Join Us: Digital Marketing & Tech Summit

in , /by

On March 28, our CEO, Christine Perkett, will be speaking at the Cape & Plymouth Business Digital Marketing & Tech Summit – a great event on Cape Cod focused on helping businesses run more efficiently and reach new customers across different marketing channels. Get the solutions and real-world strategies you need to choose the right technology platforms and control what digital platforms make the most sense for your digital marketing programs.

This is the event’s fourth year and is sure to be another great one, sending attendees away with actionable tips for improving digital marketing strategy and execution. What would you like to learn?

We hope to see you there!

Building a “We” vs “Me” Culture

in /by

We all know there’s no “I” in team and yet, we often see executives making basic mistakes in communications that would indicate otherwise. Particularly in the client service business, it’s crucial to think carefully about how you and your team are presenting information.

 

For example, in the agency world, clients are serviced by account teams comprised of individuals who are often responsible for different pieces of work. However, each piece of work is important to the overall success of the account. Without content, media and advertising don’t work. Without the right messaging, nothing works, and so on. Clients need to know that the team, although working on different pieces, is a comprehensive unit.

 

If your employees are updating clients during a meeting and talking in terms of “Me” vs “We,” the team will come across not as a comprehensive unit working together towards a common goal, but rather as a group of individuals more worried about getting credit for their piece. This is not conducive to building client confidence.

 

So as a manager, what can you do?

  1. Lead by example – lead with a team-oriented mindset. Make it clear that wins and losses are universal and not exclusive.
  2. Use the right language – pay attention to the language that you use when presenting teamwork to the client. Don’t separate out your part vs other team members. Teach them to do the same. This is especially important to ensure that the client knows the team unit is strong and working together to produce the best results. “We researched the market and suggest these three key messages,” vs. “I researched the market and Tom wrote up these three key messages,” for example.
  3. Provide recognition in the right ways – Instead of calling out an individual’s contributions directly to the client, always emphasize the team effort. Internally, provide rewards and recognition for each contributor that can incentivize other team members as well. Companies such as Corporate Rewards Worldwide can help.
  4. Have your team’s back – Over the years, our managers have had clients call to discuss individuals on their team – both good and bad. One thing we always emphasize is how the team works together to make things happen. While one person might have a greater strength in a certain area than another person, they are all important to the winning equation. If a client feels someone isn’t performing as well on a task as someone else, we’ll offer to move things around or, depending on the situation, ensure them that they aren’t seeing the entire picture – emphasizing how the individual is a team contributor  and that perhaps their job is less client facing than another but just as important to the process. You can address these issues directly with your team later, and make changes or corrections as needed.

 

It isn’t a complicated proposition to build a team-oriented culture, but it has to be a consistent effort, and definitely takes some training. People are naturally driven to point out their contributions – which is understandable and welcomed. But in a business where they’re servicing a client, they need to understand that the best time and place to do so is with their boss, not to the client. Of course, it’s important to ensure recognition – both good and bad – happens regularly but it must be done in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the client relationship. Remind employees of the greater good that comes from not only working as a team, but thinking and presenting as one.  

Marketing Isn’t Free

in /by

It’s 2019 and there are a lot of free things out there: free apps,  free tools, free help. But there’s one thing that isn’t completely free: effective marketing.

By free, we don’t just mean a monetary cost, although if you really want good marketing, you will eventually need to invest some dollars. But you’ll also have to invest resources – your time, your thought, your team. While it isn’t necessary to dedicate a huge marketing budget to execute some basic marketing – especially for small businesses and startups – there are still costs associated.

As much as we’d all like marketing to be a “set it and forget it” prospect, it simply isn’t. There is not just one magical thing you’ll do – digital advertising, content, PR – that will keep the machine running. The world moves too fast and thus, so must your marketing.

Understand What You Need

Marketing is an oft misunderstood element of business. Many people don’t know where it fits in or what it should support. They’re not sure what programs it entails, and there are a wide array of different types of marketing agencies out there: content specialists, SEO, digital marketing, advertising, social media marketing and more. Disagreements often abound about what equates to a marketing qualified lead (MQL), what marketing’s responsibility should be, and even how much to invest in it. We’ve had prospects inquire about marketing help, only to find out that what they really want is appointment setting services. These are not the same thing.

There are certainly opportunities to execute effective marketing campaigns on small budgets. Neil Patel shares 23 affordable and smart marketing techniques in this blog. But you’ll note that he points out there is still a cost – your time.

Set Expectations Based on Reality

If you do not have the time to invest in marketing efforts, you cannot expect success. If you partner with or hire a marketing consultant or agency but do not participate in the campaigns, they will fail. They simply cannot be successful working in a vacuum. As a brand’s CMO or Director of Marketing – or even a small business or startup owner – you have to be involved to some degree. Even if the agency creates brilliant content, you need to approve it. If the agency secures a speaking opportunity, you or someone at the company must accept it and do it. Perhaps the marketing consultant brings in a qualified lead but you can’t come to an agreement on the working contract with the prospect. Or, maybe your agency creates a compelling landing page with downloadable content but no one follows up on the form leads. These all take time, and without your investment, it can look like marketing has failed when in fact, they have not. If the marketing campaigns bring prospects and opportunities to the door, but you and your team don’t have time or resources to follow through, it is not a marketing fail.

Track Success and Understand Attribution

Which brings us to another point – understand where marketing ends and hands the baton to sales. Track and be clear where leads generate, how long deals take to close, and where prospects fall off if they don’t close. Too often, a MQL will fail to come to fruition in the sales process – so is that a marketing issue or a sales or product issue? Again, it will take an investment of your time and analysis to track and measure results.

At the end of the day, nothing is free. In this day and age of paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) content, there are certainly more opportunities than ever to execute cost-conscious marketing campaigns, which is great. Be sure to set realistic expectations and clear boundaries and assignments – for yourself, for your boss and for any executive or agency with whom you are working.  Only then will you truly reap the benefits of your investment.