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We decided not to show a long list of services.

The beginning of our relationship with you should focus on one thing—your story. We do create powerful advertising campaigns.  We do write, shoot and produce meaningful videos. And we do provide social media marketing services.

However, jumping to advertising, website copy or social media posts before auditing, and, if needed, refreshing your brand would be a strategic error.

Ours is not a one-size-fits-all process.

Our strategy is built entirely around you. It’s a highly collaborative, creative process of uncovering your brand’s personality and uniqueness so we can clear the path for you to grow. The more humanized your brand, the easier it is for your clients to build a personal relationship with you and beeline straight to your door.

You’ve built an amazing business. But all the bells and whistles have led you astray from the heart of your work. It’s time to clear the snow and shovel the sidewalk. It’s time for your community to see you as one of their own.

With guidance from the Shovel team, you can transcend the “noise” that exists in each consumer’s life and make a connection with those customers in a meaningful and intimate way to drive loyalty and revenue.

Branding

What's your strategy?

The birth and growth of a successful small business brand require a well thought-out strategy. We’ll take you through a six-step process designed to formulate and execute a marketing strategy. The collaborative process also allows us to complete a brand audit and brand refresh.

RESEARCH

Who do you click with? Who would you click with? Who needs you? Who wants you?
Perception vs. Reality. Competition.

IDENTIFY

Why do you do what you do? Who are you and what is your vision?
What’s your definable difference?

CREATE/EXPRESS

Name. Slogan. Supporting verbiage. Colors. Themes. What does it look like?
What does it sound like?

ACTIVATE

Implementation. How will you tell the world?
Advertising strategy.

PROTECT

Monitor all activities that affect the brand. Stay within vision and brand message.
Ensure future projects are consistent with the brand.

GROW

Consistent communication. Act on opportunities.
Unwavering consistency of the brand message.

You know what’s key here?

Those last two steps are ongoing—you’ll always be protecting and growing your brand. You could even say that’s the fun part, because the “end” of the six-step process is really the beginning!

What’s great about these steps is that they help you identify the potential for an emotional connection with your customers. Tap into that emotional connection, and you’ll build a loyal group of brand advocates who will stay loyal, sing your praises and spread the word about your amazing brand.

Employer Branding/Recruitment Advertising

When it comes to recruitment advertising, seminars can teach you what to do.

But can they teach you how to do it?

What used to be a thankless job is now in the spotlight. The combination of a tight labor market and the difficult–to–understand millennial generation workforce has compelled companies to recognize the importance of a strong Human Resources Department.

No matter the position—Director of Talent Acquisition and Retention, Human Resources Director, Hiring Manager, Recruiter—and whether it’s a tight market or a loose market, a human resources professional has a tough job. Your duties are endless.

We can help you to effectively and efficiently work through this somewhat labor-intensive process with a proven and successful formula that is elementary in approach.

Build an exclusive employer brand.

Your recruitment goals are not the same as consumer-facing business goals.

In fact, the entire idea of who is connecting with your employer brand and why is completely different than a business-to-consumer connection–so embracing the company consumer brand as your own is usually a bad idea.

An individual may not be a potential customer of your business, but that same person may be an ideal candidate for recruitment.  Attracting new talent and keeping your existing top employees truly requires a brand all to itself.

Quality over Quantity

It doesn’t matter how many applications you receive if you aren’t reaching the right applicants for the job. And with a tight labor market, you need to continuously and aggressively attract passive job-seekers.  Often, the best way to do that is by making a connection with your competitors’ top employees.

Employees are your greatest asset

Human resources specialists know that the best lead source is an employee referral. And no one is a better ambassador for your company’s recruitment efforts than a satisfied existing employee. Utilizing your associates to tell your employer brand story gives your company personality and credibility and it sparks the “Hollywood Effect”.

Passionate organic sharing from your employees is the most resounding kind of referral imaginable.

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment

“We recruited more volunteers in the last year than we did the last 2 1/2 years combined.”

-Chief Robert Maibach, GCRFD

The Shovel Recruitment Playbook

The Shovel recruitment playbook involves allowing the current volunteers to share their stories. The experiences of the volunteers create an emotional connection with candidates who will eventually become their peers.
Once the stories are unearthed it’s time to develop a strategy to tell the community while maximizing the marketing and advertising budget, grant money (Safer Grant) or donations.
The first step to growing your recruitment and retention results is to set up a discovery meeting with the Shovel team.

Shovel the Sidewalk

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