When Cbeyond, Inc. became a Point of Vision client, POV started the relationship by asking Cbeyond, "Who are you?." Why, POV asked, did customers buy telecommunications services from Cbeyond?
“Simple,” Cbeyond said. Customers liked the ease of dealing with just one company for local phone service, long distance and high-speed Internet.
At the time, Cbeyond’s marketing materials didn’t reflect this simplicity. Sales pieces were packed with complex, technical information. And newly signed customers received an installation kit that was a half-inch thick.
“We quickly saw that we needed help in translating our message into effective communications that would resonate across the full spectrum of small business personalities,” said Bill Casey, Cbeyond’s director of corporate communications. “It was clear from the very first meeting with POV that they were the right partner for us. Their learning curve to understand our business and technology seemed to happen overnight.”
POV first worked with Cbeyond to simplify the diagrams used in sales materials to explain Cbeyond’s services. POV even developed visual metaphors to reinforce the core message of every diagram, then collaborated with Cbeyond to refine the company’s PowerPoint presentations. The new materials brought the readers’ focus to the core message: This stuff is simple.
Next, POV worked with Cbeyond’s marketing division to develop new sales folders and product information sheets with a cleaner, more sophisticated look. POV writers helped to bring the installation kit down to a few pages and charts, which were delivered to the customer in a folder labeled, “Beyond Simple.” POV even helped Cbeyond reproduce its logo as a lighted sign for the company’s building to increase brand awareness.
Today, Cbeyond’s marketing materials have a higher-quality look and feel that give Cbeyond greater credibility in the marketplace. Salespeople say they’re proud to leave collateral pieces with prospective customers. And POV has turned the successful product information sheets into a template system, which enables quick turnaround when Cbeyond rolls out a new product.
“The early materials have worked beautifully,” said Casey. “They've served as the message platform for all of our communications, and we now enjoy a very strong, distinct brand identity that's carried through all of our messages. We have acquired more than 5,000 customers in under two years, so the effectiveness of our sales collateral is undeniable.”
That effectiveness is the result of a consistent presentation that matches Cbeyond’s brand differentiation: simplicity.
