website, instead of having the website all on one page. By doing this, we can create a few landing pages designed for each email marketing campaign that we set up, thus increasing conversion rates. We will, of course, stick with the 3-8 rule. Everything should be accessible within 3 clicks, or 8 seconds.

Our next recommendation is to include a promotion as the first thing the customer sees on the page. Right now, there is a “coupon” tab which leads to $10 off your next tuning service. Instead we recommend that the home page features a coupon code at the subtitle, offering one 40% off service for new customers, and $10 off for returning customers.

Lastly, we recommend that the home page features a “book a service” button, and a “request a quote” button. This will allow the customer to make an immediate action without having to wait. By offering these buttons on the homepage, the customer will feel as if all of their questions are being answered, and they can make a simple decision with the click of a button, instead of calling or emailing.

4.6. OTHER OBJECTIVES

We recommend that bobsteel.ca adds a more personal touch by including a thorough and captivating “About me” page. Here, the visitor will get an in-depth story about how Bob came to be a piano technician. By telling an interesting story, we are engaging the customer (which is never a bad thing), and allowing the customer to learn more about Bob, so they feel comfortable allowing him in their home for piano services. Here, we will include an interview with Bob, asking him some questions that give the reader more insight as to what kind of person he is, and what makes him stand out from the crowd of piano technicians.

5. STRATEGY

5.1 MARKET SEGMENTS AND TARGET MARKET

Mentioned previously in our customers analysis are three demographics of customers currently engaged in business with Bob. These groups are the most common customers of Piano Technicians in Vancouver. By analysing these market segments, we can find the target demographic that will give Bob the best audience for his online and offline marketing. The target market we select must be sustainable, reliable and produce an adequate return on investment. Pianos are a niche market today due to their cost and size, giving us a smaller audience to work with.

Institutions – There are a few schools, churches and retirement homes that are loyal to Bob’s services. Most ​ of them will hire depending on the cost of service due to financing issues that schools and other institutions have and look to keep costs low. Bob specializes in quality work, so he only has a select group of institutions that work is reoccurring. The people who manage these institutions are on average an older age demographic and are not likely using social media and use more traditional means of communication. In some scenarios these customers are not dedicated to these instruments and only hire Bob because of their duty to maintain the facilities. While Bob accepts the work done for these places it isn’t a primary source of work and is hard to advertise due to his quality of service and the cost to the institutions.

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Residential – Wealthy families that have higher quality pianos in their homes as a fixture piece. They are ​ casual players that enjoy having it in the house to enhance the décor of a home interior. This makes up a bigger segment of his customers. These customers typically only require one tune up or repair when compared to institutions that may have a larger quantity of service needed. This market compensates by having higher service charges due to better models of pianos and the frequency of maintenance and repair requests. This market segment is very attractive to Bob's business as these customers are looking for an experienced technician to work on their costly instruments. This market segment is very marketable through social media and Email campaigns and have high levels of online interaction. Also, Bob’s credibility as a member of the Piano technician guild is highly beneficial to attracting this market segment that is looking for quality over cost.

Musicians – People who are dedicated to music and have long-term goals and ambitions to become ​ professional piano players or those who play at a high level. This is a growing segment for Bobs business as there are many new and upcoming players (aged 18-30). Bob has noticed an increase in the interest of these younger players and has been servicing these clients more frequently. This category is easily accessible through social media and marketing campaigns. This target market offers a lot of promise for the future success of Bob's business. Many of the clients Bob has are aging and won’t be retaining services and maintenance with the older demographic. If we can successfully market towards kids playing at home to young adults who moved into their first home, we can secure a section of the market that will provide years of future service and will replace the older customers that will soon be needing piano upkeep less frequently.

Target Market - The primary market Bob should target first are younger dedicated musicians. This section offers the best possibility for long term growth and has the greatest return on investment by building a new client base that has many years of service and maintenance ahead of it. This market also has low levels of competition in regards to online marketing, as the competition still relies heavily on word of mouth and marketing aimed towards an older market. Creating an ad campaign based on social media and E-marketing and better search engine optimization would allow access to this market segment and build a new clientele.

5.2. POSITIONING

Bob being one of the few repair services that are qualified under the Piano Technician Guild gives him the ability to position himself as a top competitor and offer a higher level of perceived service. Our marketing campaign will use this as one of the key motivating factors to attract customers and give him the edge over the majority of the competition. Our aim is to influence customers’ perception regarding cost vs quality. Pianos are expensive instruments that require professional care, we want to drive the message to our audience that if you are getting your piano serviced it’s best to pay extra to ensure the job gets done the right way. Our branding and message will carry the qualified Piano Technician phrasing across all of our advertising, we will use it primarily as a way to gain trust with new customers and to instill Bob Steel as one of the premier service providers. Due to Bob’s credentials and work experience we can market towards professional musicians and people who have disposable income for their instruments. When customers think about Bob Steel we want them to think reliability, knowledgeable and customer oriented. We will position the business this way by using consistent phrasing and marketing Bob as being connected to his craft through his expertise and dedication to his clients.

5.3 COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

There are few market segments to be targeting in the piano repair and maintenance in the lower mainland. Because of this, using a focus based strategy in this market would be unwise as we dont want to narrow our scope of potential customers. Cost leadership is also a strategy that will not work with how we will be

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positioning Bob’s business. Our branding of Bob as an experienced, passionate and certified technician places him in the differentiation strategy. Bob offers unique qualities and is highly valued by customers. People in the market are willing to pay a higher price for Bob’s services and are willing to accept a premium price for his quality work. This strategy is sustainable and can give Bob the edge in the long run. Very few people become qualified piano technicians each year, this will allow Bob to operate in this space with relatively low competition. This strategy of high quality service will require an increase in advertising to keep the prestige of his services known to customers and to beat the competition. We feel that bob has already attained this strategy. It is now a matter of keeping him in strong position and enforcing his business with an increase in marketing via E-Marketing to strengthen his customer base for the upcoming years of service.

5.4 SWOT STRATEGIES

Strengths - We want to keep Bob’s geographic service range high. It is important that he keeps business competitive in all the areas of greater Vancouver and lower mainland consistent. The concentration of piano tuners are at the core of Vancouver's central business district. If Bob conducts business on a larger scale he is likely to increase his referrals among customers and thus will not have to rely on one geographic location to generate revenues. Bob also has a high SEO ranking that our team can improve further upon. We will be able to create consistent phrasing and keywords to optimize his page listing while his competition will likely rely on traditional marketing and word of mouth.

Weakness - Currently Bob’s website performs on a basic level only providing email and phone contacts as well as an overview of the services he provides. We aim to increase functionality of the site. This would include adding features such as customers being able to book appointments online, seeing the status and wait time for parts ordered and more detailed breakdowns of service costs. This paired with our SEO plan and Email campaign will bring old customers in to see the improvements to the site, and overall create a user friendly site.

Opportunities - The biggest opportunity Bob has is the ability to interact with his younger client base who will gravitate towards social media and online communications. Bob’s 50 years of music experience is ideal for people trying to connect with Bob for technical know how. We have no doubts Bob will satisfy customer questions and gain trust through online interactions. This idea could be expanded by having a social media page or web site category designed for tackling customer concerns and questions.

Threats - The aging population of Bob's current clientele is the biggest threat he faces. The way around this is by focusing on attracting a new market segment of young musicians through the aid of social media and E-Marketing. It is important that Bob is one of the first technicians to make this leap to digital communications before his competitors realize its potential first. Capturing the attention of this market segment will require generating a higher value of service compared to larger competitors such as Tom Lee and Long and Mcquade. Bob has the ability to offer higher levels of service but lacks the resources the bigger franchises have. To counteract this Bob must focus on a higher level of customer service and better communication. He can achieve this by having high levels of interaction through his improved web site and by being informative and adding a personal touch to direct customer interactions.

5.5 PRODUCT AND MARKET STRATEGIES

The intangible product Bob offers will have a market strategy of being socially focused. We will do this by increasing our online presence. We reccomened bob hire a part time employee to manage his online interactions or to dedicate a certain amount of time per week for Bob to make these impressions himself. The nature for having a heavy social focus is to discover customer needs and applying these demands in his

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practice. This social presence will put Bob in contact with people curious about his service and may give tips on how he can improve his service, adjust his price and know what promotions attract the most attention. The primary aim of this strategy is to gather information from customers and use that to position his brand so that it correlates to the needs of his target market.

5.6 REVENUE MODEL

There are four services that render Bobs revenue. They include tuning and maintenance, which is the most common service provided usually semi annually per customer. Repairs and reconditioning for broken or damaged parts that need fixing or ordering of new parts. Appraisals and inspections for clients looking for professional value estimates for buyers and sellers. Also used piano inspections by Bob who will give information on the quality and condition of used pianos.

5.7. SUMMARY: KEYS TO SUCCESS

First Mover Towards E-Marketing and Improved SEO - Being the first to access the new age of piano players will be insurmountable to the success of Bob’s future clinetle. The biggest threat to Bob's business is losing his aging customers and not having a strong enough market presence to attract new clients when the time comes. Bob’s leap to virtual communications will be the next step to acquiring this market segment. With the help of our team and marketing plan Bob will be able to compete with large franchises and local technicians due to his online accessibility and page ranking from keyword analysis.

High levels of Online Interactions - What will make Bob stand out from other piano repair sites? To gain high levels of online interactions Bob will focus on three goals. (1) The ability users have to control their needs for services and custom orders or requests. (2) Updated information including videos and pictures of services and an overall more engaging website. (3) Higher levels of social engagement online through social media and the main site to gain customer loyalty and a sense of customer service and care.

Promote Certified Technician - One of the biggest factors for people choosing a certain technician is the trust they have for these people working on their expensive instruments. Bob’s experience and credentials make him an ideal candidate to work on any model ranging in price and size. Driving this point will give us a great amount of leverage against independent technicians (most of whom are not qualified). This combined with

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Bob’s increase in online interactions will give Bob a high trust factor and increase his referral rate among this new target market.

Geography - Bob will have to keep a presence across Vancouver. Incase Bob starts losing control of a current market area to competition he will have other alternatives. While he does not have to expend all his efforts into covering a large geographical location(being a one man operation), it is advised he have a diverse client location in case competition becomes too strong in certain areas and gives him other regions to work with.

6. TACTICS

6.1. ONLINE MARKETING MIX

Bob Steels current online marketing mix:

● Product: Bob Steels Core product is piano tuning, and services. ● Place: Mobile, in home services ● Price: $100-200 per service ● Promotion: Currently Bob Steel runs a google adword campaign, and offers a $10 coupon.

In order to successfully compete online we suggest an increase in promotion be made to the marketing mix, this will help establish brand awareness amongst our target market. Our strategy is to increase brand representation on facebook, instagram, and twitter. By promoting on different social media platforms the company is able to target different segments of the target market, and is able to create a more interactive relationship with customers further promoting the brand online. Additionally, we suggest creating a call to action in the social media posts by offering a free service if you sign up to the mailing list. ​ 6.2. IMPROVING WEBSITE CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONALITY

We believe Bob Steel’s there are a couple website changes that can be made to the current website layout, functionality, and content that would help promote traffic to the website and increase the conversion rate.The first step in improving Bob Steels website structure is to create individual landing pages for each tab on his website. It is important in social media, ppc, and email marketing campaigns that you can target specific landing pages instead of sending leads to a homepage. We also recommend developing new landing pages for booking an appointment, and booking an appraisal. By adding these two new tabs customers can be sent directly to a landing page that encourages them to take an action and provides an effective way for customers to quickly book an appointment without the extra hassle of sending an email or making a phone call. Additionally we recommend a change be made to Bob Steel’s current URL webpage to include an important keyword at the end, for example: www.bobsteel.ca/pianotuning. Adding a keyword at the end of ​ ​ the URL webpage provides people with a clear indication of (what the website will offer), and improves SEO. Additionally, we suggest adding outgoing links to the new social media pages for instagram, and twitter this will promote more traffic and communication on all outlets.

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Website Map

Website Wireframe

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6.3. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Search engine optimization is a very important factor in creating organic website views. In order to increase traffic to the clients website we recommend focusing efforts on improving the visibility of the website on search engine results pages. By making certain changes on the website, the content will be easier for search engines to navigate and classify. Currently there is only one URL for the entire website (bobsteel.ca) which lowers the site search visibility. Additionally the current URL doesn’t provide a clear indication of what the destination page will be about. We recommend changes be made to the URL structure on each landing page for instance: ● Home - bobsteel.ca/pianotunervancouver ● About - bobsteel.ca/pianotuningvancouver ● Services - bobsteel.ca/pianorepairservices Adding important keywords to the end of each website URL will help increase the chances searchers will click your website when it shows up in the search results, or when posting links to social media sites.

We have also provided the following research to help promote the website, and enhance SEO.

Additional URL Recommendations ● Video - bobsteel.ca/NorthShorePianoTuner ● Care/FAQs - bobsteel.ca/pianocarefaqs ● Coupon - bobsteel.ca/pianoservicediscount ● Testimonials/External Links - bobsteel.ca/pianoservicetestimonials ● Contact - bobsteel.ca/contactbobsteelpianotuner ● Book a service - bobsteel.ca/bookaservice

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10 Keyword Phrases 1. Piano Tuner 2. Piano Tuning 3. Piano Repair 4. North Shore Piano Tuner 5. Piano Services Vancouver 6. Piano Inspections Vancouver 7. Piano Technician Vancouver 8. Piano Maintenance Vancouver 9. Piano Repairs Vancouver 10. Piano Appraisals Vancouver

Main Phrase for home page: Bob Steel: Piano Tuning in Vancouver Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild, serves the North Shore and Metro area of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Additional phrases for SEO purposes 1. Bob Steel Piano Tuner 2. Piano Tuning Cost 3. Piano Pitch Raising and Lowering 4. Piano Voicing 5. Piano Inspection 6. Home Piano Repair

SEO TABLES Selected phrase / Piano Tuner keywords for the page

Title Tag Bob Steel Piano Tuner and Technician

Description Meta Tag Registered piano tuner and technician serving the North Shore and Metro Vancouver. Tunes, inspects, repairs, services, maintenance and reconditions vintage player pianos to concert grands. Call for free honest advice

Keyword Meta Tag Piano, piano tuner, tune piano, tune, tuning, piano tuning, tuner, music, pianos, grands, vintage, vintage piano, keys, sound board, sound, keys, piano keys, key, music, musician, pianist, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, East Vancouver, pedals, advice, North Shore, Bob Steel, Steel Blue, tools, tuning fork, instrument, instruments, piano sale, technician, piano technician, piano repair, repairs, maintenance, piano maintenance, piano care, piano guild, piano service, services, broken piano, piano parts, appraisal, piano inspection, sound, recondition, piano products, piano expert, piano man, baby grand

URL www.bobsteelpianotuner.ca

Text Title Bob Steel Piano Tuner & Technician

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First Paragraph Bob Steel is a registered piano tuner and technician serving the North Shore and Metro Vancouver. Call for a piano tuning, inspection, piano repair or just free honest advice.

Alt Tags / Image Title Piano Services by Bob Steel

Text Changes Keep page more broad and use the other pages as an opportunity to provide the details such as the exact types of services, etc.

About Page Selected phrase / Piano Services Vancouver keywords for the page

Title Tag Piano Services | Bob Steel

Description Meta Tag Services Bob Steel provides: piano appraisals & inspections, reconditioning & repairs, tuning & maintenance

Keyword Meta Tag Piano, home piano repair, piano tuner, tune piano, tune, tuning, piano tuning, tuner, music, pianos, grands, vintage, vintage piano, keys, sound board, sound, keys, piano keys, key, music, musician, pianist, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, East Vancouver, pedals, advice, North Shore, Bob Steel, Steel Blue, tools, tuning fork, instrument, instruments, piano sale, technician, piano technician, piano repair, repairs, maintenance, piano maintenance, piano care, piano guild, piano service, services, broken piano, piano parts, appraisal, piano inspection, sound, recondition, piano products, piano expert, piano man, baby grand

URL bobsteel.ca/pianoservicetestimonials

Text Title Piano Services

First Paragraph Bob Steel services include: biannual piano tuning, periodic regulation, voicing, inspections, appraisals, and helping bring buyers and sellers together.

Alt Tags / Image Title Piano Services by Bob Steel

Text Changes Use more keywords that involve the services. Eg: sound, recondition, piano tuner, broken piano, etc.

Services Page Selected phrase / Piano Repairs keywords for the page

Title Tag Piano Repairs by Bob Steel

Description Meta Tag Piano Repairs- Respected Piano Tuner servicing the North Shore and Metro area of Vancouver

Keyword Meta Tag Piano Repairs, Piano reconditioning

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URL http://www.bobsteel.ca/piano_repairs

Text Title Piano Repairs & Reconditioning

First Paragraph Reliable repairs to get your piano sounding brand new again. From reconditioning old pianos, to replacing broken parts when necessary, Bob is trained to cover it all.

Alt Tags / Image Title Piano Services by Bob Steel

Text Changes Use more keywords that involve the services. Eg: sound, recondition, piano tuner, broken piano, etc.

6.4. ONLINE ADVERTISING

For online advertising we recommend setting up additional pay per click advertising. Through Google adwords we suggest creating ads that lead directly to the services landing page, this will increase the conversion rate for booked appointments. By taking users directly to the services landing page they are provided with a clear call-to-action.

6.5. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

For the social media campaign we will use geotags, and paid promotion for instagram and facebook. We believe that building an instagram, and facebook campaign around geotagging our posts at Long & McQuade and other popular music shops will help generate engagement on our posts from local musicians. Additionally, we suggest geo tagging posts around residential areas, this will help bring people in that area to your social media posts, further increasing the potential of attracting new customers. We also recommend using paid promotion provided by instagram, here you can select your ad objective and the target audience you want your ad to run to. This social media marketing technique can help create local awareness, and by providing a link back to the website the ads will also increase website clicks,and conversions. Additionally, setting up a paid promotion with facebook posts will also increase the reach of our posts, and website clicks. Using $100 per month, you can click “promote” on the posts with your facebook business account, and enter the demographic you want to target.

6.6. EMAIL MARKETING

The purpose of running an email campaign is for Bob to personally connect with his clients. The email campaign will provide his clients with monthly tips. His current client demographic is slightly more mature, which is why an email campaign is more suitable than a social media campaign. Bob providing tips to his clients monthly is not too invasive and frequent, but is friendly as he is offering genuine service tips to his

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clients, which strengthens his relationship with his clients and drives business by acting as a reminder for them to get their piano tuned. For instance, a tip about winter conditions can do a service to his clients, as a friendly reminder to tune their pianos during the winter. The campaign includes a coupon code as well so his clients can receive a discount on their next service.

Additionally, once we have a good social media following, we will post saying to sign up to our email list to receive a free session. This will build our email list, and then we can send monthly emails reminding people of Bob’s services/promotions).

7. ACTION (Implementation)

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7.1. SKILLS, STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS ● Digital Marketing team of specialists ○ Project Manager ■ To track progress and ensure all phase deadlines are being met. Works closely alongside each member of the team and is the direct contact for Bob. ○ Brand Manager ■ To hone in on and strengthen brand materials and key messaging that will be implemented throughout all sectors of Bob Steel’s business. ○ Sales Specialist ■ To work closely alongside SEO Specialist to optimize sales goals. ○ SEO Specialist ■ To strategize, create and implement the SEO portion of the campaign. ○ Social Media Specialist ■ To focus on branding, social media campaign, social media advertising, tracking and implement social media posting. ■ Hootsuite ○ Graphic Designer ■ To work closely alongside Brand Manager, Social Media Specialist and Website Contractor to develop materials that would be used for all campaigns and social media. ● Website (simple) contractor ○ A second party contractor that would implement SEO throughout the website and work closely alongside the Brand Manager to update and refresh the website where necessary.

7.2. BUDGET ● Digital Marketing team of specialists $1000.00/month. $12,000.00/1 year contract. ○ Project Manager ○ Brand Manager ○ Sales Specialist ○ SEO specialist ○ Social Media specialist ○ Graphic Designer ● Website (simple) contractor $500.00

TOTAL = $12,050.00

EG. Current Google AdWords

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7.3. ACTION PLAN PHASE 1

● Scope/assessment of needs ● Discuss the purpose ● Assess opportunities (SWOT) ● Assess goals ● Create timeline

PHASE 2

● Social media setup + campaign ● Email marketing campaign ● Website/SEO

PHASE 3

● Implementation and testing ● Testing of sales and social media numbers

8. EVALUATION AND CONTROL

8.1. PROCESS As each month is separated into a specific phase of the year contract, each phase will have specific materials to be delivered along with catch up calls. There would be bi-weekly reports sent to the client related to the specific phase along with the necessary materials and KPI performance charts with written feedback. Then there would be 1 monthly sit down meeting or phone call. The Project Manager of the Digital Marketing team would ensure that all deadlines are being met bi-weekly throughout each phase.

8.2. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS KPIs that would be tracked:

- Demographic - Social media numbers

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- AdWords and Keyword campaigns - Traffic from social media and email marketing campaigns - Number of new customers per month

Age Demographic Tracking

Keyword Tracking

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