How Arbor Tech Supply Turned Simple Texts into Opportunities with TargetCRM
Background
Michael Wintermyer’s passion for arboriculture began at the young age of 13, leading him to establish Four Seasons Landscape and Tree Service in 1985. By 2008, his dedication to the industry inspired the opening of Arbor Tech Supply in Remington, VA.
The store quickly became a go-to destination for arborists, landscapers, and homeowners, offering top-quality arborist equipment. In 2011, his wife, April Wintermyer, joined the team, helping to expand the business, including the addition of a 5,000-square-foot service center.
The Challenge
As Arbor Tech Supply grew, so did the challenge of maintaining strong communication with an expanding customer base.
Traditional marketing methods, like direct mail and phone calls, were yielding diminishing returns, making it difficult to maximize the impact of seasonal promotions and effectively engage with customers.
The Solution
Arbor Tech Supply adopted TargetCRM, a customer relationship management tool designed to enhance customer engagement through targeted communication channels, including text messaging.
The platform allowed the team to connect with customers instantly through text messaging, turning routine promotions into significant opportunities for increased appointments and sales.
Implementation and Results
April Wintermyer described how they traditionally promoted their winter service special using postcards. This approach had limited success, with some responses but not enough to fill their service slots.
“We sent out postcards before Christmas for our winter service special—free pickup and delivery for $199 plus parts. Then I waited until after New Year’s, and we started calling everybody.
We were scheduling appointments and doing really well with it. But a lot of people don’t like to answer their phones, or they don’t know the number and all that.”
To overcome this challenge, April decided to leverage TargetCRM’s text messaging feature. The results were immediate and impressive.
“So I said, let me send out this text message, and let’s see if we get a response from it. I sent the text message out, and it was like instantaneously, the phone started ringing and it rang off the hook all morning long. The phone just kept ringing.
It was a very basic text message, too. Just hey, you need to get your mower serviced right now, and it’s free pickup and delivery. We were like, we should have sent this text message out a month ago.”
Improving Customer Feedback
Before using TargetCRM, Arbor Tech Supply struggled to gather customer reviews. Despite efforts like asking at checkout, using QR codes, and posting on Facebook, the response was minimal.
“Before TargetCRM, reviews were definitely a challenge. We would always ask if you were happy with the service and if you could give us a review. We’ve done Facebook, asked at the register, made signs with QR codes, and all that stuff. We asked and asked and asked, but we never got a ton of reviews.
When TargetCRM came out, I signed us up, and then we started getting regular reviews through there, so the feedback we’ve been getting from customers has been really nice.
TargetCRM also allowed customers to text back and forth with us, which has been wonderful because they can text me, and I can respond, but they don’t have my personal phone number. It’s been a really good way to communicate much better with our customers.
I mean, we really love everything about Ideal. It’s just made things so much easier.”
Streamlining Operations with Ideal
By integrating TargetCRM into its operations, Arbor Tech Supply successfully transformed its customer engagement, resulting in increased appointments, better customer feedback, and streamlined operations.
