Charting New Directions.

The Difference is You.™

April 2024 | Brand & Database Marketing | Background & Current Services

I am currently offering marketing and writing services including permission e-mail/database marketing and e-commence support in tandem to building out ZENECIST.

Your call/inquiry is welcome. Thanks, Tom Lanen (508) 951-0130 | Email

___________________________

OVERVIEW OF QUALIFICATIONS: THOMAS MARKETING SERVICES CORPORATION ERA (1989-2023)

(Edit: April 2024) If you’re a business owner ready to generate more revenue there’s no time better than now to kick-start your marketing to make it happen. It’s also absolutely the right moment to get out front and build revenue, momentum and brand equity–with more projectable results you can see, count and manage. Even if marketing isn’t your thing.

Why hire a fixed-cost marketing staffer or pricey agency, when I can be your go-to, get-it-done resource for a fraction of the cost? The only reason might be if you wait too long to engage my limited bandwidth, only now available after a 5-year contract as Director of Marketing for what became a 5-location retailer plus 4500+ product online store during my watch — and which netted my principal a nice endgame payday.

You see, I work especially well with business owners who don’t love marketing but get they need it to grow, regardless of the economy. Those who want do-able options to sustain and expand their revenue streams. Well, I’m all about options. Because there is always an answer to the challenge at hand. Always. Even if you sometimes feel reluctant to gain more attention for yourself, and your business. That’s just natural.

“It’s not easy to run a business.
Not everyone can do it.”

Ted Lanen (1926-2008) , Sales Engineer (Tufts EE),
Owner, Leo C. Pelkus Inc., Wellesley, MA
New England Manufacturer’s Rep, Emerson Electric/Wiegand

Just give me, Tom Lanen, a call and let’s have a confidential chat. Right now if you want. It costs you nothing — unlike inaction, which can cost you opportunity. 508 951-0130

If we’re of like mind and it makes sense to you, I can help get revenue-generating programs off your ‘to-do when I have time list’ and into the ‘done and kicking it column’ — fast. Because I’ve never been accused of lacking enthusiasm — and nothing gets me more fired up than working with good people ready to make a difference. And I’ve been told, more than once, my positive intensity is infectious — you know, in a good way.

A disciple of the P&G school of strategic brand marketing, my core strengths are in retail, consumer package goods (CPG), and technology sectors, including medical and healthcare. I also have a strong sense of the entertainment & hospitality categories having worked in customer-facing roles.

Projects have run the gamut of marketing strategies and tactics including branded content & writing, e-mail marketing, merchandising, and advertising & creative services for digital and analog channels.

I am well-versed in creating lead generation websites, and e-Comm shopping sites (Big Commerce, Shopify, Squarespace, WP, etc.) including user interface (UI/UX) strategies, design, imaging & content — even crunch-time posting and website population.

Recent documented e-mail marketing strategies and tactics have tripled the industry average Open Rate (45%+ versus the 17.1% category Open Rate average).

A Brand Is A Story & Its People, Products & Services–And Customers–Are Its Chapters.

A brand is anything but static. But if its core story–your vision–is tied to a strategic communications platform and a defined position, its tactics can be managed, measured, and executed to create revenue, momentum and equity, the sum of its parts greater than the whole.

Tom Lanen, principal, during the summer of 2022 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA where he fully enjoyed the Season Pass his 20-something sons gave to him for his birthday – 34 shows!

My mission, in partnership with my principals, is to tell the Brand Story through process-driven and compelling content that engages and informs, while addressing the real issues of customers and constituents. And those who would be.

The story, and how it’s presented, create ‘comfort levels’ needed to make a purchase decision be it as small as clicking through to a sale or as large as a capital equipment acquisition. It also helps people believe what they know, which can be a real issue, and affirms and validates their comfort.

And it’s about helping people build the confidence needed to make your brand part of their own personal and professional brands. This creates loyalty, goodwill, and salable equity, a real valuation metric – and a significant element of any brand owner’s endgame.

Samples of Recent Work 1 | Samples of Recent Work 2

You’re the director. The Difference Is You.™

Tell Me Your Goals & I’ll Give You Options.
Affordable, Do-Able Options.

Permission-Based E-mail – Brand Communication Strategy/Platform, Copy, Email Formatting (via your Email Service Provider – MailChimp, Constant Contact, EMMA, etc.) Recent documented Open Rates averaging over 40% (industry average is 17% according to SpringBot ESP)

• Point-Of Sale – Art & Copy; also Large Format Printing

Blogs – Research & Write/Post, create imaging and/or video, SEO: WordPress, Medium, etc.

Website/Commerce Pages/SEO Copy – also populating and imaging via most CMS & Shopping Platforms: Big Commerce, Shopify, Squarespace, etc.

• Thought-Leadership Articles – Writing & editing based upon executive input

Presentations – Video, Powerpoint, Speeches, etc.

• Trade Show Booths – Semi-Custom & Custom – Strategy, Concept & Design

• Sales & Marketing Literature, Sales Decks – Copy & Art, also Printing

Technical Writing & User Manuals

Advertising – Online, Print, Broadcast, Cable; Direct Mail, E-mail

Strategic Brand (Marketing & HR) Creation and Development: Identity/Logo, Brand Standards, Positioning, Culture/Human Resources, Coaching

My rate is moderate. Our first discussion is always on me. And I work to budgets – at the speed of retail. And, I take direction well.

If you engage me beyond a single project I can offer significant volume discounts, assuming available bandwidth. The longer we work together, the more efficient it gets. Cash discounts also considered.

Art and/or imaging will be quoted in advance or you can provide your own. I’m happy to work with your existing creative and marketing relationships and resources.

Need it done well and fast? You got it. I provide real value and measurable results. And, I can demonstrate it with metrics and documentation to prove it.

It’s really easy to work with me. I’m here to give you do-able and affordable options that can help make you more successful. Simple.

I’m Tom Lanen, and I welcome your call. Let’s talk a few moments on my nickel.

All credit cards and bank transfer (ACH/EFT) are accepted.

508 951-0130 | Email

Our Swan Song for New England Hydroponics.

How (Bitter) Sweet it Is!

Results speak for themselves, in this case our last two emails with 43% and 46.3% Open Rates for New England Hydroponics. Category Open Rate Average is 17%. On September 1, the new owner takes marketing in house.

I’ll miss working on the business, specifically the people, several of whom have become lifetime friends. It’s been good fun, and I wish them all the best. And I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the brand we built over the 5 years we worked with its owner, and the many stakeholders. But it’s onto what’s next (see text below graphic).

Permission eMail Open Rate Over 40% on-2 Variations by Tom Lanen Thomas Marketing Services ThomasBoston.com

Are you ready for results like these? Call me, Tom Lanen, at (508) 951-0130 and let’s talk action points on my nickel. Let’s see what kind of end game we can devise; it’s closer than you think! T-

New! Open Bandwidth for Business Owners With An Endgame. Especially Those Who Don’t Love Marketing.

POS created by Thomas Marketing Services on behalf of neHydro
Cha-Cha-Cha Changes! It’s said all good things come to an end, and so it is with our 5-year contract with New England Hydroponics, and its new parent company, Hydrobuilder Holdings, to whom my principal, Ethan Holmes, sold the business and brand in January. I’ve been informed they will take the work in-house and will let our contract expire at the end of August … even as our work continues to over-perform, as evidenced in our email Open Rate report below – the category average is 17% (Springbot ESP).
Frankly, this is exactly how most mergers go, and we’re not terribly surprised. Even if it’s a bit of a jolt to the system. Hey, we’re human. But it happened when 3 Thermo Electron business units with whom we had worked for 15 years merged with Fisher Scientific and the agency of record took over. They rightly compensated us for our copyright & imaging, and were very honorable during the transition. Fact is it’s been a great 5 years (almost), and we’ve accomplished our mission: to create salable brand equity for Ethan for when it became his time to sell the business. When I started with him in 2017, he’d been doing all his own marketing and no longer had any time for it. He’d built the business to 3 stores, one of which we moved into a space 4 times the size within the year. Then we added stores in Seekonk (6000 sf), and recently in Sanford, Maine (13,000 sf) bringing the total to 5, all while building the online business at neHydro.com into what is now 4500+ products. We worked well together, and I’m proud of the good work we did, and of the friendships I’ve enjoyed with store GMs and Supervisors. These are good folks. But it’s time for what’s next. If you have a business and a vision, give me, Tom Lanen, at (508) 951-0130 and let’s chat a bit on my nickel. The Difference Is You.™ I can help you present your business and brand well, and drive near-term sales & revenue …. and fully prepare your brand as a line item in your endgame that could be closer than you think. T-

Thomas Marketing Services Corporation Client, New England Hydroponics, Acquired by Hydrobuilder Holdings

I’m pleased to announce New England Hydroponics, now a 5-store and online retailer and commercial supplier of gardening gear and supplies, for whom I created and executed all marketing tactics since 2017, has been acquired in a reported cash and stock deal by Hydrobuilder Holdings.

My principal, Ethan Holmes, started the business online in 2002, and when I started working with him as his creative and marketing partner, he’d built the business and brand to three stores, with over 2500+ products online.

We supported the move of one store to what became a 6000+ sq ft headquarters in Marlborough, MA (with 6000 sq ft warehouse), and have since supported the opening of 2 new stores (now 5 stores), including a new hydroponics and grow supply super store (13,000 sq ft retail) in Sanford, Maine in Fall 2021. The online store neHydro.com, now has over 4000+ products. The store also has a thriving Commercial Accounts Group.

It’s been a source of pride to have worked with Ethan as his creative partner; and with all The Indoor Gardening Experts™ on the New England Hydroponics’ team as we’ve helped build retail store and online sales, the brand, and its good name.

Read the official announcement on BusinessWire

Part of the store management and buying team at New England Hydroponics – Ethan Holmes is 3rd from the right.

Got a story you’d like to tell? Call me if you’d like to know more about how we build authentic brand and marketing stories that engage people and encourage loyalty. And create a salable endgame.

Tom Lanen | (508) 951-0130 | [email protected]