Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Guest comments should not mention or promote your business in any way Published on a quarterly or bi-monthly basis; distributed to clients, prospects and referrals sources; and promoted on LinkedIn…ensuring top-of-mind awareness with target audiences Valuable due diligence assets for your sales team to use with prospects Inherent 3rd party endorsements (..)

Thought Leadership 130

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Brand Identity Branding 130

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 11, 2019

Nearly 5 years ago, I wrote a LinkedIn blog post ( The PR Industry’s Dirty Little Secret ) that called out PR practitioners who use their “close relationships” with journalists – along with the implication that those relationships will generate media coverage – to sell their services to prospective clients. Prospect: What do you mean?

PR 100

PR Linkedin Media Contacts 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

There are practical reasons diet companies and national gym chains spend most of their advertising budgets within two seasonal windows: in advance of the new year, when people make their annual resolutions, and in springtime, when beachgoers face the prospect of wearing a bathing suit in public. ” Some are truthful and tell me no.

Enterprise Management 147

Enterprise Management Planning Work Management Marketing Management 147

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 31, 2018

For most B2B companies, there’s no reliable way to predict when a prospective client will purchase their product or engage their services, regardless of what their “marketing automation” expert promises. Making a Prospective Client’s Short List. Or ideally, as the only firm under consideration.)

Work Management 100

Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services CRM 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

The intrinsic purpose of tactics that communicate with clients, prospects and referral sources is to reinforce the perception that your firm is smart, trustworthy and prepared to help them. It’s nice to think that clients and prospects really care about your firm’s growth and accomplishments. Blowing your own horn can also backfire.

Newsletter 113

Newsletter Work Management B2B Thought Leadership Marketing Management 113

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 28, 2016

firm should not participate in award competitions: Reason #1: Your Awards Won’t Have Significant Influence on Prospective Clients. But prospective clients are always more interested in what you can do for them , not in what you’ve done for others. And for some prospects, that’s a leap too large to take. Living in the past.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management Aggregators 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

For most companies, there is no way to predict when a prospect will purchase their product or engage their services. Top-of-mind awareness, driven by these four disciplines, is not an esoteric marketing achievement, or a tactic that yields tangible benefits only when a prospective client assigns your firm a place on the short list.

Sales Cycle 100

Sales Cycle Marketing Management Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Because these (largely “pay-to-play”) recognitions do not allow prospective clients to draw first-hand conclusions regarding a practitioner’s or firm’s ability to address their needs, they are a relatively weak and lazy marketing tactic. Prospective clients can judge that for themselves.

Marketing Management 26

Marketing Management Planning Sales Cycle Advertising Agencies 26

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Small firms can exclude themselves from consideration by large prospects in two ways. Although it would be reckless to devote all or most of your firm’s marketing efforts to “low probability” prospects, excluding them altogether represents an opportunity loss. Associate with Established / Trusted Brands.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Companies B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 14, 2014

Extrinsic selling occurs, according to Wittreich, when a B2B seller relies on successful work that’s been performed for other customers, as a means to validate the seller’s capabilities and potential ability to perform for a prospective customer. Create Tools to Engage Prospects. No leap of faith required.

Case Study 100

Case Study Case Studies Studies B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 9, 2016

The first question we ask prospective clients is, “Do you have a Marketing Plan?”. Most prospects sheepishly acknowledge that they don’t have a formal Marketing Plan. If you’re not having a continuous, two-way conversation with current, prospective and former customers, then you are flying by the seat of your pants, marketing-wise.

Planning 100

Planning Marketing Plans Work Management Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

This requires the prospective customer to make a leap of faith; to believe the service provider can match or exceed what’s been done for others. Conversely, intrinsic selling does not require a prospective client to base their selection on work done for others. It’s a “trust me” sales approach.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Enterprise Management Work Management Opinions 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 12, 2015

In new business development efforts, B2B firms of all types are often challenged by prospective clients with this question: “Do you have any experience working for companies in my industry?”. And although this may be true, that response typically fails to convince the prospect, and can even backfire.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer Thought Leadership B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 5, 2016

Reduce decision-making risk for prospective clients. If your firm doesn’t possess a strong traditional pedigree, there are several ways you can reduce decision-making risk for prospective clients. A prospective client’s own pedigree is a strong indicator of their selection preferences for outside providers.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Service Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 18, 2017

Here’s a highly improbable solution: Require that prospective customers are pre-qualified to purchase your product. (Watch for industry consolidation as major players fight for their share of a shrinking market.). So how does Marketing Automation save itself from extinction? Customers who don’t measure up…can be referred to competitors.

Marketing Automation Services 100

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

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 14, 2015

If you’re a B2B marketer, one picture you might want to create is making the “short list;” which means being contacted consistently by prospective (or existing) clients as a candidate for assignments. That’s a picture your CEO understands and appreciates, because it can lead directly to revenue.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership CMO Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 21, 2014

The intrinsic purpose of tactics that communicate with clients, prospects and referral sources is to reinforce the perception that your firm is smart, trustworthy and prepared to help. It’s nice to think that clients and prospects really care about your firm’s growth and accomplishments. Blowing your own horn can also backfire.

Newsletter 100

Newsletter Marketing Mix Word of Mouth B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 19, 2015

Making the short list” in B2B marketing means that your firm has been chosen by a prospective client as a candidate for an assignment. But for starters, your B2B firm must maintain a consistent presence on all the radar screens that your prospects monitor. Increase Your Odds of Making the Short List over the Long Haul.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership B2B Word of Mouth Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Prospective customers now turn to their personal networks and publicly available information — via digital and social media channels—to self-diagnose their problems and to self-prescribe their own solutions.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership WOM B2B Marketing Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 29, 2013

The intrinsic purpose of tactics that communicate with clients, prospects and referral sources is to reinforce the perception that your firm is smart, trustworthy and prepared to help. It’s nice to think that clients and prospects really care about your firm’s growth and accomplishments. Blowing your own horn can also backfire.

Newsletter 100

Newsletter Word of Mouth B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Cry-Baby: This marketer believes clients and prospects have a genuine interest in her company’s ideas, experience, success, etc. Cry-Babies don’t appreciate that clients and prospects are most interested in how you can help with their particular problem or opportunity. The “It’s All About ME.” It’s All about ME.”

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Paper 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 13, 2021

My clients were elated at the prospect of being featured in such a respected, widely read column. While representing a new advertising agency, I arranged an interview for the agency co-founders with a well-known New York Times columnist who covered their industry.

Media 147

Media PR Press Advertising Agencies 147

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 28, 2016

As a result, today’s B2B marketers are failing to capture opportunities to connect with prospects through physical materials, in a business environment where the arrival of personalized, first-class mail is often a unique event; prompting most gatekeepers to ensure that it’s delivered to the intended target.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing B2B Paper Work Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 12, 2011

” “What prospects really want to hear about is themselves. ” “Never criticize what the prospect has done in the past. Let the prospect tell you what went wrong and whose fault it was… If asked if you could have done better, say you hope so.” Some salespeople never learn this.”

PR 100

PR Public Relations Tips Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 8, 2019

Direct and easy access to your company’s clients, prospects, referral sources and opinion leaders is essential. Firms sometimes go overboard, thinking there’s a correlation between the size of its marketing investment and business results. But less can often be more, in terms of marketing ROI. Build and Nurture your Database.

Advertising Mediums 100

Advertising Mediums B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 24, 2011

Extrinsic selling occurs, according to Wittreich, when a B2B seller relies on successful work that’s been performed for other customers, as a means to validate the seller’s capabilities and potential ability to perform for a prospective customer. Create Simple Tools to Engage Prospects.

Work Management 100

Work Management Validation B2B Sales Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 16, 2013

Unless your firm has accomplished something truly noteworthy—like discovering your profession’s equivalent of cold fusion—then the likelihood of your clients, prospects and referral sources actually noticing the media exposure and doing something about it, such as visiting your firm’s website or requesting an introductory meeting, is probably low.

Tactics 100

Tactics B2B Marketing CPA Cost per Acquisition 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 7, 2015

Your goal is to generate media exposure that serves as ad hoc “credibility tools” for your firm, which can be used in your IR program to assure current investors, prospects and referral sources that you are a safe choice. (This is why a Wall Street Journal article is more valuable than paid Wall Street Transcript coverage.)

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Broadcasting Press Linkedin 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 13, 2020

Many companies have abused email to such a great extent — bombarding clients, prospects and referral sources with email blasts, self-serving newsletters and other useless information — that it’s now extremely difficult to get noticed or gain meaningful traction. Direct Communication.

Blast Campaigns 130

Blast Campaigns Webinar Metrics Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 130

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 19, 2011

This company doesn’t really care what clients and prospects think of them. Having seriously out-of-date or missing content on your website is akin to showing up to a first meeting with a prospective client wearing the same shirt you’ve worn for the past 6 months, sporting a jacket with lapels 4 inches wide.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Paper Press Case Study 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

To increase their odds of getting that call, firms must constantly sow seeds with clients, prospects and referral sources, driving top-of-mind awareness regarding the firm’s capabilities and credentials. Drive Top-of-Mind Awareness – The marketing challenge for most B2B firms is making the short list of candidates called in for an assignment.

B2B Sales 100

B2B Sales Cross-Selling Work Management B2B Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 8, 2016

Although there are exceptions (which include those funds most likely to fare well over the long term), hedge funds are notoriously inept at expressing to prospective and current investors the “what, why and how” of their value proposition. More easily up-sell and cross-sell.

Allocation 100

Allocation Cross-Selling Marketing Management Validation 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 1, 2013

For example, rather than featuring a message from your CEO in each issue of the company’s quarterly newsletter, consider publishing guest commentaries (not promotional messages) from clients, prospects, referral sources and recognized opinion leaders in your discipline. Merchandising Strategy Precedes Content Development.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Merchandising B2B Thought Leadership Wikipedia 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 14, 2015

Because you can never know when your target audiences (current and prospective clients, intermediaries, referral sources, etc.) Your website still serves as the mother ship of your brand, it’s the one place that all prospective clients will visit, and it can kill interest quickly if it’s not professional-looking and distinctive.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Planning B2B Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 29, 2017

A blog’s marketing function is to drive top-of-mind awareness with your clients, prospects and referral sources. You don’t blog consistently. If you are not generating original content with some regularity, probably at least once a month, then don’t bother blogging at all.

Ideal Customer Profiles 100

Ideal Customer Profiles Opinions Linkedin ROI 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 11, 2016

Direct and easy access to your company’s clients, prospects, referral sources and opinion leaders is essential. Firms sometimes go overboard, thinking there’s a correlation between the size of its marketing investment and business results. But less is usually more, in terms of marketing ROI. Build and Nurture your Database.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Planning B2B Thought Leadership B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 16, 2015

One of the first questions we ask a new or prospective client is this: “Do you have a written marketing plan?” It might be argued that strategic marketing tasks did not make the list of 2015 planned initiatives because professional services firms already have those disciplines covered.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Service Planning Advertising Agencies 100