Jacob Grey Custom Launches New Products, Improves Brand Recognition with help from SCMEP

Jacob Grey Custom Launches New Products, Improves Brand Recognition with help from SCMEP

 Company Overview

Based in Columbia, South Carolina, Jacob Grey Custom is a manufacturer of custom .45 caliber 1911 handguns.  The company handcrafts each gun specific to its owner and never mass-produces its guns.  By using proprietary quality control measures and innovative manufacturing processes, Jacob Grey Custom is able to ensure that each gun is made within the tightest of tolerances and is accurate straight of out of box.  The company guarantees the best performance, the highest precision and quality, and the most accurate 1911 available.

Situation 

Jake Brackett, owner of Jacob Grey Custom, sought assistance with PR, marketing, and brand recognition.  Since the Jacob Grey Custom 1911 was new to the market, he knew he needed to target the right audiences with the best message to ensure success. When he discovered that SCMEP could help with all of this, he immediately jumped on board.

The Solution

After an initial assessment of the company’s goals and the product line, SCMEP recommended the Made in American grant and the Sales and Marketing Boost program to assist with marketing, PR, and brand recognition.

This comprehensive training program consists of six modules:  Marketing Messaging; Market Planning and Research Strategies; Creating Effective Communication Tools; Sales and Customer Service; Response Driven Lead Generation Techniques; and Marketing Measurement and Systems Reporting.

To kick off the project, SCMEP consultants led Jacob Grey Custom team members through a Marketing Messaging session to uncover current strengths, potential areas of improvement, ideal customer demographics and target markets, and the overall marketing messages that the company wanted to promote.

Following the Marketing Messaging session, SCMEP performed a competitive analysis and completed market research to determine the best course of action to launch the products to the target markets.

A new website was created, complete with marketing messaging and search engine optimization techniques to attract potential customers.  A targeted Lead Generation campaign was launched once the new website was live.  The campaign introduced Jacob Grey Custom’s product line, the capabilities of the guns, and the quality and precision offered by the innovative manufacturing process.

In addition, an email marketing campaign was launched to provide more information about the product line and drive website traffic and leads.  Press releases were created and distributed to gain brand recognition as well.

 The Results

 As a result of the Sales and Marketing Boost, Jacob Grey Custom was able to launch the product line quicker than anticipated. The tools created during the project enabled the company to ensure that the optimal message was being used across all sales tools and lead sources.

Multiple lead sources were generated throughout the course of the project, and the lead database continues to grow.  The company was able to retain 6 employees and saw increase in sales of $25,000 during the course of the project.                                                                                               

Testimonials

Jake Brackett, Owner of Jacob Grey Custom

“Without SCMEP’s help launching the innovation, the Jacob Grey model would be much further behind than we are now. SCMEP brings in the tools that we don’t have to help us launch a product and also to be able to get our name out there. The Made in America grant made the Jacob Grey project affordable.  Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Melissa Steinkuhl, Regional VP for SCMEP

“Jake Brackett was instrumental in working with SCMEP to help his former employer be the first AS9100 registered company in the Midlands. He continued the relationship when he opened his own business, Jacob Grey Machining, in 2012. In the last few months we completed a strategic marketing project with Jacob Grey Precision Machine, which we anticipate will increase the business by 25 percent. We value the relationship are thrilled to witness their many successes.”