The Competitive Advantage

May 1, 2015

The Top 10 Ways to Build Awareness

Two weeks ago, I went to the 25^th Annual Franklin (TN) Jazz Festival. Were it not for a tiny little nugget in the sidebar of an email I received, I would not have even known it was going on. Sadly, as evidenced by the size of the crowd, I was not alone in that regard.

This past weekend, the Country Music Marathon took place – one of the 10 largest events of its kind in the U.S. – with more than 27,000 runners. It’s a big deal. And I only heard about it 2-3 days prior.

Why is that? Why do these important community events – with access to a lot of local marketing channels that you and I don’t have – do such a lousy job of promoting their presence? Is it because they’ve been around for a while and just assume that everyone knows about them? Is it a money issue? Is it a knowledge issue?

April 28, 2015

‘Thanks, but no thanks’ is an OK answer.

This past week… after a number of emails, a proposal and a couple of phone conversations, a sales prospect (a.k.a. a potential new client) got back with me and said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” And guess what? While it wasn’t the answer I wanted, I was actually OK with it.

April 22, 2015

The top 15 webinar tips for your next presentation

I’m a lucky and grateful guy… I’ve been asked by two industry organizations (CASRO and Greenbook) to deliver four webinars over the next several months. I’m a huge proponent of webinars for several reasons…

• They deliver valuable information to attendees, in a non-threatening, non-salesy way
• They are a reasonable way to gather contact data from potential clients (when they register)
• They build awareness for the presenter and help position them as subject matter experts

If webinars are part of your marketing efforts – or if you’d like them to be – here are the top 15 webinar tips to consider as you get started…

April 15, 2015

Do you really know what clients want?

I was flipping through a magazine this morning and came across a small article announcing a new product available to consumers.

It’s a Bluetooth-enabled frying pan that helps you find the right temp so you know when to flip your pancakes (or whatever you’re cooking). Are you serious?!

April 7, 2015

Is bad marketing better than no marketing?

I received an unsolicited email the other day from a company using the holidays (Easter and Passover) as a reason to communicate… not unlike so many companies do at Christmas/Hanukkah time. Now, I appreciate when somebody tries something different as a way to “break through the clutter”… and I admit, I’m not sure I have ever received an Easter/Passover promotional message before.

But the real problem was the message itself… It was simply one short sentence. That’s it!

Now, I’m as big a fan of brevity as the next guy… but there was no real thought behind it. No real value. Not even a nice story in the message. It’s as if the sender tried to do the absolute least amount of work possible, just to get out an email for Easter so they could say they were doing something.

All-in-all… an OK strategy – but lousy execution.

Here’s my point… I see a lot of bad marketing in our industry. Poorly thought-out, haphazard, hastily-executed tactics – just to do something. Anything. And the worst offenders are these…

March 31, 2015

The 13 Most Common Website Mistakes

Marketing technologies and tactics are changing at a whirlwind pace… but one of the things that has remained true for years is that a company’s website is – and should be – the foundation of its marketing.

It’s the first place a prospective client will go to learn about your business – your services, team, history and latest news. It’s where resources like blogs, articles and eBooks are stored and accessed. It’s the starting point for communicating with your firm – either directly or as a place to connect with your social media sites. Bottom line: it’s the centerpiece of your brand… the primary element around which all other marketing should be based.

Then why are so many websites in our industry so bad? And in some cases, not just a little bad… but embarrassing!

March 27, 2015

Are we really in the people business?

As I write this, I’m 35,000 feet over Illinois, heading to Chicago, on my way to Detroit. I’m heading there for a kick-off meeting with a new client. I start nearly all engagements this way.

Why? Honestly, it’s not just for the work – much of it could be done remotely. I do it for 3 key reasons:

March 17, 2015

Hey business owner… sales success takes time!

Have you ever hired a sales rep for your firm?

What were your expectations for his or her success?

I am amazed by how often I’ve heard something like, “Our new rep didn’t bring us any new projects in his first two months – this ‘sales’ thing isn’t working out!”

Seriously?!