branding strategy:
changing the perception of the industry
In the early 2000’s, I accepted a job in the wastewater industry. The industry was not so appealing but the job was an exciting opportunity to establish a new marketing department for the company, in a newly created role.
I found myself in a world dominated by poop, men and trucks with Yellow Pages advertising as the primary strategy.
I immersed myself in learning about the industry and our business. I learned about scheduling and operations, I rode around with the drivers and watched how they worked, and I went on sales calls to meet our customers. Gradually, I became fascinated by this ‘unmentionable’ field and was determined to elevate our industry’s reputation.
value-based marketing
One of the first things I noticed was that residential septic customers were mostly female, while everyone’s yellow pages ads catered to men with pictures of trucks and crude poop jokes.
I created a marketing strategy to resonate with our actual audience. For our residential septic business, I introduced ads that showed the benefits of our service; cleanliness, professionalism, and environmental responsibility, with images of children playing safely in the grass. Despite initial resistance from the company owners, who loved their trucks, I stood firm, emphasizing the importance of aligning with our customers’ perspectives.
This strategy led to significant positive outcomes for our company and set a new trend within the septic service industry. We saw our competitors begin to shift their Yellow Pages advertising towards more professional and eco-friendly themes.
thought leadership
I continued to build our brand around a more professional and expert service company and the industry’s knowledge leader. I developed educational content for both homeowners and businesses, explaining our inspection processes, system operations, and maintenance tips.
The campaigns solidified our position as the industry expert and provided an added benefit to using our services. We saw significant growth in residential and food service sectors, and even municipal clients increased as local authorities needed help educating the community on wastewater management and its effects on public systems.
Looking back, I’m genuinely proud of the role I played. It shows that thoughtful marketing can do more than just sell a service—it can change perceptions and practices across an entire sector.
