Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 8, 2019

Either or both of these failings may apply to your situation: You view marketing as business triage. When business is good, little or no time is invested in marketing. When business (inevitably) takes a dip, only then does marketing becomes a priority. This need not be in a 3-inch binder; a two-page document is often sufficient.

Advertising Mediums 100

Advertising Mediums B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 11, 2014

In 1958, Gilbert Morris – an account executive at the Fuller Smith & Ross ad agency – created the, “I don’t know who you are,” business-to-business advertisement for McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Quite an achievement. I don’t know your company’s reputation. Now, what was it you wanted to sell me?”

Advertising Agencies 100

Advertising Agencies Advertisements Advertising B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 1, 2013

Thought Leadership Programs Must be Accountable for Business Outcomes. Broadly, if Thought Leadership is a marketing strategy that leverages intellectual capital to engage target audiences, then there are two critical components and issues: Content — What qualifies as legitimate and effective Thought Leadership?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Merchandising B2B Thought Leadership Wikipedia 100

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 22, 2019

Regardless of whether your professional field is medicine, law, technology or finance, that same ranking applies to how you will be valued by clients, particularly in B2B businesses. An old adage, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” rings true across all lines of business. No detail is unimportant.

Ad brokers 127

Ad brokers Opinions Marketing Management Loyalty 127

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 16, 2015

In its report, 2015 Professional Services Marketing Priorities , Hinge examined current business challenges and approaches to implementing marketing initiatives at small and medium-sized firms, with annual revenues ranging from less than $5 million to more than $100 million. Activity without Purpose or Accountability.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Service Planning Advertising Agencies 100

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 9, 2016

This seemingly simple goal – to understand what’s special about your company – is the most essential element of marketing strategy. Many companies either don’t have a clue, or have an unfounded / unrealistic viewpoint on why people should do business with them. Work backwards to build a marketing strategy.

Planning 100

Planning Marketing Plans Work Management Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 14, 2014

The most noteworthy article on B2B selling was published in a 1966 Harvard Business Review article (#66213). To capture the attention of CFOs of those companies, and to convince them that energy derivatives were a viable risk management strategy, Phibro’s sales force needed more than brochureware.

Case Study 100

Case Study Case Studies Studies B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 10, 2023

Many B2B firms – in legal, accounting, technology, financial services and consulting disciplines – employ at least one rainmaker, typically a founding member, who brings in the lion’s share of new business.

B2B Sales 130

B2B Sales Cross-Selling Work Management B2B 130

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 1, 2015

Inconsistency Kills Most B2B Marketing Strategies. When business is good, little or no time is invested in marketing. When business (inevitably) takes a dip, marketing becomes a priority. Include goals, strategies, responsibilities, timelines, budgets and ways to measure results. Do a Few Things Very Well.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Planning B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 2, 2015

Instead, it’s based on what you do, both before and after the conference , to reach, influence and engage the 1,000+ or 2,000+ decision-makers who were either too busy or too important to attend the event. Sometimes lightning actually does strike: you’ll make a connection at a conference that eventually leads to new business.

Conference 100

Conference Tactics B2B Marketing Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 30, 2013

Its source notwithstanding, the axiom applies perfectly to the great number of companies that retain PR firms, year after year, to generate publicity that will have little or no impact on tangible business outcomes. Business leaders must address two key questions in advance of seeking any publicity: “1. The more publicity, the better.

PR 100

PR Advertorials Merchandising Paid Search Agency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 11, 2015

But marketing strategy is not akin to packing for a trip. What specific business goals / benchmarks are we seeking to accomplish? Do all of your marketing tactics have measurable goals linked to business outcomes? Some tactics can be measured in terms of direct business outcomes, such as lead generation. Trade Show…check.

Planning 100

Planning Trade Show Paper Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 5, 2020

The hard reality is that — regardless of your firm’s ability to add value — decision-makers at every level are unwilling to risk their career or reputation on selection of an outside advisor or firm may fail to meet expectations, or even harm their business.

RFP 165

RFP Thought Leadership Opinions Validation 165

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Here’s a marketing roadmap designed to achieve that objective: Build your brand strategy first. No plan = lots of wheel-spinning + no tangible business outcomes. Thought leadership – which is overused marketing jargon – is a strategy that leverages knowledge and ideas to engage target audiences.

Transparency 100

Transparency Thought Leadership Planning Enterprise Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

Thought Leadership is perhaps the most widely used and consistently abused strategy in professional services marketing. Our simple definition is that Thought Leadership is a content marketing strategy designed to leverage intellectual capital as a means to engage target audiences. You think Thought Leadership has a goal line.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Enterprise Management Work Management Opinions 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 5, 2016

Surprisingly, a significant number of professional services firms continue to resist building online brand visibility as a business development strategy. The excuses we hear from them most often include: “We’re in a relationship business.”. Our business is driven exclusively by referrals.”.

Validation 100

Validation Ideal Customer Profiles Thought Leadership Network Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

While waiting for the PR profession-at-large to earn a place at the senior management table, current practitioners should develop their own company-specific strategies that will enable them to rub shoulders on an equal basis with their counterparts in finance, legal, marketing, operations or technology.

PR 100

PR Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 22, 2015

CEOs and marketers who are currently deciding whether to establish a company blog might consider these 3 reasons to forget the idea altogether: You’re not convinced there’s a connection between your blog and your business objectives. Is associated with measurable business goals. Strengthens brand stature.

Allocation 100

Allocation Terms and Conditions Paid Search Agency Enterprise Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 12, 2020

But over the past 25 years, unsolicited pitch letters have served as my firm’s only method of generating new business, other than referrals. Most often, that’s the CEO, managing partner or owner of the business. That’s not only a waste of time; it can also sour the prospect on doing business with you in the future.

Work Management 130

Work Management Marketing Management Content Marketing Blast Campaigns 130

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 11, 2016

There are two major reasons why marketing is failing at your small- or medium-sized B2B firm: You view marketing as business triage. When business is good, little or no time is invested in marketing. When business (inevitably) takes a dip, only then does marketing becomes a priority. Do a Few Things Very Well. M arketing.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Planning B2B Thought Leadership B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 14, 2015

Business owners across all industries and professions start companies because they have a specific expertise or interest – whether it involves trading currency futures or replacing car mufflers – and eventually discover that selling their product or service is neither in their wheelhouse, nor something they enjoy doing.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Planning B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 29, 2017

All of the hours devoted to blogging, at some of the nation’s largest and smartest companies, does not appear to be time well spent…if the goal of a blog and other forms of content marketing is to generate new business. You have no blogging strategy. Strive to be a thought leader; not a news service.

Ideal Customer Profiles 100

Ideal Customer Profiles Opinions Linkedin ROI 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 28, 2016

For some firms with strong competitive instincts, this often becomes a lengthy, arduous process involving strategy sessions, dedicated teams, and even outside consultants who specialize in award submissions. But the easiest tactics, like award recognitions, are not always the most effective or enduring ways to help your business grow.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management Aggregators 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 23, 2014

As part of an integrated marketing strategy, management legend Dr. Peter F. And yet, the events that really determine the success of business do not happen on the inside…So CFOs have a big job ahead: bringing together information channels, and learning an accounting system that’s going to be very different.

Allocation 100

Allocation Thought Leadership Work Management Consulting 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Ideally, a corporate anniversary strategy is based on a limited number of high-quality tactics, rather than long list of activities with limited impact or strategic value. Positive coverage in respected business or trade publications provides valuable 3 rd party endorsement of your company’s long-term achievement.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Allocation Ideal Customer Profiles Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 10, 2015

In a business where an S.E.C. inquiry can send investors running for the exits, “out of sight / out of mind” appears to be a prudent risk management strategy. Based on a similar rationale, regulators may also be more likely to focus attention on funds that have very little to say about the nature of their business.

Practices 100

Practices Planning Enterprise Management Transparency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 27, 2015

To our great surprise, we received no calls from reporters checking the facts, and the story was immediately picked up by two major wire services, and appeared as a news squib on the front page of the Wall Street Journal , followed by coverage in several business insurance trade publications. Believe nothing at face value.

Research 100

Research Content Marketing Work Management Paid Search Agency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 18, 2017

Introduction of this new technology called “Desktop Publishing” rocked the business world. Using the automotive analogy, too many marketers are attempting to drive an 18-wheel tractor trailer through busy, narrow city streets without knowing how to shift the rig’s gears or apply the brakes, and lacking side-view mirrors.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Automation High Quality Lead 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

In both cases, companies can mistakenly believe that producing and sharing content, or consistently emailing information to prospects, is a guaranteed fast track to higher market response and business growth. Marketing should not be ignored or reduced when business is good, nor should it be applied only as triage when business declines.

Enterprise Management 147

Enterprise Management Planning Work Management Marketing Management 147

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 16, 2013

The past decade’s social media debacle is akin to introduction of desktop publishing in the early 1980s, when personal computers arrived in the business world. LinkedIn has become an essential part of the business world’s due diligence process, and your company is conspicuous by its absence. Build Your LinkedIn Presence.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Merchandising B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Over the past 20 years, most of my firm’s new business has been generated by unsolicited pitch letters sent to targeted prospects. Timing is every in life, including business development. View Selling as a Numbers Game. But simply getting started, and establishing a pitch letter routine are the two most critical steps.

Effectiveness 124

Effectiveness Business RFP Lead Scoring 124

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 14, 2015

Unfortunately, there are no DNA tests to validate marketing as a legitimate member of the CXO family of business functions. Get Quantitative – The fuzzy nature of marketing can sometimes make it difficult to demonstrate a direct correlation between that activity and tangible business outcomes.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Enterprise Management Lead Ranking Work Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 14, 2015

And that’s why Steve Jobs’ advice should be followed by marketers: Start with a specific business outcome you’re seeking, and build your tactical strategy in reverse order. How to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of your short list strategy. The dots have no assigned numbers to follow. – Steve Jobs.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership CMO Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Over the course of my business career, I’ve run into several grown-up “Marketing Cry-Babies.” Cry-Babies don’t understand that long-term strategy and tactical consistency are the most critical aspects of marketing success. I want it NOW!” either individually or collectively will ever deliver an immediate jackpot.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Paper 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

More importantly, of those firms that blog, only 1/3 are able to associate their blogging with new business; the other 2/3rds either can’t, or are unsure of any new business connection. You have no blogging strategy. Be a thought leader; not a news service.

Ideal Customer Profiles 100

Ideal Customer Profiles Work Management Case Studies Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 7, 2015

A media relations strategy driven by volume rather than substance is an expensive, zero-sum game. But to generate publicity that has inherent business value, you need to work backwards: first define what specific behavior or opinion you’re attempting to influence, and then determine what type(s) of media exposure will accomplish your goal.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Broadcasting Press Linkedin 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

And firms that understand this market dynamic, and work to build a marketing strategy to address the underlying human issues, can gain market acceptance and compete effectively against larger and better-known competitors. The old adage, “No one was ever fired for hiring IBM,” still rings true in every industry.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Companies B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership 100