Given the new imposed tariff situation, companies will need to adjust accordingly to maintain bottom line financial growth. Clearly, in the case of Spectra Precision, they depend on many components to their product line that will be affected by this new tariff, and moving the sourcing of said components to the US isn’t an option. Because of this, we need to look at new ways to position our brand and products as not to lose any ground

with regards to financial growth.

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The challenge is how to accomplish this without the need to greatly increase an already strained marketing budget. What marketing levers exist that we can take advantage of to create, and drive continued and new sales? To do this, we need to look at tried and true “motivational buyer tactics” that position us in a unique way and is something we can deliver on without significant change to our existing processes.

 

PROS

• In marketing, for the most part, perception has always been the reality.

• Product positioning in cluttered categories can be forced and not necessarily earned.

• Multi-media options are no longer a cost barrier since digital and social now dominates the effective landscape in marketing.

• Targeting potential customers has never been easier or more cost-effective

 

CONS

• We’ll have to spend some new monies to adjust our positioning.

• We’ll need to take some limited “product risk” to use as strategic bait.

• We’ll need to take some calculated “chances” to be effective, but within limits.

 

We must believe that all our competitors will also react to this new tariff similarly. In these situations, timing is critical, which means whatever tactics we decide to use, we need to execute and move quickly. The first to move is almost always the winner in these situations. The end goal is to prioritize what initial tactics we can do today according to spending, execute, adjust on-the-fly as needed, and move to the next tactic. The great news is these tactics are all driven in real time digitally, and we can monitor success of each tactic and change immediately as needed.

 

Let us dig into some proven strategies as an overview, without getting into actual creative solutions.

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1. Reinforcing Value Over Price

Make sure customers understand why your products are worth the premium. Using social media, we can

create powerful posts that push the value proposition. No matter what we do, this should be a part of every

strategy because it costs nothing to produce and post.

 

Tactics:

• Feature Comparison Charts: Show how your laser products outperform cheaper competitors

(range, accuracy, durability, warranty).

• Product Payout: Demonstrate the value over time, punctuating our durability, and reliability.

• ROI Calculator: Let contractors calculate long-term savings (e.g., reduced rework, faster setup).

 

2. Bundle & Add Value

If you can't compete on price, increase the perceived value. Strategic bundling has always been an e=ective

way to hide costs without losing perceived value.

 

Tactics:

• Bundle products (e.g., “buy a laser level, get tripod + detector free”). This is also a great way to clear

out old inventory through bundling.

• Include extended warranties or free maintenance for a limited time. This may be a challenge with

dealers, but the upside outweighs not doing it since our products don’t require much service.

• Redo our Spectra App to be more “field friendly” with “how to videos” for every product and support

as well. People use these! Our app today is clunky and not user-friendly.

 

3. Leverage Loyalty & Trade-In Programs

Keep your existing customers engaged and give them reasons to stick with you.

 

Tactics:

• Launch a “Trade Up” program: o=er discounts for trading in older gear (even competitor models).

• Create a contractor loyalty program with points for purchases, referrals, or reviews. Again, this may

be somewhat difficult to support and require more manual work, but this tactic works very well.

• Early access or special pricing for repeat customers.

 

4. Lean Into “Cost of Ownership” Messaging

Construction pros think long-term. Don’t let them compare your laser to a cheaper one-time price — help

them compare lifetime cost and performance.

 

Tactics:

• Cost Comparison Calculator (yours vs. cheaper options)

• Side-by-side durability, warranty, support, and precision comparisons

• ROI-driven sales scripts: “How many re-dos can a $300 laser level cause?” We can underscore this

by creating videos of people who work in these areas giving us actual experience where this hurt them.

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5. Amplify Technical Support & Training

Turn service into a product differentiator.

 

Tactics:

• Offer live chat and fast-response customer support. We easily can add this to the website or new

smartphone app.

• Enhance our YouTube channel with expert-led tutorials, tips, and product reviews.

• Provide certification programs for workers to become “Spectra Certified” technicians. We’re already

working on something similar to this.

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6. Segment Your Audience

We already do customer profiling on multiple levels and industries. But as we consider paid ads, we need to

focus on areas of our best opportunity for sales. That could be specific and targeted industries.

 

Tactics:

• For large contractors: emphasize reliability, productivity, and ROI.

• For small businesses: talk about ease of use, service, and long-term value.

• Use targeted ads and email campaigns with specific pain points and benefits.

 

7. Invest in Content & Digital Ads

We began the “Spectra Guys” campaign but stopped only after one batch of video. These “online video series”

are exceptionally successful, and we need to ramp this up immediately rather than back away. The 4 videos

we started with had incredible digital stats. This also allows us to speak directly to these cost increase

challenges in a more believable and humorous way that customers can relate to.

 

Tactics:

• Create videos that speak directly to this cost challenge.

• Run retargeting ads for people who’ve viewed product pages but didn’t purchase. Using these videos

and ads work very well as people visit the website and leave. We “follow them” to help push them to decide.

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8. Equip Your Sales Team for Value Defense

If your team gets hit with: “You’re more expensive than Brand X now,” they need strong, confident replies.

 

Sales Enablement Tools:

• Objection-handling scripts

• Quick-reference comparison sheets

• Custom quotes with visual value breakdowns

We should also consider hiring additional salespeople since our dealer/salesman ratio is so out of proportion.

 

9. Influencer Program

This is something we’ve discussed at length. We’ve implemented it for Seco, and it makes total economic

sense. Adding influencers that have hundreds of thousands of followers immediately extends our unpaid

reach, credibility, and validates us through the influencer endorsement. We’ve researched and identified

multiple people with large followings who are interested in joining us. The benefits are quick and trackable.

 

Tactics:

• Bring 6 people on-board we've already identified.

• Create some inexpensive “Swag” to be used as incentives in these campaigns.

• Give them quarterly scripts and products to push.

• Have them speak directly to this new challenge.