Latest posts
The Marketing Brochure and the Peter Principle
When a prospect asks for a brochure, what is s/he really saying? “Wow! I really love what I am hearing. I want to share your brilliant solution with my colleagues. But, there is no way I could articulate your sales pitch as well as you. I need a brochure to do it for...
When It’s Time to Reinvent the Firm
At some point, the capability, service or consulting model that built your brand becomes commoditized, trite or simply out of fashion in the business world. You have stopped growing and redesigning your logo isn’t going to fix it. It happened to actuaries at the HR...
Why Top Firms Share Good, Bad and Ugly Client References
Why do firms only give out good references? Before making most purchases—large or small—I do my research. Amazon, Yelp, REI, Angie’s List and retail sites all give me opportunities to read client references. When I read reviews, I first read the five-star reviews and...
The Quest for the Perfect Professional Services Tagline
Professional services leaders and marketers often look at B2C companies as the yardstick for branding and taglines for their own firms. Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola are brands that often come to mind. We are familiar with them all and have probably been “inspired” by...
Integrity Test
I was in a meeting recently where a leadership team was grappling with their long-term direction. They’re doing what many leadership teams must do – trying to discern how to kick-start growth in their business. It complicates things that they work in the healthcare...
Organizational Dysfunction’s Impact On Growth in Professional Services
Most firms never achieve their growth potential because they neither recognize nor address the fundamental issue limiting their growth-organizational dysfunction.
How to Eliminate the Pain of CRM in Your Firm
Recently, I was in a meeting of senior accounting marketers. As we were discussing challenges, ALL were bemoaning the use of—or the lack of the use of—their firm’s CRM system. I heard complaints like: “It’s like pulling teeth to get our partners to use it. “ “It’s too...
When Your Market Shifts and Kills Your Strategy
How do you know when your market is shifting? It is a fundamental question that should be asked in most firms much more often than it is. Signs that your market is shifting include slowing sales, a remix of your service revenue, declining profitability, changing buyer...
A Marketing Manifesto
For four weeks, I have the pleasure of being in Rochelle Moulton’s inaugural Instant Authority program with a group of talented professionals from firms big and small. The goal of the group is to parlay our talents, experiences, and point of view into a one-of-a-kind...
What Can You Learn When You Follow Clients Home?
What does the voice of the client look like? I recently spoke to a former researcher for Leo Burnett about voice of the client. She was describing her passion for getting to know her clients’ customers and their ideas through focus groups and one-on-one conversations....
What is Marketing’s Role?: 2 Schools of Thought on Professional Services Marketing
What is Marketing's Role in Your Firm? Every year about this time cyclists ramp up an enduring argument. If you are a cyclist, you know where I am going; it's the great base-building debate. There are two schools of thought. The first is traditional, laid back and...
The Black Eye
Last weekend, I cross-trained on the hockey rink with my bicycling buddies. After nearly two hours of play, I got tangled up with an opponent and went down. While I was relieved to not need dental work or stitches, I was bloody and bruised. My wife was horrified to...