Solutions Management, Inc. (SMI)
Building a National Brand. Driving Growth. Creating Lasting Enterprise Value.
What began as a family entrepreneurial retail maintenance business evolved into a nationally positioned facilities management company with specialized capabilities, an established service network, and a differentiated corporate identity.
Solutions Management, Inc. (SMI)
Private Sector / Entrepreneurial Business
Retail Facilities Management / Interior Maintenance Services / Disaster Recovery
National Retailers • Specialty Retail Chains • Corporate Facility Managers • Multi-Location Retail Operators • Retail Operations Executives • Commercial Property Managers • National Service Partners • Procurement Executives • Industry Associations
ConnexFM (formerly PRSM) • International Facility Management Association (IFMA) • Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA International) • Restaurant Facility Management Association (RFMA) • National Facilities Management & Technology (NFMT) • PRSM National Conference • Facility Executive • FacilitiesNet • Retail & Restaurant Facility Business • Chain Store Age • PR Newswire
Executive Summary
Founded by Scott Crennan and Robyn Butler, Solutions Management, Inc. (SMI) built its reputation on personal relationships, operational expertise, and its ability to deliver maintenance solutions for national specialty retailers.
As the company expanded, its founders recognized that continued growth would require more than operational excellence. SMI needed a stronger brand, a clearer competitive position, and a sophisticated marketing infrastructure capable of supporting national business development.
In 2011, SMI engaged HCP Associates to help establish that foundation.
Working directly with the company’s ownership and senior leadership, HCP conducted strategic brand development, competitive positioning, and marketing planning designed to elevate SMI beyond the perception of a boutique maintenance provider.
The resulting corporate identity and positioning platform, “Perfecting the Balance of Maintenance,” captured the company’s ability to balance operational efficiency, service quality, technology, preventative maintenance, and responsiveness across geographically dispersed retail locations.
HCP translated that strategy into a comprehensive national marketing program encompassing corporate identity, advertising, public relations, digital communications, video production, trade show marketing, and customer engagement.
The agency’s distinctive creative campaigns, featuring elephants, wildlife, balancing stones, and other visual metaphors, transformed the traditionally utilitarian subject of retail maintenance into a memorable brand story.
The work extended into national industry conferences, including the 2015 PRSM National Conference, where HCP’s “Perfecting the Balance of Maintenance” campaign integrated advertising, environmental graphics, and experiential marketing throughout the convention environment.
HCP also supported the development and communications of SMI’s specialized Disaster Recovery Services (DRS) brand, reinforcing the company’s broader positioning around management, maintenance, and recovery.
The original HCP case study documented more than 36% growth in less than 18 months following implementation of the integrated marketing program.
In August 2022, SMI was acquired by TrueSource, an OnPoint Group company, bringing the business into a larger national facilities services organization.
The acquisition marked an important milestone in the evolution of the company Scott and Robyn had built. While the transaction reflected multiple business considerations, SMI’s development illustrates how strategic brand positioning, sustained marketing leadership, and national market visibility can contribute to building a more competitive and valuable enterprise.
For HCP, SMI represents the opportunity to work alongside entrepreneurs who have built a successful business and help establish the brand, communications, and market positioning necessary to support their next stage of growth.
HCP understood that distinction. The HCP team didn't just come in and create a logo or advertising campaign. They challenged us to think bigger, helped us define what made SMI different, and built a brand and marketing strategy that supported where we wanted to take the business.
Over the years, that positioning became part of our identity and helped us compete on a national level. When the opportunity eventually came to sell the company, we had built something much bigger than a maintenance business. We had built a brand with a reputation, a clear position in the marketplace, and real value. HCP was an important part of that journey.”
Scott Crennan
Co-Founder & Former CEO, Solutions Management, Inc.
Understanding the Landscape
The national retail facilities management industry presented a highly fragmented marketplace in which maintenance services were frequently delivered through regional contractors, specialized providers, and independently managed service networks.
National retailers operating hundreds of locations faced the ongoing challenge of maintaining consistent standards across geographically dispersed properties while managing budgets, preventative maintenance, emergency repairs, and operational disruptions.
For specialty retailers, the physical appearance and functionality of individual locations were closely connected to the customer experience and the protection of valuable merchandise and store environments.
SMI offered an approach that combined personalized account management, specialized interior maintenance expertise, technology-supported operations, and a nationwide network of service professionals.
Its business model was designed to deliver the responsiveness of a smaller organization with the geographic capabilities required by national retail customers.
However, the company’s existing brand did not fully communicate the sophistication of that operating model or distinguish SMI from traditional maintenance contractors.
As the business expanded, its leadership recognized the importance of presenting a stronger national identity that would resonate with corporate facilities executives and retail operations decision-makers.
The opportunity extended beyond increasing awareness. SMI needed to communicate why its service model was different, how its capabilities supported complex retail operations, and why national customers should view the company as a strategic facilities management partner rather than simply another maintenance vendor.
Research
HCP’s engagement began with a detailed examination of SMI’s business model, competitive environment, target audiences, and long-term growth objectives.
Working directly with Scott Crennan and Robyn Butler, HCP conducted brand development exercises and executive planning sessions to establish a clearer understanding of the company’s vision, mission, operational strengths, and desired market position. The process explored how SMI wanted to be perceived by national retail customers and what differentiated its approach from competing maintenance organizations. A central theme emerged from these discussions: SMI’s value came from its ability to balance personalized service with technology, operational expertise, cost management, and nationwide execution. The company’s leadership emphasized the importance of maintaining a boutique service mentality while developing the capabilities and market presence of a sophisticated national organization.
HCP also examined the challenges facing retail facilities executives, including the complexity of coordinating maintenance across multiple locations, maintaining consistent service standards, controlling costs, and responding to emergencies. The research identified an opportunity to establish SMI as a specialized provider of Interior Maintenance Services (IMS), differentiating the company from conventional janitorial contractors and broader facilities maintenance organizations. The findings also informed a more comprehensive approach to brand development, one that would connect corporate identity, service positioning, employee alignment, business development, and national marketing communications.
Rather than focusing solely on how the company looked, HCP’s research addressed how SMI could communicate its business model more effectively and support its entrepreneurial ambitions.
Strategy
HCP developed a brand positioning strategy designed to elevate SMI from a boutique maintenance provider into a recognizable national organization with a differentiated market position.
The strategy centered on the concept of balance.
SMI’s business model required the coordination of multiple priorities: preventative maintenance and emergency response, technology and human expertise, cost efficiency and service quality, and centralized management and local execution.
HCP translated these attributes into the corporate positioning statement:
“Perfecting the Balance of Maintenance.”
The message provided a unifying theme that could extend across the company’s identity, marketing programs, service offerings, and customer communications. HCP developed a new orange-and-blue corporate identity that communicated professionalism, reliability, and a more sophisticated national presence. The brand strategy also emphasized SMI’s specialized Interior Maintenance Services positioning, helping the company differentiate itself from conventional cleaning and maintenance providers.
As SMI expanded its capabilities, HCP developed complementary branding and communications for Disaster Recovery Services (DRS), connecting emergency response and remediation services to the company’s broader maintenance expertise. The relationship between these offerings was expressed through a coordinated service proposition:
Management | Maintenance | Recovery
HCP also addressed internal brand alignment through a framework emphasizing three interconnected principles: Inform, Inspire, and Empower. The objective was to ensure that employees understood the brand promise, believed in its value, and had the resources and organizational support necessary to deliver a consistent customer experience. This strategic approach recognized that SMI’s brand could not exist independently of its operations. The company’s market position needed to reflect the actual capabilities, service relationships, and management systems supporting its national business.
For SMI’s Owners, the strategy provided a foundation for presenting SMI as a more established and scalable organization while retaining the entrepreneurial values that had driven its success. The goal was not simply to improve marketing. It was to build a stronger business identity capable of supporting long-term growth.
Marketing
HCP translated SMI’s positioning into an integrated national marketing program designed to strengthen brand recognition, support business development, and communicate the company’s specialized capabilities.
The creative approach was intentionally distinctive.
Rather than relying on conventional photographs of maintenance personnel, equipment, and retail properties, HCP developed a series of advertising campaigns using elephants, wildlife, balancing stones, and other memorable visual metaphors.
The imagery created a recognizable brand personality while communicating the operational challenges of national retail maintenance. The “Perfecting the Balance of Maintenance” campaign featured an elephant balancing on one foot, transforming the company’s central positioning into a memorable visual statement.
Another execution, “Preventative Maintenance Can Be Tightrope Walking,” depicted an elephant balancing on a tightrope, illustrating the importance of managing operational risks through planning and preventative maintenance. The “Interior Maintenance Can Get Pretty Wild” campaign featured wildlife imagery to represent the unpredictable demands of maintaining retail environments across numerous locations.
Other advertising, including “At the Center of Clean. Inside and Out.”, reinforced the importance of facility appearance, cleanliness, and operational consistency in supporting the retail customer experience. HCP extended the creative platform to SMI’s Disaster Recovery Services division through campaigns such as “Mold Straight Ahead,” which used an iceberg metaphor to communicate the hidden risks associated with water damage, mold, and emergency remediation.
The national advertising program helped transform complex service offerings into understandable and memorable communications directed toward corporate facilities managers and retail operations executives. HCP also developed custom trade show exhibits and experiential marketing programs for national industry conferences. One exhibit featured dramatic imagery of balancing stones against an approaching storm, visually connecting the company’s maintenance and disaster recovery capabilities. Another incorporated a life-size elephant display, creating an unexpected centerpiece within the trade show environment.
For the 2015 PRSM National Conference, HCP created the “Follow the Stampede” campaign, extending the wildlife-themed advertising into convention center window graphics, escalator installations, trade show displays, and promotional communications. The coordinated campaign allowed SMI’s brand to reach attendees throughout the convention environment rather than relying exclusively on traffic to its exhibit space.
These initiatives demonstrated how a consistent creative platform could be adapted across print advertising, environmental graphics, exhibits, and event marketing.
HCP’s work also included website development, corporate video production, direct mail, promotional materials, and customer retention initiatives designed to support both existing relationships and new business opportunities.
Public relations and executive communications became another important component of the marketing program.
In 2013, a national news release announced the addition of a senior operations manager, supporting the company’s expanding operational capabilities. In 2014, CEO Scott Crennan addressed the potential implications of the Ebola virus outbreak for retailers, connecting a major public health issue with the importance of preparedness and facilities maintenance practices. In 2015, SMI’s Earth Day communications highlighted environmental stewardship and community cleanup activities. These efforts helped expand SMI’s visibility beyond traditional advertising by connecting its leadership and expertise to broader industry conversations.
HCP also provided ongoing marketing planning, campaign coordination, and communications support, helping ensure that SMI’s national marketing activities remained consistent with its strategic positioning.
Together, the initiatives established a recognizable brand presence across advertising, digital communications, public relations, national conferences, and customer engagement programs.
Impact
Supported measurable business growth. HCP’s original case study documented more than 36% growth in less than 18 months following implementation of the integrated marketing program.
Established a differentiated national brand. Repositioned SMI from a boutique maintenance provider into a more sophisticated national retail facilities management organization.
Developed a comprehensive corporate identity. Created a recognizable orange-and-blue visual system and the positioning platform “Perfecting the Balance of Maintenance.”
Strengthened the company’s market position. Helped communicate SMI’s specialized Interior Maintenance Services capabilities and its combination of personalized service, technology, and national execution.
Supported specialized service branding. Developed complementary branding and communications for Disaster Recovery Services, connecting management, maintenance, and recovery capabilities.
Created distinctive national advertising campaigns. Developed memorable elephant, wildlife, and balance-themed creative platforms that differentiated SMI within a traditionally utilitarian industry.
Expanded national industry visibility. Produced integrated trade show marketing and experiential campaigns, including the 2015 PRSM National Conference “Follow the Stampede” program.
Supported executive thought leadership. Developed public relations initiatives addressing industry concerns, emergency preparedness, corporate expansion, and environmental responsibility.
Connected brand strategy with organizational culture. Incorporated employee alignment principles designed to support consistent delivery of the company’s brand promise.
Supported national business development. Developed digital communications, corporate video, advertising, promotional materials, and customer engagement initiatives aligned with SMI’s growth objectives.
Helped establish long-term brand equity. Created a consistent identity and market position that supported the company’s evolution into a nationally established facilities management provider.
Contributed to the foundation of an acquisition-ready business. Helped develop the brand positioning and professional marketing infrastructure of a company ultimately acquired by TrueSource, an OnPoint Group company, in August 2022. HCP’s direct influence on the acquisition or transaction value has not been independently established.
What We Learned
Entrepreneurs often build successful businesses long before they build brands that fully reflect the value of what they have created.
SMI demonstrated the difference.
Scott Crennan and Robyn Butler understood their industry, knew their customers, and had developed an operating model capable of supporting national retail organizations. Their entrepreneurial approach helped establish a business built on service, responsiveness, and strong customer relationships.
What HCP brought to the relationship was a broader strategic perspective on how that business could be positioned, communicated, and differentiated within a competitive national marketplace.
The opportunity was not simply to create a better logo or produce more advertising. It was to establish a brand that accurately reflected SMI’s capabilities while supporting the ambitions of its ownership. Through research, strategic positioning, creative development, and integrated marketing, HCP helped build a recognizable corporate identity that could evolve alongside the business.
The distinctive advertising campaigns demonstrated that even highly specialized B2B industries can benefit from imaginative storytelling when the creative remains grounded in a clear business strategy. The relationship also reinforced the importance of connecting external brand promises with internal operations, service delivery, and organizational culture.
Ultimately, SMI’s acquisition by TrueSource represented an important milestone in the entrepreneurial journey of its founders. While a company’s sale is determined by many factors, including financial performance, customer relationships, operational capabilities, and market conditions, a differentiated brand can strengthen how an organization is understood and valued.
For HCP, SMI illustrates an important principle of strategic partnership: helping entrepreneurs build businesses whose value extends beyond their founders, their services, and their original ambitions.
A strong brand does more than help a company compete today. It can become part of the enduring value of the enterprise itself.
