The Competitive Advantage

May 28, 2014

“Should I advertise?

I got an email from a client last week. In it, she said that an industry magazine had reached out to her about advertising in an upcoming issue with an editorial theme that tied in nicely with her services. And her question was, “Should I advertise in that issue?”

I wish the answer was a simple one, but like everything else in Marketing… it depends!

May 21, 2014

Exhibiting at a conference this Fall? This eBook can help you succeed.

Harpeth Marketing is pleased to announce the release of our 6th eBook, Marketing & Sales for the Market Research Firm: The Exhibitor’s Workbook.

Done right, exhibiting can be an outstanding marketing vehicle that helps you to generate highly-qualified sales leads, launch a new product or service, generate market awareness and support your association.

However, with the cost of the exhibit space, travel and lodging, your booth, shipping, event marketing, etc., your firm’s presence at an event could very well be the single largest marketing expense you have all year. Exhibiting is one of those things you must do really well to see a return on your investment. And this eBook can help…

The Exhibitor’s Workbook delves into:

• Effectively preparing for an event
• Promoting your presence as an exhibitor
• Guidelines for “working the booth”
• The best way to capture sales lead information
• How to follow-up for maximum ROI

Click Here to download your free copy now.

May 14, 2014

Have a client that’s a pain-in-the-a**? Fire them!

I was visiting a client recently in Southern California… a fast-growing firm with an interesting variety of clients. One of our conversations focused on the fact that several of their smaller clients (company size, not necessarily project size) were much more difficult to work with than any of their large ones.

Sounds backwards, doesn’t it? But that seemingly reverse logic is actually very consistent across most firms. Are you dealing with it?

May 6, 2014

Get out from behind your desk!

As I write this, I’m flying home from several days in Southern California, after working with a couple of clients. In both cases, there were just a few people sitting around a table, collaborating and working toward a common goal.  We did some planning, talked strategy, bounced ideas off of each other and, in the end, left with To-Do’s for each of us as we move forward together.

But more importantly… we also shared a meal, laughed, talked about families and discussed summer vacations. It was real human-to-human interaction.

May 4, 2014

11 execution tips to help you exceed client expectations

The three weeks of the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament are my favorite three weeks of the year, every year. I love college basketball and I love March Madness. There are certain teams and certain coaches that my wife and I always cheer for (or against). Since both of our children went to the University of Tennessee, this year we cheered heavily for the men’s team, who made it to the Sweet 16! And we generally support every SEC school, with the exception of John Calipari and the University of Kentucky Wildcats! But regardless of who’s in and who’s out, we get completely wrapped up in the event every year.

Factor in that a billion of Warren Buffett’s dollars were on the line and this year was even more compelling. But Buffett didn’t need to worry; his money was safe. Not a single bracket made it out of the first weekend intact; there were just too many upsets! It didn’t matter where a team was seeded. It didn’t even matter which big-time coach was guiding them from the sidelines. The only thing that mattered was who executed when it really mattered.

April 30, 2014

Stop making excuses about your [lack of] marketing & sales, Part 3

Do you know the phrase, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse?” Of course, we all do.

Coincidentally, the same rule applies to your business… that is, just because you might not know how to do marketing & sales doesn’t mean you can just ignore them. And you know you can’t. But you’re smart… you run or manage a business… so you have to figure it out – and that’s what this post is about.

April 24, 2014

Stop making excuses about your [lack of] marketing & sales, Part 2

Last week we started a 3-part series on the excuses business owners and managers use to “explain away” their lack of marketing & sales activity (and success). In it, we addressed the most common excuse for not embracing marketing & sales in an organization – “no time.”

Following closely on the heels of that is “no money!”

#2…NO MONEY!

“I don’t have the money!” is really code for one of the real excuses:

• “We’re too small to spend anything on marketing & sales.”
• “Business is bad/declining and we really don’t have any money to spend on business development.”
• “I might spend some money… but I don’t know what works and what doesn’t.”
• “All marketing is expensive, isn’t it?”

April 16, 2014

Stop making excuses about your [lack of] marketing & sales, Part 1

There’s a line from one of my wife’s favorite old movies, Working Girl (Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith) where Ford’s character says, “The players may have changed, but the game remains the same…”

I think of that every time I hear someone from our industry gripe about why they don’t embrace marketing & sales.  And it doesn’t matter who I’m talking with, they all complain about the same things… always boiling down to one of three issues:

• “I’m just too busy to spend any time on it.”
• “I don’t have any money to spend on it.”
• “I don’t know what to do… or how to do it.”