Hudson, Ink

Chaput Rootmaster Co., Inc. was founded in 1945 as a drain cleaning business in Englewood, Colorado. In the second generation of this family business, the founder’s son, Art Chaput, expanded it to include plumbing and HVAC, and now his wife, Beth Pannbaker, and their son, Eric Chaput, are also a part of the business.

The company’s association with Hudson, Ink came about in an indirect manner. Some time back, Art had attended a seminar conducted by Adams Hudson. Art had not yet done anything with the materials he received when, thanks to the long arm of the Hudson, Ink mailing list, an offer for holiday cards came to his attention. He and Beth looked it over and thought, “Why not give it a try?”

“We sent out some holiday cards to customers from 2007,” Beth said. The cards included a $20 offer, and customers took notice. “We got such a good response.”

The company has since begun using the Plumbing and HVAC Marketing PowerPacks and have become regular newsletter customers. And Beth also cites the personal coaching as a service that really makes a difference. “That has been really helpful,” she said. “It helps me to focus.”

They had a company marketing plan for 2008, but circumstances during the year, including an office move and personnel changes, prevented Beth from giving the plan her full attention. That’s another reason she thought the coaching was so important, she said. She had the marketing materials, and the monthly calls enabled her to focus on one thing she could do, whatever it might be.

“The coaching really is key,” she said. If it hadn’t been for her Hudson, Ink coach, her PowerPack materials may have stayed on the shelf. “Marketing is just one of those things that gets put on the back burner,” she said.

Beth expects her marketing plan to receive much more attention in the coming year. “I’m really looking forward to this year and getting a lot off the ground,” she said. She and son Eric, who joined the business in 2004, are working together on the plan and getting all the pieces in place.

Customer contact will surely be included in the marketing strategies. Even before their association with Hudson, Ink, the company was trying to keep in touch with customers three or four times a year. But Beth sees the newsletters she’s now ordering as a better product than what the company had previously been doing. “What I like is that it seems more personal than the one I get from my CPA firm or health club,” she said.

And as for those holiday cards they sent out more than a year ago? It amazes Beth that, even now, she still hears a colleague ask, “When did we offer a $20 discount?”

“That’s one of the things we’re going to be doing in this year,” Beth said. “Our tracking of those things has not been quite as good as it should.”