From “DIY Darling” to Industrial Powerhouse

Project Overview

A leader in compressed air piping solutions, RapidAir was looking to expand beyond its roots as a “garage workshop darling” to become a major player in commercial and industrial markets, requiring a 360-degree marketing and communications overhaul.

The Challenge

While RapidAir had a loyal following among home mechanics, its website and broader marketing efforts catered more to DIYers than professional trade customers, hindering the company’s ability to gain a new and expanded market share.

The lack of market education and understanding surrounding RapidAir’s aluminum piping systems was a barrier to establishing credibility with industrial/commercial customers, who ultimately assumed RapidAir wasn’t relevant to them.

As RapidAir’s product portfolio continued to grow, the organization needed to further shift to position solutions over products to provide value to prospects and customers at every stage of the user journey.

Additionally, RapidAir’s website had a number of issues, including:

  • A dated, unresponsive design with confusing navigation,
  • An extensive process to create a shipping quote, and
  • Limited self-service tools.

As a result, RapidAir was not serving and attracting commercial and industrial clients, which was a major barrier to growth.

The Solution

Moving from a “garage workshop darling” to an industrial powerhouse required a 360-degree marketing communications transformation. To shift positioning from DIY to commercial/industrial, Mueller Communications worked closely with the RapidAir team to overhaul their marketing and sales approach. We rebranded, shifting focus from products to solutions, upgraded the website, made quoting and buying easier, and established processes and assets to better align sales and marketing for maximum impact. Specifically, we:

  • Transformed RapidAir’s brand identity from a DIY consumer product for home garage to an industrial-grade solutions provider by revamping design, messaging, and value propositions.
  • Overhauled the webstore to better serve commercial clients.
  • Established RapidAir’s industry relevance, developing a presence across channels, driving engagement initiatives, and establishing relevant thought leadership content to provide value throughout the user journey and establish greater authority.

BEFORE & AFTER

The Results

Through the revamped website, strategic repositioning, and the creation and deployment of relevant content, the Mueller Communications team helped RapidAir achieve remarkable results, including consistent double digit year-over-year growth.

KEY METRICS:

RESULTS 2 YEARS INTO TRANSFORMATION

$21.6

MILLION
IN TOTAL MARKETING ATTRIBUTED SALES

73%

INCREASE IN TOTAL ANNUAL REVENUE

126%

INCREASE IN MARKETING ATTRIBUTED ANNUAL REVENUE

85%

INCREASE IN REVENUE FROM INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS

48%

INCREASE IN ONLINE REVENUE FROM WEBSTORE

85%

INCREASE IN SEARCH VOLUME FOR FASTPIPE BRANDED KEYWORDS

As a result of the success of our efforts, Mueller Communications continues to help position the company for continued growth and sustained sales momentum by:

  • Supporting creation of new product patents and brand identities;
  • Integrating and activating newly acquired brands;
  • Creating and commercializing new products and solutions;
  • Improving conversion rate and average order value by creating a frictionless webstore experience; and
  • Facilitating market expansion and diversification of end markets using industry relevance.

 

Through close partnership and a phased approach, Mueller Communications helped transform RapidAir from a “DIY Darling” to an Industrial Powerhouse, and continues to serve as an extension of the organization’s in-house marketing team.