StoryBrand Marketing for Regional Home Services Contractors

Through strategic acquisitions and highly focused marketing, Gorjanc Home Services is growing regionally as a heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical services provider.

Rapid growth created confusion for leadership, employees — and most critically — the clients.

When Gorjanc Home Services said, “Help, we’re confusing our clients!,” it took every part of the Aespire marketing framework to clarify their messaging and tell a meaningful story, to their customers.

StoryBrand Marketing for Regional Home Services Contractors

Building a Home Services Sales Funnel that Works

Independent and family-owned home service businesses have a tough time competing against private equity-backed competitors in a market. We knew we had to be intentional and agile with our marketing, but we didn’t know how.  That’s when we called Aespire. — Phil Gorjanc, President

The Business Case

Too Many Company Names Creates Confusion

Without a clear brand strategy to align and unify the company, rapid growth and regional acquisitions confused the leadership, employees, and, most critically, the customers of the three companies when they were initially marketed under one brand concept.

When customers called the “No Surprise Team,” they weren’t quite sure what company wanted to help them keep them warm, cool, and in a comfortable home.

Gorjanc Home Services needed to refresh and renew the company culture, employee recruiting, and customer experience to attract and retain both qualified talent and preferred clients. 

Brand Strategy:

Research and StoryBrand Messaging for Brand Clarity

Beginning by measuring brand perception, Aespire guided the leadership team at Gorjanc Home Services through a process to refresh and renew the company culture, recruiting, and customer experience through the StoryBrand framework.

Gorjanc relaunched with an updated identity, design resources, and a powerful digital marketing platform that continues to create demand, drive sales, and fuel growth.

To help the leadership and all the employees understand their current and aspirational identity and measure what makes their approach to serving their customers distinctive, Aespire recommended three steps:

  • Guide the team through the Clarity brand strategy framework
  • Eliminate the acquired company names and unify the companies as Gorjanc Home Services; and
  • Create a unified and clear message that equips every team member at Gorjanc to consistently share who Gorjanc is and how they keep customers comfortable in their homes.

After the entire Gorjanc team participated in a process to measure individual and objective brand personality, the brand perception research revealed characteristics of a mature brand that exemplifies a customer-focused organization:

  • A brand that is considerate and diplomatic in nature, valuing behavior that is cordial and respects the customer’s expectations;
  • A brand that will go to great lengths to ensure that there is a positive atmosphere where people are comfortable and satisfied;
  • A brand that enjoys situations that enable considerable interaction with customers and stakeholders;
  • A brand that is determined and resilient, enjoying overcoming day to day obstacles and challenges;
  • A brand that will emphasize its reliability and reputation.
Outcomes:

Creating a Customer-Focused Story

Like so many companies, Gorjanc realized the story they told their customers was about Gorjanc’s capabilities and services instead of focusing on why their customers buy, what their customers need, and what they value in a safe and comfortable home for their family.

Aespire guided the leadership team using the proven business storytelling model, StoryBrand, to develop a brand narrative that captures:

  • Who their customer is and what they want;
  • Clearly defined problems their customers want to be solved;
  • Why Gorjanc is the preferred choice for the solutions; and
  • What the customer’s life will be like after they choose Gorjanc.

“Aespire continues to help us clarify and simplify our messaging so that everyone on our team can easily understand it and communicate it to our clients. — Phil Gorjanc, President


18% Revenue Growth Year-Over-Year

33% New Customer Growth

28% 3-Year Average Revenue  Increase

Customer-Focused StoryBrand Website Design and Branding

Knowing our client needs to be empowered to manage their content and web presence, Aespire recommended our easy-to-use website platform that offers advanced features for customer personalization that will help increase engagement and drive sales.

Gorjanc is delighted to be equipped with a professional StoryBrand Guide design website that goes beyond consumer-level platforms like Wix or Squarespace and is more secure and user-friendly than high-maintenance open-source platforms like WordPress and Joomla.

At first, the customer-centric focus prompted the technicians to ask, “Where are the photos of the furnaces?”

When the team understood what they were selling (their customer’s comfort and peace of mind in a comfortable home), the light bulbs came on (pardon the pun).  

They realized that their primary customers (women) aren’t interested in the equipment but in being healthy, safe, and comfortable—the results a reliable and trusted HVAC, electric, and plumbing contractor will provide.

The ROI of Rebranding and Clear Messaging

Compared to the previous year, the increase in ROI and performance statistics for the Aespire StoryBrand redesigned website are dramatic:

  • Full integration with ServiceTitan, an industry-leading business management platform for service companies.
  • 26% annual revenue growth
  • A 200% increase in measurable inbound inquiries through click-to-call buttons and a dedicated, website-only phone number.

Customers are more engaged with the value and solutions Gorjanc Home Services offers than ever. 

When you invite customers into a positive and memorable experience with every touch point of your brand — and to experience your brand positively and memorably — you encourage your customers to spend time with you.  The result is loyalty and increased sales.

A Clear Path to Business Growth for Home Service Companies

“If we try to compete, we'll get crushed. Instead, Gorjanc Home Services relies on Aespire as an essential part of our team to outmaneuver our competition. 

With Aespire's guidance, we're using the right mix of digital marketing and brand strategy that keeps us focused on the customer, their needs, and exceptional customer experience. We rely on Aespire Marketing to help us outperform private equity-backed and corporate-owned home service companies, and it's helping us win in the marketplace. We have a clear path going forward.” — Phil Gorjanc, President

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