By Andrew P. McCoy and Fred Sargent
Published On June 15, 2022
“Who you gonna call?” That unforgettable question from “Ghostbusters” sprung to mind after our stop for coffee with Eichelle Thompson, marketing director at Lemberg Electric Co. Inc. in Brookfield, Wis.
Thompson’s mission is to keep customers constantly mindful of the complete range of capabilities of Lemberg’s team—including, for example, their electrical signage business niche—at a manageable spending level that is far below a Hollywood blockbuster budget.
In the history of electrical construction, it has been unimaginable for most ECs to have a marketing director on the company’s organizational chart. Before we finished our last cup of coffee with Thompson, we began to wonder how most electrical contractors will be able to succeed without one in the future.
We came to visit Thompson with one strategic concern at the top of our list.
In the checklist of concerns that healthy building advocates have for fixing the “unhealthy” aspects of existing facilities, only a few—notably, those related to the quality of lighting—are undeniably in the domain of electrical contracting.
That left us wondering how electrical contractors can stay out in front of this emerging trend. We started with the most basic question.
As a marketing director, if a new kind of opportunity in electrical work were to appear on the horizon, where would you begin?
I would start with the leaders in our organization who have the experience of many years and many kinds of electrical work. They are the subject matter experts. I would bring them on board and rely upon their judgment. My job is to be the communicator of their plans.