I’m so excited by what paint company CIL has done to reposition their paint colors for a new audience!

It’s a brilliant stroke (pun intended) that I just had to bring to your attention— not only for the marketing genius of it but for the delicious visuals.

Are you as passionate about color as I am?

First, let’s set some context as it applies to marketing for home stagers!

If you’ve been following my blog, newsletter or home staging training program, you know I place a strong emphasis on the importance of marketing.

Aside from the fact that I’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s top marketing experts since the early 1990s, I’m passionate about marketing because it’s THE thing that will set you apart from your competition.

And ultimately grow your business.

To put it bluntly, it doesn’t matter if you’re the most talented stager in the world, if you suck at marketing you won’t be in business long!

In the Simple Marketing Plan Companion: A Stress-Free Approach to Promoting Your Staging Business, I share a full analysis of how the 5 P’s of Marketing must work together.

These are:

1. Product – For home stagers, that’s our staging, color consulting and redesign services.
2. Positioning – How you want your clients and potential clients to think of you and your company.
3. Pricing – How much you charge, how your pricing packages work and how you communicate about your rates.
4. Packaging – For home stagers, that’s how you look, sound and act. Plus your company name and the appearance of your business logo, cards, advertising and website. In other words, your entire business image.
5. Promotion – Home stagers, this includes anything you do to showcase your expertise from your website and online activities like blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Plus your advertising, newsletter, brochure, special promotions, strategic donations, public speaking, public relations etc. — all the “stuff” I talk about in Course 4 of the Staging Diva Training Program.

Now to Our Marketing Lesson from Man Cave Paint Colors!

What a perfect example of the 5 P’s of Marketing working together to bring excitement to a business category that hasn’t seen much innovation (except for new finishes and formulations).

CIL is a Canadian company (available through Home Depot) that decided to go after the male market.

While most paint color decisions are ultimately made by women, men still have a say in mixed households. And what better way to get them involved than to cater to their sensibilities and interests?

While I’m the only one making decorating decisions in my home because I’m single, I can imagine it would be much easier talking one’s husband into painting the garage shelves in “Rust On My Truck” rather than “Classic Liberty Red.”

And if I were doing a Color Consultation on it’s own, or as part of my home staging recommendations, I know a man would feel more comfortable agreeing to “Center Ice” rather than “Tracery.”

Or how about “Iced Vodka” rather than “Cloud Nine,” for the living room?

In other words, use the language your target audience is comfortable with when marketing to them.

The CIL Ultimate Man Caves collection has all of the 5 Ps working together. The product, packaging, promotion and positioning all working together so brilliantly!

It’s in the:

• Layout
• Photography
• Color selections and room choices
• Sell copy in their Man Caves brochure
• Styling of the fonts and text
• Naming of the paint colors

What do you think? Am I a total marketing and color geek to get so excited about this?

Now, think about how you market your home staging business.

Are all your visual elements and your text working together to convey the right image?

Please share your thoughts below.

And if you want more help understanding how the various marketing elements fit together, check out my Simple Marketing Plan Companion: A Stress-Free Approach to Promoting Your Staging Business. It will help you set priorities and put together a one page marketing plan quickly.