Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 13, 2020

Long before the fear of contracting COVID-19 entered our collective consciousness, and thanks to modern society’s reliance on electronic devices, many people were already practicing a form of social distancing. Without leaving our own homes, we text or play video games with friends. Many of us no longer call family members as often. I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has simply accelerated social distancing, and that it will normalize self-imposed isolation long after it’s over.

Webinar Metrics 130

Webinar Metrics Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Social Marketing 130

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 12, 2020

Great content can build brand stature and increase market awareness, but in my experience, neither of those achievements necessarily delivers the type of market engagement that results in new accounts or revenue growth. Most marketing content is distributed through pull tactics, in which blog posts, social media posts, press releases, etc., expose information indirectly to a large audience.

Content Marketing 130

Content Marketing Work Management Marketing Management Content 130

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 5, 2020

Prospective clients certainly want to know if you have the experience and skills they need. But before they put you on their short list of candidates for consideration, they first will need some assurance that your company is a “safe choice.” 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 h

Marketing Prospects 165

Marketing Prospects Paid Search Agency Thought Leadership Work Management 165

Marketing Craftmanship

OCTOBER 22, 2019

For many decades, in medical school physicians have been taught the “3 A’s” of a sound practice management. They are the 3 qualities that their patients will value most highly, in rank order of importance: Affability. Accessibility. Ability. 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.

Marketing Management 127

Marketing Management Planning B2B Marketing Paid Search Agency 127

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Marketing 100

Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 8, 2019

There are two reasons why marketing fails most often at small- and medium-sized B2B firms. Either or both of these failings may apply to your situation: You view marketing as business triage. Your company uses a collection of tactics (often labeled as a “marketing campaign”) only in response to a problem; typically involving the loss of a key client, or decline in revenue.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Planning Advertising Mediums B2B 100

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. The “Big Lie” in this sales pitch is that no journalist will ever cover a topic because they know your PR rep.

PR 100

PR Media Linkedin Contacts 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. These brief, tailored messages – sent either by email or snail mail – have not only enabled us to maintain a consistent pipeline of clients; but more importantly, we’ve built a practice consisting of high-value companies and people that we wanted to work for.

Effectiveness 124

Effectiveness Business Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 124

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

Client newsletters are the most widely used, often abused and hotly debated marketing tactic for professional services firms of any size. Here are three highly subjective myths and realities to help your firm determine whether it’s a worthwhile tool, or how to improve your current newsletter. MYTH #1: Your B2B Firm Needs a Client Newsletter. Marketers want you to believe that your firm needs a newsletter.

Newsletter 113

Newsletter Work Management Marketing Management Advertising Agencies 113

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. This is particularly challenging for professional services firms – legal, accounting, investment advisory, technology, management consulting, recruiting or marketing – where top-of-mind awareness (getting people to remember you) is a critical part of business development.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Work Management Marketing Prospects Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 6, 2018

The most recent survey of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) shows that not much has changed over the past 10 years. CMOs continue their struggle to make the connection between marketing activity and company performance, and they continue to shift the blame for their failure. Despite the fact that financial results are rated as the most important factor in a CMO’s performance-based compensation, executive recruitment firm Korn Ferry’s CMO survey found that the majority of senior marketers claim t

Work Management 133

Work Management Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy 133

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 8, 2018

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig recently called out “marketing services specialist” Clint Arthur for selling speaking opportunities at the Harvard Faculty Club and the West Point Club, as a means for his paying clients to leverage the credibility associated with those two respected institutions. As Zweig’s article points out , however, the schools neither sponsored those events, nor endorsed the program in any way.

PR 100

PR Ideal Customer Profiles SME Banners 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

With rare exception, companies assign very little planning or resources to proactively managing the effects of a restructuring on its brand equity. While financial and legal considerations will always be the primary focus, a tangible sophistication gap has long existed between workout arrangement skills, compared with what’s required to preserve a company’s goodwill among internal and external audiences during a corporate restructuring.

Brand Identity 100

Brand Identity Branding Planning Urgency Marketing 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. If there’s a disconnect between your firm’s blogging and new clients related to your content, here are 8 possible reasons why: Your topics are boring.

Planning 100

Planning Ideal Customer Profiles Marketing Strategy Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 23, 2017

Regardless of whether your company is an established leader or an upstart, brand integrity matters. And it’s a corporate asset that needs to be marketed. Unfortunately, simply telling target audiences and opinion leaders that your company is smart, honest, unique, innovative, creative, cutting-edge, trusted, etc. never succeeds. People require hard and soft evidence to support their own conclusions about your brand attributes, notably its integrity.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Marketing Thought Leadership 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 18, 2017

For decades, the ONLY way to produce any type of printed material – ranging from sales & marketing brochures, to annual reports and informational flyers – involved a multi-step, time / people-intensive, costly process requiring a copywriter, graphic designer, a typesetter and a printing press. That longstanding production method was made obsolete over a 5-year period, with development of “ What You See Is What You Get ” screen technology, combined with the invention of laser printers and gra

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Planning Work Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 22, 2017

Any business founder / owner whose surname serves as their company’s brand name has a unique challenge. If (s)he’s built a successful business that relies on the efforts of its employees, the founder of an eponymous business eventually will need to address brand transition; particularly if it’s a B2B or professional services firm. Brand transition involves shifting market perceptions of the firm away from the individual founder(s), and toward an enterprise-based brand positioning.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 4, 2017

On a trip to Scotland in the 1980s, from my rented car on a road outside of Glasgow, I spotted a crude hand-painted sign nailed to a tree that read, “Ian McTavish Bagpipe Maker.” I slammed on the brakes and took a sharp left turn up a narrow, dirt road. I had long wanted to play the bagpipes, and in a heartbeat decided that bringing home an authentic set of Scottish bagpipes might help to cross that item off my bucket list.

Generation 100

Generation Marketing & Strategy Marketing Buy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Regardless of industry, conferences and seminars can be a significant waste of time, money and opportunity. But the conference sponsor is typically not at fault for the lack of return on this marketing investment. It’s often the result of poor planning, lack of creativity, outright laziness or unrealistic expectations by the companies that participate in them.

Conference 100

Conference Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Regardless of how well a company communicates with the press, it stands a good chance of being “burned” on occasion. From minor misquote to major hatchet-job, these real and perceived offenses occupy the attention of senior managers and their advisors, whose polite clarifications and outraged denials fill the “Letters to the Editor” section of every business and trade publication.

Media 100

Media Paid Search Agency Press Mobile Advertising 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

The most enduring injustice in the world of B2B marketing is that, very often, a firm with strong brand perceptions will be selected over a more qualified, but lesser-known firm. The old adage, “No one was ever fired for hiring IBM,” still rings true in every industry. 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.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency B2B Thought Leadership Companies Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 20, 2017

The marketing profession has a reputation for sometimes using less than reliable market research to promote a point of view. And this marketer has been guilty of that sin. Years ago, our insurance company client was introducing a new Directors & Officers liability insurance policy, and asked us to raise market awareness. With good intentions, but given no budget or time to perform proper market research, we interviewed a total of 6 corporate CEOs and board members to provide some validation

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Content Marketing & Strategy Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 13, 2017

Over the past 20 years, most of my firm’s new business has been generated by unsolicited pitch letters sent to targeted prospects. These brief, tailored messages – sent either by email or snail mail – have not only enabled us to maintain a consistent pipeline of clients; but more importantly, we’ve built a practice consisting of high-value companies and people that we wanted to work for.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Marketing Prospects Tactics 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 28, 2016

For certain industries, such as financial services, that aggregate performance-related data – for example, in annual “league tables” ranking investment banks by the number or size of M&A transactions they’ve underwritten – there is some logic, as well as an objective basis, on which firms can claim to have outperformed their competitors. But for most industries – lacking any quantitative basis or objective means on which to base relative performance of its individual companies – there are se

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Prospects Marketing Management 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. This group earns big points with us for honesty. Some less forthright prospects will claim they do have a Marketing Plan, but when asked to show it to us, this group responds with, “Our plan isn’t written down,” or “It’s being updated,” which really means that they don’t have a plan.

Planning 100

Planning Marketing Plans Work Management Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

Thought Leadership is perhaps the most widely used and consistently abused strategy in professional services marketing. There’s diverse opinion regarding what it is, and fuzzy expectations with respect to its benefits. Our simple definition is that Thought Leadership is a content marketing strategy designed to leverage intellectual capital as a means to engage target audiences.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Prospects 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 5, 2016

Institutional pedigree always matters, regardless of the type of professional service you’re selling. But to leverage pedigree as a marketing asset, you first need to understand why it’s important to your target audience, and decide what type(s) of pedigree will have the greatest influence on them. The professional credentials your firm possesses (or creates) are a major consideration in determining which doors to knock on, and which doors to ignore.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Service 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 28, 2016

In the dark ages of B2B marketing communications, circa 1980, the goal was to get your snail-mailed communications past the office gatekeepers (a/k/a “executive assistants”), and onto the desks of your targeted decision-makers. Most often, however, the sheer volume of first-class mail processed every morning by office gatekeepers made it more likely that your personalized pitch letter and costly sales brochure would end up, unopened, in the garbage can.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing B2B Work Management Paid Search Agency 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.”. “New clients don’t find us by searching online.”. “Our business is driven exclusively by referrals.”. Although often it’s a waste of time to push back on their refusal to embrace online visibility, these are 3 reasons that we use to plant some seeds of doubt:

Marketing & Strategy 100

Marketing & Strategy Paid Search Agency Marketing Network Marketing 100

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. Your company applies a collection of tactics (often labeled as a “marketing campaign”) only in response to a problem; typically involving the loss of a key client, or decline in revenue. When business is good, little or no time is invested in marketing.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Planning B2B Paid Search Agency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 8, 2016

There’s an increasing volume of negative news regarding the “exodus from hedge funds,” in favor of less expensive alternatives such as liquid alts and “engineered equity” products. Although many large investors still maintain significant assets in hedge funds, the industry’s ratio of contributions to withdrawals has turned south, and the near-term outlook for hedge fund growth is not encouraging.

Allocation 100

Allocation Marketing Management Trust Marketing Cross-Selling 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 2, 2016

Big Frank was not the perfect dog. Unlike most Labs, he couldn’t be trusted around small children, he would always find an unattended bag of garbage, and he was a total bully at dog parks. A true alpha, Frank guarded the community water bowl in our kitchen, and demanded total control over whatever chew toys, tennis balls or bones were made available to our three dogs.

Demand 100

Demand Personalization Tips Spending 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 7, 2016

The latest round of blather regarding why and how asset managers (in this case, hedge funds) should use social media can be found in this month’s publication of a research study conducted by the respected marketing firm, Peppercomm. Entitled “ Everyone’s Tweeting About Hedge Funds, Except for Hedge Funds ,” here are some of that study’s “key findings” and recommendations ( …complete with my sidebar commentary ): Mentions of hedge funds on social media in 2015 were up 46% over the prior year (…

Social Media 100

Social Media Work Management Marketing Management Media 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

You can gain reliable insight into the current state of law firm blogging from two recent market research studies: According to the ABA’s Legal Technology Report, less than 1/3 of all law firms have a blog, and most of those are large firms. 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.

Planning 100

Planning Work Management Marketing Management Ideal Customer Profiles 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

When a client complained to me recently about the difficulty of competing against larger companies, I had a flashback to when my kids were in grade school. Often, when they complained a whiny manner (with or without tears), I’d start singing one particular verse of the well-known kids’ song, “The Wheels on the Bus.”. As my kids started to whine, I would sing: “The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Marketing & Strategy Paid Search Agency Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 25, 2016

In manager selection, most investors will look beyond your fund’s track record and give weight to organizational factors that provide them with confidence that the business is well-managed and likely to succeed long-term. If your strategy and marketing efforts have qualified your fund for an investor’s short list of candidates, then business management factors can either close the deal or disqualify you from further consideration.

Work Management 100

Work Management Marketing & Strategy Marketing Strategy Enterprise Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 22, 2015

When pressed to explain why their company has a blog, many CEOs will admit they were either pushed by marketing counsel to create one, or believed they needed a blog because their competitors have them. Few CEOs understand the purpose of a blog, and most members of that small group are not convinced that their blog delivers any tangible value. 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

Allocation 100

Allocation Paid Search Agency Enterprise Management Planning 100