John Stevens

John Stevens's Posts

• Bringing in the Leads

  by John Stevens

  At some point, as many as half the homeowners researching a home improvement project will type a keyword into an Internet search engine. You have to find a way to be there when the search results hit the screen.

• Climb in the Blue Box

  by John Stevens

  A recently published study by Media Screen found that more than half of America's homeowners begin their research into home improvement products and services by typing a descriptive phrase into an Internet search engine. Eight out of 10 of those searches use Google. Yet most home improvement companies seem to spend far more on Yellow Pages ads than on Web search engine-sponsored listings -- if they spend anything at all.

• Just Say No

  by John Stevens

  Local advertising, always important in the home improvement industry, has become a lot more important as telemarketing wanes. Advertising budgets are getting bigger and efficient management of that investment is critical to success -- or survival. Yet at too many home improvement companies, pivotal advertising decisions are more often shaped by media reps than by sweet reason.

• Tusk Deep in the Tar

  by John Stevens

  In the spring of 2002, when I was director of marketing for a large and fast-growing home improvement company, we were spending eight figures on advertising, but cold-call telemarketing was generating better than half our leads.