There’s not much Chad Collins doesn’t know about upgrading HVAC systems, maintaining commercial buildings, and handling plumbing repairs large and small. By focusing on his core competencies, he took a modestly successful family-owned business and grew it into a plumbing, HVAC, and facilities management powerhouse known in the Scottsdale, Arizona area for impeccable service, expert technicians, and fair and honest pricing. With his business humming along and positive reviews trickling in steadily, Chad realized there was a larger opportunity outside the Scottsdale market. Businesses all over the Southwest and even the nation were hungry for the type of comprehensive expertise and service that Collins Commercial Services could provide, and Chad knew he could deliver on a broader scale. He also knew he’d need some help.
Word of mouth recommendations had always been a terrific source of local business for Collins, but Chad realized he’d need to step up his game as he expanded into new territory and targeted major national retailers. And he couldn’t take his eye off the ball—he knew how to deliver on the promise of exceptional commercial services, but he wasn’t a marketing expert. That’s where NEXT came in.
Chad initially engaged NEXT to provide fractional marketing services to facilitate the market expansion he envisioned. As that project began to gather steam and realize success, it became clear that NEXT could also help in other arenas; soon, NEXT executives were offering solutions for HR and IT challenges as well, and what started as a narrowly defined marketing relationship blossomed into an incredibly productive multi-disciplinary partnership. NEXT is proud to have played a supporting role in Collins’ explosive growth. Key to the relationship has been NEXT’s ability to work with Chad and his management team to facilitate growth while maintaining the company’s core DNA and culture.
Getting the Word Out—Fractional Marketing Services
When Chad initially tapped NEXT to help with marketing, he knew he needed targeted expertise to reach potential customers across an expanding footprint in an efficient and cost-effective way. NEXT executives created a plan to transform Collins’ digital presence, quickly assembling a team of fractional experts to handle web design, branding, review management, and digital infrastructure. NEXT’s ability to pull in the right professionals on a fractional basis allowed them to optimize the project, and in short order the team had revamped the website, achieved Google certification, launched a successful email outreach effort, and created digital management dashboards.
Filling the Talent Gap—Fractional HR Services
With new business in new markets, Collins quickly saw a need to recruit highly qualified candidates to fill out growing service teams. In a tight labor market, Collins needed a targeted plan to onboard talent quickly. The company also needed support with employee relations, employment law, and navigating the complexities of COVID from the HR perspective.
NEXT pulled in HR expertise to focus on staffing hurdles, and developed a plan that delivered over 5x more qualified candidates for critical, hard-to-find roles. The HR specialists then partnered with internal teams at Collins to launch a company-wide engagement survey aimed at identifying the greatest areas of opportunity for process improvement and human capital investment. Together, they prioritized projects for communications, training and development, and performance management to drive increases in employee satisfaction and retention. NEXT HR professionals continue to provide ongoing support for Collins as they grow and navigate a shifting employer landscape.
Updating the Systems and Processes—Fractional IT Services
WIth marketing and HR initiatives in place, the book of business for Collins Commercial Services began to grow bigger, broader, and deeper. Building relationships with major national retailers and managing teams across a wide geographic footprint while retaining their high level of service for customers in their hometown created new management challenges for Collins. Chad knew he needed IT solutions, and he knew that NEXT could meet this new challenge.
NEXT IT specialists revamped technology services for Collins; by automating and integrating processes and building robust management platforms, the team has positioned Collins for continued growth and success now and in the future.
Key Takeaways:
Marketing
NEXT led the expansion of a regional SMB service company to a national, enterprise-level organization–overseeing the development of a new website, digital materials, and outreach strategies.
Brand Identity
Through communication and automation, NEXT helped a 30 year old local service company quadruple their 5-star reviews in just four months.
HR
NEXT developed a multi-faceted hiring plan that delivered 5x more qualified candidates to hiring managers, and partnered with internal stakeholders to drive increased employee productivity, engagement, and retention.
IT
After aiding in operations for sales, marketing and HR, NEXT was asked to take on managing and revamping development and technology services to facilitate continued successful growth.
