Content Craftsmen llc

Digital Marketing Communications for Minnesota Remodelers

  • What We Do
  • Craftsmen
  • Projects
  • Reviews
  • Blog
  • Contact

Mother’s Day comes early for Mom’s Design Build

April 12, 2017 by Tom Sweeney

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) named 2017 National Contractors of the Year (CotY) in 37 categories at its annual Evening of Excellence on April 7.  Shakopee-based, Mom’s Design Build (formerly Mom’s Landscaping & Design) earned three national titles at the Scottsdale event. That makes Mom’s the winningest design-build landscaping and remodeling contractor not only in Minnesota but throughout the United States. The same three Mom’s projects received NARI North Central Regional CotY honors earlier this year.  Four Mom’s projects won Minnesota CotYs last year and one scored a national title. Some 172 regional CotY finalists vied for the 37 national trophies.

Mom's Design Build CotY Award

A total of five Minnesota companies received national awards across seven project type/value categories this year.  Minnesota tied with Texas for the most awards from the 172 projects that were entered. The judges evaluated projects based on identifying and meeting clients’ needs, functional and aesthetic enhancements, innovation, craftsmanship and degree of difficulty. Content Craftsmen helped Mom’s and Anchor Builders with their winning presentations.

 Minnesota’s 2017 National CotY Winners

Residential Exterior $100,000 to $200,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Landscape Design/Outdoor Living Under $60,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Landscape Design/ Outdoor Living $60,000 and Over

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Entire House $250,000 to $500,000

Anchor Builders

St Louis Park, Minnesota

 

Residential Interior Element under $30,000

Pure Design Environments

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

 

Residential Addition $100,000 to $250,000

Mantis Design & Build, LLC

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Residential Historical Renovation/

Restoration Under $250,000

White Crane Construction, LLC

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Content Craftsmen clients win four 2017 Regional CotY Awards

February 3, 2017 by Tom Sweeney

2017 NARI CotY Awards logoContent Craftsmen clients won 4 of the 14 Regional Contractor of the Year (CotY) awards from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) yesterday. As regional winners, the Minnesota projects are automatically entered in the national CotY competition.

Mom’s Design Build  (formerly Mom’s Landscaping & Design) received three regional awards and Anchor Builders received one award. NARI’s North Central region has eight chapters from Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Content Craftsmen interviewed the homeowners, wrote the design statements, created the presentations, contributed to photography and uploaded documents. CotY Award entries also serve as the basis for website and social media content and media relations pitches.

Annual CotY projects are evaluated on their ability to  meet the homeowners’ needs, aesthetic appeal, functional improvements, innovation, problem solving,  and craftsmanship. The Milwaukee NARI chapter was again responsible for judging the entries.

The 2017 National CotY Winners will be announced at the Evening of Excellence reception on April 7th at the Hilton Resort and Villas in Scottsdale, Arizona. Congratulations to all of the Minnesota winners and good luck in the April. — Tom Sweeney

2017 CotY Winners for Northwest Central Region

Entire House $250,000 to $500,000

Anchor Builders

Residential Exterior $100,000 to $200,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Landscape Design/Outdoor Living Under $60,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Landscape Design/ Outdoor Living $60,000 and Over

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Residential Kitchen $30,000 to $60,000

McDonald Remodeling, Inc.

Residential Kitchen $60,001 to $100,000

Bluestem Construction

Residential Bath Under $25,000

Pure Design Environments

Residential Bath $25,000 to $50,000

Pure Design Environments

Residential Bath $50,001 to $75,000

Bluestem Construction

Residential Interior Element under $30,000

Pure Design Environments

Residential Addition $100,000 to $250,000

Mantis Design & Build, llc

Residential Addition Over $250,000

Pure Design Environments

Residential Historical Renovation Under $250,000

White Crane Construction, LLC

Basement Over $100,000

McDonald Remodeling, Inc.

 

Filed Under: Awards, CotY, NARI, News Tagged With: CotY Awards, NARI Minnesota, NARI MN

Media coverage grows for Content Craftsmen clients

January 14, 2017 by Tom Sweeney

With Content Craftsmen’s help, Twin Cities homeowners get to see some beautiful examples of luxury outdoor living and interior remodeling projects. Here are a few articles that appeared in Midwest Home magazine and the Star Tribune Sunday home section in recent months. They feature Mom’s Design Build, The Legacy Building Co. and mackmiller design+build.

Media coverage is just one of the ways Content Craftsmen clients demonstrate they are reputable. Professional certifications, positive online reviews and industry awards also are used to burnish their reputations.

One of the reasons Content Craftsmen is successful obtaining media coverage for clients is because we are highly selective about the projects we pitch. We also make it efficient for editors to evaluate projects by outlining benefits and sharing professional photography.

Once the media covers a project, Content Craftsmen embeds the digital article link on the client’s website. This rewards the publications by driving additional traffic to their platforms. It also adds credibility.

 

Luxury in the Twin Cities: Outdoors

http://www.startribune.com/couple-transform-cookie-cutter-house-in-eden-prairie-into-custom-destination-home/409921545/

Mackmiller STrib article

 

http://www.startribune.com/minnetonka-home-features-floors-made-out-of-pennies/401933725/

Legacy-Penny Floor close up

 

 

 

Filed Under: media coverage, News

Client videos are great for sharing remodeling experiences

January 14, 2017 by Tom Sweeney

Content Craftsmen often interviews  clients’ customers and helps  them share their remodeling experiences via video. Minimal special effects.  Authenticity is our goal. Here are some examples.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Angie’s Certified: Paying for the Top

July 28, 2016 by Tom Sweeney

Last month, Angie’s List introduced a free “green” level membership. People still must register to browse contractor reviews, but they no longer have to pay unless they opt for a premium membership to access a handyman hotline and price tool. Angie is expected to drop her second shoe on August 1 when the online reviews platform unveils its revamped paid  program and rankings display featuring “Angie’s Certified.”

Angies-Certified

Angie’s Certified Preview

 

Having an “A” customer rating, lots of positive reviews from members, a Super Service Award and member discount won’t be enough to rank high. The top results for every search will be reserved for paid listings. They won’t be identified as sponsored or paid. Instead, they will sport a new Angie’s Certified badge. Angie’s will tell visitors it checked out the companies and verified that their licenses are current etc., but the most important checks were the ones that arrived in the mail.

Most contractors understand that Angie’s always sold companies the top listing spots. It never claimed to be Consumer Reports. In the past, companies in the first tier had to have an “A” rating and at least five reviews, with competitors rotating toward first place with each search. The second tier went to A-rated advertisers with fewer than five reviews. They rotated up and down the second-tier ladder.

Under Angie’s new program, all A- or B-rated “Certified” companies in a category and territory will take turns at the top regardless of how many reviews they collected. Angie’s says this gives new companies a leg up against established contractors that have been amassing reviews for years. But since the pool just got deeper, it will take each advertiser longer to swim to the surface. And let’s face it, that’s the only place where they can catch a breath in the online rankings race.

Other service providers

Angies-Other

Angie’s – Other Service Providers

The biggest change is that non-advertisers’ listings will no longer display their company descriptions or number of reviews. To see more than the company name and letter score, you will need to click on the actual listing.

Imagine a contractor who has been in business 30 years, has an A rating, a Super Service Award and 100 customer reviews but does not pay and another that has been around two year and earned a single “A” review and pays. The newbie will be Angie’s Certified and rotate in the top tier. But visitors will never learn of the veteran contractor’s experience or large fan club unless they click the one-line listing buried under “other service providers.”

Angie’s expects the free access to increase its membership reach, which means it will be able to charge more for its advertising and offset the lost membership revenue. It remains to be seen how free memberships will affect the profile of the average Angie’s List user. More bargain hunters or tire kickers? Younger homeowners? Stay tuned. Remodeling contractors will need to be skilled at qualifying prospects on the phone as they navigate the new Angie’s landscape.

Review quantity, quality still matter

To get found on Angie’s list a company first has to rank on the first page of display. That’s going to take a paid program. To be seriously considered will require multiple positive reviews that vastly outweigh the occasional negative review. So even if a new contractor with one review claims the top slot, it’s unlikely the company will be preferred over the veteran contractor with a long trail of exceptional reviews.

It’s important to remember that many consumers browse reviews on multiple platforms before contacting a contractor. So a company’s Angie’s List performance should be viewed in the context of its reviews on Google, Better Business Bureau, Guild Quality, Facebook and its own website. While third-party review platforms generate leads, they also help to validate good contractors regardless of how the companies are discovered. The key is for contractors to make it easy for prospects to access the various reviews on (or at least from) their websites.

Leverage reviews on your own website

APEX Design Build website

Remodeler website reviews page

Let’s say a coworker asks who remodeled your kitchen. The person is going to visit your contractor’s website to browse project photos, credentials, experience and reviews. When the site features a reviews page with the ability for clients to post reviews directly, displays the contractor’s Guild Quality Scorecard and contains links to third-party review sites, it makes it easy for the person to complete the qualification phase and call for a consult or estimate. It doesn’t matter where or how people start their journey. They will end up on the contractor’s website. And that is the only space the contractor truly controls.

Getting back to the new Angie’s List advertising model – If you lead someone to your Angie’s List page from your website, it doesn’t matter if you are in the premium paid tier or the Other Service Providers section. They are going to search on your company name, not your category.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Advertising, Angie's List, Online Reviews

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • Next Page »

Content Craftsmen LLC
We’re accessible and responsive.
Call or Text: 612.387.5392
Email: tom [at] content-craftsmen.com

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2021 · Content Craftsmen