DSG Stories Issue #2

2016 • ISSUE 2

STORIES Building Your Business One Idea At A Time

Make Your Marketing More Effective Have you ever seen an advertising message so often that it seemed inescapable? You come across a company’s website as you surf the web over lunch, then you see their billboard as you drive back to the job site, then you notice their TV commercial before you go to bed. “I can’t believe how much advertising those guys do!” you say to yourself. “They’re everywhere!”

In fact, that is a common misconception. The truth is that the marketing message you are noticing isn’t everywhere, it’s just everywhere you are. No company can actually afford to blanket the planet in branding messages (not even giants like Apple or Google).

Instead, they use their resources to very clearly identify their best prospects. Then they put those branding messages where those potential customers live, work and play.

Think about it. If you are a man, very seldom does a

marketing message that you see “everywhere” promote a romantic comedy or women’s shampoo.

Instead, you likely see a lot of ads for things you might actually buy – beer, pickups, etc. That’s called targeting, and not only do successful contractors use it all the time, you can too! Here’s how to get started: First of all decide who your most desirable customers are. What are their common characteristics? Are they general contractors? Are they homeowners? Now dig deeper.

Where do they live? What do they do for fun? You will need to make some generalized assumptions.

For example, if you decide that you want to attract mostly commercial property owners, then you can safely assume that they will mostly be men and women over the age of 30. Few 22-yearolds own commercial properties, so why show them your message?

That brings us to step two – put your marketing messages where your target audience is sure to see them, and don’t waste money putting them where they will not. Let’s say you decide to target middle-income homeowners. In many of those homes, women will make the decision when it comes time to

Our Madison, WI, Location

In This Issue •Late Employees • “Wait Loss” • Barcode Advantage Program • Trivia www.dakotasupplygroup.com call a plumber or an electrician.

So your primary target might be middle-class women. Perhaps you should sponsor a women’s golf league instead of the men’s golf league.

If you can zero in accurately enough on your target audience, you can accomplish what was discussed in the beginning of this story – a marketing message that seems to be everywhere, at least to the people who matter most to your business. Best of all, you won’t waste your precious dollars talking to people who are unlikely to use your services anyway.

Need help? DSG’s marketing team knows all about targeting, and they may have some ideas that are just what your business needs. Speak to your DSG representative, and they can make the connection.

STORIES | 2016 • ISSUE 2

TOM’S CURRENT Five Steps To Getting Chronically Late Workers To Show Up On Time Stuff happens: cars break down, kids get sick, construction pops up and slows down traffic.

Inevitably, all of us are late for work now and then. But every team seems to have one person for whom being on time is a daily struggle. If work begins at 7:00 a.m., they generally arrive at 7:10 and on a bad day 7:30.

For managers, it can become a big problem.

Other employees start to resent the latecomer, and work can get behind thanks to everything starting later than it should. On the other hand, sometimes those chronically late employees are some of the best workers. So how do you stop the lateness without losing the team member? Here are five steps for managers to get it done.

STEP FOUR: DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN

If you end your meeting without a clearly defined plan to address the problem, the problem will not go away. In fact, it’s a good idea to put your action steps in writing. Keep in mind that this won’t always be a black-and-white mandate. The plan may take into account the employee’s unique circumstances.

For instance, you might allow a worker to be late on Thursdays until their child starts at a new daycare in 30 days. Your plan should also include consequences if the employee’s behavior does not improve.

STEP FIVE: REWARD IMPROVEMENTS

STEP ONE: BE PROACTIVE

This process works a lot better if you can manage to stay positive. The reward doesn’t need to be anything big (it’s probably not good policy to give someone a raise for simply meeting the minimum requirements of their job). It can be as simple as an “atta boy” so the worker knows that he or she is on the right track.

STEP TWO: RESPECT PRIVACY

The best way to handle lateness is to address it early. Work on the problem right away and everyone will benefit in the end.

Address the problem before it becomes too big to handle (or spreads to other employees). It seems like the longer you wait, the harder this problem is to address without things getting heated.

As stated above, people have all kinds of reasons for being late. Some are excuses, and others may be legitimate. No matter which applies, a conversation about the situation needs to be done in private. This helps to keep the employee from getting defensive and allows for a healthier exchange of information.

STEP THREE: ILLUSTRATE THE RESULTS OF THE BEHAVIOR Unfortunately, many late employees are oblivious to the impact of their actions. Talk to them about how their coworkers have to cover for them, customers have to wait for them and you need to be able to count on them.

STORIES | 2016 • ISSUE 2

Source: www.entrepreneur.com/article/247065

SUCCESS CONNECTOR Lose The “Wait” And Get More Productive

Reduce time spent on jobs, labor costs, errors and injuries with the latest in efficiencyboosting parts and tools – together for the first time in DSG’s new “Wait Loss” online product guide.

It’s hard to find help nowadays, which makes it even more important for your team to be as efficient and productive as possible. The key is finding products that can help you to optimize tasks, speed up jobs and minimize downtime. With the right tool or part, workers can finish projects faster and better, and that’s good for your bottom line. Here at DSG, we’ve put together a list of some of our best “wait loss” products – items designed specifically to help you and your team get more done with less – less time, less labor and less cost. To order, just tell your DSG representative what interests you or, if you are a registered user, go online to www.dsgconnect.com.

Check it out online today at www.dsgwaitloss.com

POP Quiz 1

3

What is the name of Chevy Chase’s character

2

The nicknames sheepshead, white perch, gou, silver bass and grunter all apply to what fish?

in the seminal golf movie Caddyshack?

Why didn’t pitchers intentionally walk Roger Maris in 1961 as he worked his way toward 61 home runs?

(1) Ty Webb

(2) Mickey Mantle was in the lineup behind him

4

Who said “If I had my life to live over again, I’d be a plumber”?

(3) freshwater drum

(4) Albert Einstein

STORIES | 2016 • ISSUE 2

Box 13573 • Grand Forks, ND 58208-3573

Jack Hennagir from Cox Plumbing in Big Lake, MN, caught this 54-inch sturgeon that weighed about 45 to 50 lbs.

DSG Barcode Advantage Program: Speed Up Product Ordering And Improve Your Inventory Organization Maintaining and replenishing your inventory can be a challenging, timeconsuming process. To help customers improve their current methods of inventory management, DSG offers the Barcode Advantage Program. With this program, the DSG team develops a system of custom barcodes unique to each customer’s business for as many parts and products as necessary. Customers then adhere printed barcodes to shelving or packaging that is associated with the respective products. Once these are in place, customers use a free, easyto-use app on their smartphone to scan the barcode and order the product from DSG.

Ask your DSG representative about the Barcode Advantage Program today.

STORIES | 2016 • ISSUE 2

Maintaining your product inventory takes time and energy. Our Barcode Advantage Program can help you: REDUCE errors

SAVE time SIMPLIFY ordering

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