SCHERMER is For You.

Administering a healthy dose of B2B growth for a B2C brand.

When most people think of 3M, they think of their consumer brands, like Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape. But what most people don’t know is that 3M also has a $12 billion division that markets medical products to professional healthcare providers. For the past decade, SCHERMER has been the primary B2B marketing agency for the 3M Medical Solution division—helping them effectively translate their B2C brand for B2B buyers. We’ve launched countless products and programs and continue to create science-driven campaigns that unite their portfolios, strengthen their brand, and bolster their leadership in the healthcare industry.

Fueling two groundbreaking B2B growth engines for a retail giant.

Best Buy, the #1 electronic big box retailer, needed SCHERMER’s help in 2008, launching and leading a new strategic venture, Best Buy for Business. What started as a $50 million sales channel, quicky grew to a $450 million division within five years with our comprehensive enterprise direct, vertical and retail marketing programs. Today, this division has surpassed expectations, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue. Best Buy for Business recently turned to us again to launch and lead the marketing for Best Buy Ads, which has quickly become the nation’s #1 specialty retail media network.

Deepening buyer relationships leading to a larger helping of revenue.

General Mills, a world leader in packaged consumer foods, invited SCHERMER to share our expertise on how to do B2B media better. What started out as a simple consultation quickly became an AOR relationship. Over the course of five years, we helped General Mills establish a mature marketing model for their K-12 foodservice decision-makers. We introduced a comprehensive buyer experience strategy that incorporated website UX, content marketing, thought leadership programs, email marketing, advertising, sales tools and more. Our strategy was instrumental in helping them create an “always on” relationship with their audiences that provided not just product info, but resources that foodservice professionals could use to plan better nutritional programs. It resulted in a significant increase in awareness and engagement – greatly strengthening their buyer relationships and impacting revenue.

Helping a leader in consumer home automation reach its Protential.

While Honeywell Home has a venerable retail presence, the majority of its sales are through the HVAC professional trade channel. For a decade, SCHERMER has worked closely with Honeywell Home to successfully lead every B2B product launch. After spinning off from Honeywell to create Resideo, the new home for the Honeywell Home brand, we helped them launch Resideo for Pros. This extensive B2B marketing program promotes their partnership with HVAC and plumbing professionals by elevating the products, services, loyalty programs, and online training to help Pros build more profitable businesses. To augment this, we launched the Maximize Your Protential campaign, which led to new and broader partnerships, deeper engagement, and greater market share.

Leveraging industry leadership to sway the C-suite.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories, the B2B lab business for the most prestigious medical system in the world, came to SCHERMER to help reverse a growing trend – hospitals’ selling off their internal labs to Mayo competitors. We were tasked with swaying hospital C-suite decision-makers to fully recognize the vital role their labs can play in their practice and profitability. We created “Value of the Lab,” a strategic marketing plan and demand gen campaign that used short-form content to get their attention, long-form content to keep it, and a new digital experience to convert it. By quickly engaging and influencing C-suite audiences, we delivered a 4x return on ad spend within the first month of the campaign.

A global footwear company finds the right fit for its new B2B program.

For over a century, Red Wing Shoe Company has successfully manufactured consumer and trade footwear, with the vast majority of revenue coming from industrial sales. In 2018, Red Wing was ready to launch a new footwear sales management program that would revolutionize how they do business with safety professionals. Which meant they were ready to bring in SCHERMER for our B2B expertise to launch Red Wing for Business. Along the way, we helped them realize their greater potential as the only retailer championing safety pros. Year after year, this B2B venture has seen impressive increases in MQLs, SQLs, account penetration, and revenue—as well winning ANA’s B2 award for 2019 Corporate Marketer of the Year.

Making the Premier Agent program even more premier – and profitable.

Zillow is well-known as the #1 real estate marketplace. What’s not well-known is that >75% of its revenue comes from real estate agents via the Premier Agent program. As part of a broad corporate rebranding initiative, Zillow engaged SCHERMER to help rebrand and reposition this key B2B program. We consulted on how to strategically and creatively translate the new corporate brand into the Premier Agent brand, introduced new tiers designed to increase participation and revenue, including the ‘Best of Zillow’ designation, and helped design the launch experience at Zillow Premier Agent Forum—attended by 2,000 top real estate pros. Our efforts helped energize the program, convert existing agents into higher tiers and price points, attract new agents, and drive net new revenue.

Nurturing believers into buyers and leads into revenue.

Wells Fargo—the third largest bank in the nation—engaged SCHERMER as their Treasury Management AOR for five years. Treasury customers rarely switch providers, so Wells Fargo’s biggest marketing challenge was cost-effectively connecting and converting prospects known for their prolonged buying cycle. To reach and remain relevant to audiences over time, we shifted marketing efforts from paid advertising focused on short-term lead gen, to thought-leadership marketing focused on long-term demand creation. We created a new website, Treasury Management Insights, for potential buyers to engage with valuable content and subscribe to owned channels like email and social. The result was a successful marketing engine that generated thousands of leads and drove millions in revenue over several years.

A compelling marketing program for a complex banking business.

US Bank, the fifth largest bank in the nation, needed help establishing a better way to reach and remain relevant to Commercial Payment prospects known for their extremely large buying committees and extremely long buying cycles. Without the right B2B expertise on their agency roster, nor the experience needed on their marketing team, they engaged SCHERMER to reimagine their approach. We strategized and stood up an entirely new and innovative demand gen program, content marketing engine, and marketing automation platform. By weaving thought leadership content into comprehensive buyer-driven campaigns, we turned complex, product-focused subject matter into compelling, problem-solving content that nurtured prospects and converted customers.

Tapping into an online university’s unrealized business potential.

Capella University, one of the nation’s largest online higher-ed providers, wanted to launch a new B2B portfolio that combined their numerous online degree programs with newly acquired employee training and upskilling products. SCHERMER helped them position, package and promote their disparate offerings by introducing Capella for Employers—a portfolio strategy that included product architecture, go-to-market strategy, and a comprehensive demand creation program. We introduced this new business with sales tools, content and digital marketing that reached and resonated with never-before-reached HR audiences—driving an impressive new level of qualified leads.

A small shift in perspective leads to a dramatic shift in revenue.

BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurance company in Minnesota, wanted to improve their marketing performance and sales close rates with Large Segment Employers. Knowing it was crucial to align marketing and sales endeavors, they hired SCHERMER to help shift their internal perspective to a buyer-driven focus. We developed buyer personas and experience journey maps that led to new insights. From there we created innovative and integrated B2B marketing programs and digital experiences that engaged directly with enterprise buying committees. Our marketing and sales tactics influenced all stakeholders at a key moment in their decision-making process—driving higher close rates than ever before. Our efforts won the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Marketing Innovation Award.