Online Visibility for Regional STIHL DealersSTIHL Case Study
Our client STIHL
Chainsaws, gardening, and cleaning equipment. Gas-powered, electric, or battery-powered:
Since 1926, STIHL has been offering its customers the highest quality in the field of power-driven equipment for the forestry and constructionindustries , as well as for gardening and landscaping. The products are distributed through a network of service-oriented specialty dealers, with 54,000 locations in 160 countries worldwide .
Link to marcapo
STIHL and marcapo have been collaborating successfully for several years now: In 2017, the “STIHL lokal” marketing portal was launched, allowing STIHL authorized dealers to create and book a wide variety of marketing campaigns—all customized to their needs but always in line with the brand guidelines. This creates a win-win situation, as a professional local presence naturally has a positive impact on the brand image. The marketing portal offers a wide range of initiatives, such as:
Large postersthat increase visibility directly within the catchment area,
Brochures or catalogs to generate additional leads and sales,
diverse Service-Angebote, um den Informationsfluss stetig am Laufen zu halten
and complete equipment for trade showsto establish yourself as a STIHL professional on-site.
In 2020, the focus of our efforts shifted. The emphasis was now clearly on developing an online marketing strategy to make it as easy as possible for local specialty retailers to enter the world of online advertising. Action was needed because, at that time—driven primarily by the pandemic—customers’ information-seeking and purchasing behaviors were shifting more and more to the World Wide Web.
The Challenge
Facing STIHL Authorized Dealers
LOW VISIBILITY
Smaller specialty retailers, in particular, have significantly lower online visibility than larger retailers with large budgets and/or agency support. Yet it is precisely these less visible businesses that need greater visibility.
LACK OF EXPERTISE
Until now, online marketing has been uncharted territory for many sales partners. They lack the time and knowledge needed to independently implement successful and sustainable online marketing. As a result, this topic has often been avoided.
LIMITED FLEXIBILITY IN OFFLINE ADVERTISING
Tagesaktuelle und flexible Kundenkommunikation ist zunehmend ein Muss. Herkömmliche Print-Maßnahmen leisten das nur bedingt.
LACK OF EXPERTISE
Until now, online marketing has been uncharted territory for many sales partners. They lack the time and knowledge needed to independently implement successful and sustainable online marketing. As a result, this topic has often been avoided.
LIMITED FLEXIBILITY IN THE
OF OFFLINE ADVERTISING
Up-to-date and flexible customer communication is increasingly a must. Traditional print media can only achieve this to a limited extent.
LOW VISIBILITY
Smaller specialty retailers, in particular, have significantly lower online visibility than larger retailers with large budgets and/or agency support. But it is precisely these less visible businesses that need greater visibility.
Our Solution:
Online Marketing Packages
We developed these online marketing packages in collaboration with STIHL.
Three packages designed to achieve and sustain success in digital advertising.
- Ensuring that specialty retailers advertise exactly where their target audience can be reached
- Coverage of all major online channels, from Google and Facebook Ads to web banners
- Become a STIHL Service Provider Right in Your Area—It's Easy and Convenient
All-Inclusive Service:
The Gold Package helps subscribers—in addition to the content included in the Silver Package— achieve greater reach and visibility through additional social media ads, such as Facebook Ads.
In addition to the visibility measures included in the Bronze Package, the Silver Package includes optimization for Google via Yext and web banners.
The standard package for strong online visibility, including a Google Business listing and Google Ads.
Our Services
Included in all packages
Each package is based on a personalized introductory consultation and includes ongoing reporting to identify advertising successes and opportunities. In addition, the offering includes free webinars, explanatory PDFs, and many other resources. Here , too , the mission was not only to provide specialty retailers with high-quality, effective products, but also to educate them and promote knowledge-building. In addition to the marketing platform, marcapo also serves as a consulting partner for STIHL specialty retailers through its in-house advertising consultancy, providing expert guidance and answers to all marketing-related questions.
Online Visibility
at a whole new level
These measures strike the right balance:
They take specialty retailers’ online activities to a new level while reducing complexity. Specialty retailers choose a package once and have no further effort required going forward. The advertising campaigns are optimized, booked, and delivered in the background for each location—all with full transparency.
Our Achievements
over the past 12 calendar months
13 million+
Facebook Ads
5.500.000 +
Web banners displayed
1.000.000 +
Placed Google Ads
- Sustainable improvement in online visibility for regional STIHL dealers
- Easier, more precise, and faster to find and contact
- No additional work for specialty retailers after booking the package
- Continuous monitoring through regular reporting emails on key metrics from the online dashboard
Google Ads have been particularly well-received by end customers, with an average click-through rate that exceeds the industry average. The use of Yext also proved to be very significant. Thanks to continuous optimizations, this not only led to a large number of Google search queries but also to more views on Google Maps and, of course, a much greater number of customer actions.
All of the measures provided can also be booked individually by specialty retailers. The reason for dividing them into four online packages is to raise partners’ awareness of this topic and gradually increase their online marketing activities.
