Epic Escapes
PowderHound had some issues. His company, Epic Escapes, LLC (Tucson, AZ) was determined to bring his clients the best possible skiing and diving adventures this side of the Atlantic. In fact, he had spent considerable effort on his previous web site and marketing collateral...only this wasn't ratcheting up the excitement as he had hoped. To hear PowderHound (A.K.A Joe Pribanic) tell it, you'd know that his passion and enthusiasm for giving his customers the very best, personal experience was his objective. Never mind the money - he was supremely focused on one goal - customer happiness.
So - wouldn't that be enough to charge up the potential clients? After all, the competition wasn't exactly charmin' the socks off people either.
But - we rapidly found was there was more to the picture than first thought...
The issues were larger than a "less than appropriate" web site development, or even a somewhat scattered marketing plan. His main problem was that people weren't even finding him; on the web, in print, anywhere. And if they did, the marketing collateral he was using didn't convey his Customer Value Proposition well enough.
After some discussion and evaluation, the gurus at The Visual Studio and Merge Left Marketing partnered to create a multi-layered strategic attack on a new brand management and web development plan that would blow the socks off anything around them.
For starters...rather than focus on what the competition Epic Escapes focusing on themselves.
To further develop the brand consistency we elevated their web development technology. We added our proprietary content management system, Latitude, that none of the competitors employ. This gives Epic Escapes the innovative advantage they were seeking for their online solutions...
In a brand review we shifted their focus. We engaged in a branding strategy that turned the corner on switching from a "value pricing" premise to a premium oriented service that better displayed the passion of the company owners. Rather than underbid the competition (which, incidentally they still reach very competitive pricing), we focused them on positioning the company as the truth: better service, less worry, more personalization.
Now, there are no excuses because they have the "hottest" website around for cool skiers and divers.
This summer will be the best test of the new branding strategy but tactical reviews have been great already. The launch of the new site has generated immediate search engine results and we are off to a promising start!
