Let’s cut to the chase. Why do you need a network? Because your network is your market. Every day many professional service providers wrestle with how to develop new business — not because of inferior work product or poor client service; but because their network is not large enough to supply the connections, generate the referrals, … Continue Reading
If you’re marketing something, you’re likely investing resources in the development of connections. Social strategies, networking events, content marketing efforts…there is a long cafeteria line of tools, strategies and processes designed to get you connneted. Then what? Business development is about relationships. Not connections. Or fans. Or followers. Real honest-to-goodness-relationships. Today’s tools make establishing a … Continue Reading
If you’re considering a deeper dive into social media for business development punposes, are attempting to evaluate your current investment in social, or are among those just now waking to the reality that social media is actually out there changing the market, this post is for you. And it is a response to the fact … Continue Reading
Listening is the last thing on anyone’s mind when the subject is communication. And it’s understandable. From the instant an infant realizes what it takes to get attention, our practical view of communication is shaped by a repeated focus on doing whatever it takes to deliver a message. Experiences reenforce the idea that charisma, wordsmithing and … Continue Reading
Note: Kevin McKeown is a colleague, a friend, and a thought leader on blogging, social media and leadership. I hang on his content, appreciate his contributions to any conversation, and asked him to share the way he thinks in the form of this Guest Post. Eric, thanks for asking me to share why I believe … Continue Reading
Dispute its reach if you like. Bemoan its shortcomings. Even refuse to participate (if you dare). But Social Media has exploded. And the reason should capture the imagination of anyone marketing a service or product. How so? Because for all the hype, falderal, misuse and criticism swirling about, Social Media is, simply, about the dynamics … Continue Reading
You might be able to reach everyone. That’s the siren-song of the digital innovations that turn everyone into a publisher or broadcaster. Perpetuated daily by something new gone viral — video of a pet, or a baby, or a stunt — it is a fantasy that slowly morphs into — hey, maybe this is possible. … Continue Reading
Here’s the problem: we act like once we’ve delivered a message — transmitted it, produced it, hit “SEND” — that we have Communicated. Or, at least that we have done everything within our power to make communication possible. The rest is up to the audience. In practice we have come to equate communicating with the … Continue Reading
The perspective of the lawyer was clear; “My time is far too valuable to be spent writing advertising copy or blogging.” Notwithstanding the fact that his comment belies complete disdain for what he believes professional services marketing and business development to represent, his pronouncement points to a critical way the marketplace has shifted. The marketing … Continue Reading
Even some of the most skeptical among professional service providers are beginning to wonder whether they should dip at least one reluctant toe into social media and on-line networking. A Twitter IPO, increasing Linked In invitations and all-things Google — for starters — are enough to make the most reluctant wonder — is this social … Continue Reading
The reception counter was large enough for three or four greeters to stand behind it in wait. There was only one. And she was scowling. I was with two friends as we approached the Greeter at the neighborhood location of a rapidly expanding restaurant franchise. Maybe the mere size of the desk, staged as an … Continue Reading
More than a dozen years ago I stepped into my first business development meeting with a lawyer. When I asked this individual to describe his target market, the reply was something like “my ideal client is the next person that calls or walks into my office, needing help putting a business deal together.” Translation: this … Continue Reading
Marshall McLuhan — a godfather of 20th-century communication theory — characterized one of the challenges inherent in connecting when he coined the phrase “the medium is the message.” Seth Godin hit on it from a different angle in his timely post today, Get Over Yourself. Given the timing — the 1960’s, in North America — … Continue Reading
We measure everything. With a keen eye on established benchmarks, we consider every implication of a new born’s length and weight, age of the first step, and rate of growth (raise your hand if you remember marks on the wall noting dates and height). Speed. Efficiency. Projected earnings. Wins and losses. We measure it all — … Continue Reading
The alarm – a digitized-siren-sound of some sort – was wailing. No one able to hear could have missed the intended warning. Yet no one in the 40-story high-rise was concerned. There was no panic. No rush to the nearest exit. It was mid-morning, mid-week; and the persistent alarm notwithstanding, it was business as usual … Continue Reading
A recent Harvard Business Review blog by Bill Lee — Marketing Is Dead — was, at least provocative; it has prompted a number of excellent conversation (maybe even a touch of consternation) in some quarters of the marketing community. Lee’s assertion is that traditional marketing is increasingly ineffective. And if the conversation is about tools … Continue Reading
For anyone of a certain age (we won’t be any more specific) those words most likely prompt a mind’s earful of a catchy tune as recorded by the Fab Four. (If “Fab Four” is meaningless to you, skip to paragraph 2.) The lyrics of the song, simplistic as they might be, belie one of the … Continue Reading
More than once in recent weeks I’ve participated in (or overheard out of the corner-of-an-ear) discussions on how time-consuming social media has become, what the payoff might be, and when it might be realized. (Don’t act like you haven’t asked some version of the same questions.) Not only is the issue real; it is legitimate. … Continue Reading
If you interact with a significant other, a neighbor, team members or co-workers, no one needs to tell you that listening is critical to almost any relationship. What we must not overlook is the fact that all listening is not equal. Query your favorite search engine for “types of listening” and you’ll find plenty of … Continue Reading
Ask a dozen professionals from a variety of endeavors to define marketing and you will likely receive variations on two or three different themes. Retailers, B-to-B enterprises, service providers, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial start-ups — and everything in between — often view, plan and budget for marketing from unique perspectives. But all of us, unique … Continue Reading
Here’s the problem: we believe that once we’ve delivered a message — written it, recorded it, spoken it aloud, hit “SEND” or (truth be told) even outlined it in bullet-form — that we have Communicated. Put another way (and maybe a bit more to the point), when we think about communicating, we inevitably think about … Continue Reading
Some things just deserve a spotlight. A Twitter friend — @9inchmarketing (John, IRL) – reminded me of this reality a few weeks ago when he introduced me to the Purple Goldfish Project. This is an organized effort to draw attention to the existence of Lagniappes (the practice of giving something extra) in the course of … Continue Reading
Listening doesn’t come easy. For anyone (or any business) with a point of view, an opinion, a measure of conviction, and the means to disseminate a message listening is rarely what first comes to mind when addressing the communication process. Client feedback initiatives and market research notwithstanding, from the instant an infant realizes what it takes … Continue Reading
Time to acknowledge the obvious: few things have had as much impact on the fabric of marketing as has the emergence of “Social Media.” In his book – The Chaos Scenario (see video above) – author, AdAge columnist and NPR commentator Bob Garfield goes as far as heralding the end of mass marketing as we know it. Overstatement? We are, after … Continue Reading
