Marketing (General)
B2B Firms (Economically) Ramp Up Their Marketing Effort as the Economy Recovers.
Getting and staying ahead of your competition is as important as ever, but as new work continues to trail in slowly, how can firms justify investing more dollars for marketing? With the economic downturn, most firms and industries have learned to become more lean and fit from an operational standpoint. When it comes to marketing, being resourceful and budget-conscious is also the name of the game. While overall methods and strategies have tended to stay solid, tactics have become more nimble and technology-driven. At Marketri, we take this all into consideration when planning for our clients.
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Lessons from Will and Kate: How B2B Marketers can Learn Brand Loyalty from Royalty
Since April 29th, the wedding day of the Prince William and Princess Katherine, 
people from around the world have been captivated by this young couple’s every move. From hosting dignitaries to planting trees to speaking in French to the Canadian people, all eyes and the media spotlight are on how they engage with each other, dress, and greet their many admirers. So far this couple is earning rave reviews, something that the House of Windsor has not received in quite some time. Just a quick glance of the latest Twitter feeds shows how Canada has embraced them and Los Angeles will no doubt do the same later this week.
- @viralloadwarrior- We had William and Katherine in our capital for Canada Day yesterday. Katherine had a great maple leaf hat.
- @nikkis120- #Williamand Katherine are so very nice, I am so looking forward to their arrival in #Calgaryfor the #CalgaryStampedethe #Greatesttime!!!
- @sarahr25- #royaltour2011Katherine looks stunning in that dress. And William sounds so sexy speaking French #wow
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Integrated Marketing 'From Start to Finish' Blog Series: Building the Visual Brand
In our last installment from the Integrated Marketing 'From Start to Finish' Blog Series we discussed the critical first step of developing your company's position strategy. If you read our last article from this Blog Series then you know that this is Part 2 of 4 coming articles on Integrated Marketing from Marketri.
Integrated Marketing 'From Start to Finish' Blog Series: Positioning Strategy
Are you the owner of a small to mid-sized company who doesn’t have the big seven-figure Marketing budget? If so, then you know just how hard it is to stand out from your competition. Over the next few weeks will be writing a series of articles on Integrated Marketing. The goal of the series is to help you go from having no Marketing strategy to a fully integrated Marketing strategy in just a few weeks.
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The Top Five Qualities Your Professional Services Marketer Should Have
Building the right marketing team and gathering the right marketing resources for your professional services firm is not as simple as it may seem. Whether hiring an in-house professional or retaining an external marketing consultant, a firm must evaluate a number of factors and ask themselves many questions before they make a decision. Items to consider include budget, marketing goals and needs, expectations, existing collateral and resources, and so on. If you’re interested in learning more about the marketing process and frequently asked questions in the process of buying marketing services / hiring a marketing professional, be sure to take a look at our three part series that covers all these common questions, from the early stage of the buying process to purchase (Early-stage questions, Mid-stage questions, and Late-stage questions).
Once you’ve evaluated these questions and made the decision to enhance your marketing team, there are a number of traits you should look for in your professional services marketer. In addition to tangible qualifications, like industry and sector experience, a solid marketing degree, and experience managing marketing tactics and strategies, it’s also important to look for these key traits in your next marketing hire. These are the five qualities we have learned to be essential for effective marketing management at any level, from coordinator to CMO.
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Why Professional Services Marketing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Slow and steady wins the race. We all know the mantra, but not everyone realizes how true it holds in professional services marketing! I’m often surprised how frequently firms (and even agencies) expect marketing tactics to be a quick fix to a business’s pain points. What I have found is that marketing is just like a marathon; it requires lots of dedication, preparation, and training. I actually ran my first (and only) marathon around the time I joined Marketri, and I recently found myself thinking about how the lessons I learned while running the marathon apply to professional services marketing. Read on to see how common “marathonisms” can apply to your marketing endeavors.
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Generating Leads is a Primary Role of the Savvy Modern Marketer
What should I expect from my marketing person or department? This is a question that I get asked frequently as an experienced marketer who has worked in-house for big and small companies and as a consultant. My answer 10 years ago would be quite a bit different than my response today! So what has changed? Let’s take a look at the world of a savvy modern marketer.
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Five Tips for the Perfect AEC Industry Media Pitch
Do you want to know the secret to getting a reporter’s attention? Of course you do! About a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Philadelphia chapter event called “Meet the Press,” which featured a panel of journalists covering particular aspects of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. It was interesting to hear their thoughts about what makes a good story pitch, how they prefer to receive information (news tips, press releases, events, interview sources, etc.), what their biggest pet peeves are, and how they really feel about follow-ups.
Below are some key takeaways from the panel discussion that I wanted to share. If you’ve ever been turned down by a reporter, you might want to work these tips into your process for making media pitches. I hope the following tips inspire you to create more meaningful, carefully crafted pitches that speak to the particular reporter and news outlet, and hopefully grab their attention.
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The Top 10 Contact Management Considerations for CPA Firms
It seems that the daunting task of managing contacts and CRM systems has followed me throughout my career, despite my tireless efforts to avoid it! In my first job out of college, I was tasked with helping to set up a customizable contact management system, along with importing tons of information and keeping it up to date. To say that I was confused and overwhelmed by the process and the enormity of it all would be an understatement. When I began working at Marketri a couple years later, I was relieved to learn that we already had a great contact management system in place. I simply was responsible for keeping it clean and up to date. However, as my responsibilities at Marketri grew and I began to work as an account manager serving our clients, I began to encounter some of the all too familiar contact management challenges. It seems that the process of managing contacts and selecting a CRM system is a common challenge among small and mid-sized professional services firms. In our experience, we have found this to be especially true for our accounting firm clients. As a result, I have found myself pulled back into the grips of the contact management monster.
Fortunately, due to the growing number of accounting clients who have sought our help in this area, Marketri has fine-tuned the process for assessing contact management needs and effectively approaching the process for implementing a new system. So, if you’ve been tasked with helping your accounting firm navigate the messy seas of contact management, don’t send out that S.O.S. signal just yet! The considerations below will help you wrap your head around your firm’s needs and point you in the right direction.
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CPA Content Marketing: Four Examples of Superb Content by Accountants
B2B buyers complete nearly 60 percent of their purchase decision online before they even engage a sales representative, according to research by Google and CEM. What does this mean for your business? Quite simply, it suggests that if your online presence doesn’t knock prospective clients’ socks off, you could be out of the game before you even know you’re in it.
As more purchasing decisions are made online and more firms embrace content marketing, only accounting firms with extraordinary content will stand out in the new B2B marketplace. I’m sorry to say it, but that blog you haven’t updated since January simply isn’t going to cut it. Accounting firms must consider how to create online content that’s helpful and engaging enough to keep prospects coming back again and again.
Below, I’ve shared examples of four different types of great accounting content. My hope is that they will inspire you to produce bigger, better content that will keep your firm growing in the new era of B2B marketing.
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