The Competitive Advantage

July 31, 2012

Want to get better at marketing? Become a student of it!

Marketing has evolved and changed as much as any discipline in business.  We used to think about marketing as print ads and direct mail.  Then along came the internet and our choices expanded to include email and banner ads.  And in the last few years, thanks to advances in technology, our choices have expanded further to include social media marketing, search engine optimization and mobile marketing.  And now to tie it all together, there’s Marketing Automation Software (MAS).

With the proliferation of options – where do you turn for answers?  Ironically, to the same technologies that are the cause of this anxiety in the first place… the internet and social media.  There’s enough information available – most of it for free – to make almost anyone a marketing expert!

July 25, 2012

Does YOUR Business Need a Focus Group?

As researchers, you help your clients get feedback and insight on a variety of things – concept development, advertising, product usage and so forth.

But do you do that for yourself, too?  Do you get unbiased feedback on new services you’re thinking about launching, marketing ideas or tough business decisions?

If not, here’s an idea… consider establishing an ‘Advisory Board,’ an outside third-party group that can provide input on a variety of critical decisions.

July 10, 2012

Webinar – Creating a Winning Marketing & Sales Plan: 40 Tips in 40 Minutes

When: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:00 pm Eastern Time / 10:00am Pacific Time

Who: Sponsored by Quirks, presented by Harpeth Marketing

What: Developed for the owners, managers and hands-on marketers at research firms, this free webinar provides an overview of the process for creating a clear, functional marketing and sales plan, along with tips and tricks for implementing each phase of the process. In this fast-paced session, you’ll explore:

• The basic structure of a marketing and sales plan
• A simple way to develop a profile of your best clients
• The keys to setting effective marketing strategy
• Why your success is in the details
• Easy ways to manage your marketing and sales efforts
• Why a lot of money is NOT necessary for successful business development
• And much more

Where: For details and to register online, click here.

July 5, 2012

Hiring your first sales rep? Consider these 7 “must-dos” first…

If you’re about to hire your firm’s first sales rep, then let me congratulate you on taking a very big – and vitally important – step for your firm.  Having someone other than the principal(s) of the firm do your selling is an important and often scary thing to do.  You’re letting go and relying on “an outsider” to help make you successful.  But until you do, you’ll never be able to realize your firm’s full potential.

June 1, 2012

Should you Specialize to Gain a Competitive Advantage?

I’ve been out of town the past few days meeting with a couple of “good size” market research firms.

While the websites of both firms would suggest that they can (and do) conduct research in virtually all of the common vertical industries, the fact is that each of them DO have a specialty – on or two verticals that account for at least 50% of their business.  Yet, they are reticent to promote themselves as specialists.  Why?

May 28, 2012

Marketing Execution… Your Success in the Details

There’s an old story from professional football with an important marketing lesson…

After a particularly difficult loss one Sunday afternoon, John McKay, then coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was asked by a sports reporter, “Coach, what do you think of your team’s execution?”  To which Coach McKay replied, “I’m in favor of it!”

May 17, 2012

Under-promise and Over-deliver… a True Story

As most of you know, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is a must-have in your marketing & sales arsenal.  Your CRM software is used to track and record client & prospect interactions, manage marketing campaigns, create sales reports and so much more.

I happen to use ZoHo (www.zoho.com).  This isn’t a story to promote a specific platform, but rather a story about the “customer experience” and how it can impact your business.  And I happen to be the customer.

April 30, 2012

Goal setting is not as easy as it sounds…

We’re all familiar with the adage of setting SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-framed).  But I submit that’s only half the story.