The Competitive Advantage

September 4, 2013

Get ready to exhibit this fall… part 1 of a 3-part series

The conference season is right around the corner… ESOMAR, TMRE, QRCA, CASRO, etc.  And many of you have committed to exhibiting at one or more of these shows. I’m a big fan of exhibiting… done right, exhibiting can be an outstanding marketing vehicle and help you to generate highly-qualified sales leads, launch a new product or service, generate market awareness and support your association.

On the other hand, with the cost of the exhibit space, travel and lodging, building or updating your booth, shipping, event marketing, etc., your firm’s presence there 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 solid return on your investment.

August 13, 2013

If your summer is slow, focus on marketing & sales for a competitive advantage; part 9 – Do something!

OK… we’re almost to the end of our 10-part summer series.  I hope you’ve taken the opportunity during this time to work on your business and not just in it.

Based on the feedback I’ve gotten, I know that many of you have grabbed on to some of these ideas and done something about them.  But there may still be a few of you who have done your reading and not yet leapt into action.  If that describes you, we offer up…

Summer tip #9: Do something… even just one thing… and make some progress

July 9, 2013

If your summer is slow, focus on marketing & sales for a competitive advantage; part 4 – get smarter about business development

So, are you keeping up… are you taking the time to focus on your marketing & sales this summer?  I hope so, because it’s a great time to do it.  We started with conferences, LinkedIn your online presence and now…

Summer tip #4: Get smarter about business development

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.

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!

April 26, 2013

Is the Market Research industry changing the way it feels about Marketing & Sales?

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I had the privilege of speaking at the CASRO Management Conference this week in New Orleans.  By the way, if you run a research agency and haven’t been, you need to put it on your calendar for next year!

In addition to speaking, I also had the opportunity sit in on all the other sessions and panel discussions.  Interestingly, about half of the topics revolved around marketing & sales!  At a market research event?

April 2, 2013

Hiring your first sales rep? Answer these 3 questions first… (part 3 of a 3-part series)

This is part 3 of a 3-part series to help answer a few important questions for those firms in the Market Research industry that are thinking about hiring their first sales rep.

In part 1, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Inside vs. Outside sales rep.  In part 2, we talked about the Hunter vs. the Farmer role.  In this post, it all about the money…

Question #3: How to compensate salespeople?

March 28, 2013

Harpeth Marketing Launches Two New Services for Market Research Firms

Harpeth Marketing has launched two new services this week…

The Lead Builder Program™, built on a series of Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing activities, provides Market Research firms with the opportunity to outsource much of their marketing & sales efforts for less than the cost of a full-time employee.  Our goal with this program is to deliver to our clients a steady stream of “project ready” sales leads.  Details at www.LeadBuilderProgram.com.

The Sellers Reality™ helps our clients to make sure they’re not looking through “rose colored glasses” when making decisions about their firms and the environments in which they compete.  We help them understand why their current clients buy from them, why lapsed clients stopped buying and what their competitors are up to.  Learn more at www.TheSellersReality.com.

March 19, 2013

Hiring your first sales rep? Answer these 3 questions first… (part 1 of a 3-part series)

I’ve worked with several research firms in the past year that made the commitment to hire their first sales rep.  That’s a big step for most firms… and to be successful with it, there are three key questions that need to be answered before the new rep comes on board.  [This is the first of a 3-part series to help answer those questions.]

Question #1: Inside or outside?

The decision for your first sales rep to be inside or outside is not an easy one – the implications are many.

February 20, 2013

You’re a researcher… so do some for yourself to gain a competitive advantage!

Every day… you get up, go to the office, collect some data for your clients, interpret that data and give them some feedback to help them do their jobs better.  Yeah, a little over-simplified, but you get my drift.

So, here’s the question… are you doing that same thing for yourself?  Particularly with your marketing & sales as a way to help you do it better?