A lot of firms struggle with choosing a market sector in which to focus their marketing efforts. To build your brand, you need to identify the type of work you seek. This declaration should be formalized in a strategic plan. But don’t let this scare you. Strategic planning has a reputation for being difficult, complicated and time consuming. Typically the process begins with a SWOT analysis looking at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Here is a simplified version focusing on your strengths.I recently had an opportunity to see Chip Heath speak about his new book Switch. Chip, along with his brother Dan, also wrote the fantastic Made To Stick. In Switch, they introduce a concept called “Find the Bright Spots.” Bright spots, as applied to your marketing, are successful efforts that you’ve already been doing, and simply repeating them.
Create Your Top 10
First, make a list of the top 10 projects you’ve ever worked on. Yes, I know “top” is ambiguous and purposely so. To be meaningful, YOU need to define top. Top could mean revenue, creativity, great people, fun, social good, publicity or some combination thereof. Whatever your definition of top is, it must embody the type of projects that you’d love to work on next. Marketing is all about the work that you seek.
Discover What’s Working
Next, create a grid with your top 10 projects listed down the left side. Across the top, list the following questions to ask about each project:
How did this client learn about your firm?
Why were you hired? What other reasons did they hire you?
Type of project by service?
Type of client by vertical market (biotech or tourism for example)?
What time of year were you hired?
Any professional affiliations of the key decision makers?
Gender and age of the key decision makers?
You should be asking these important questions each time you get hired (and not hired). There is no expiration date on asking. Don’t assume why you get hired and then go out and repeat the wrong the things.
Let The Patterns Define Your Strategy
As you can imagine, you are looking for patterns to emerge in the grid you’ve created above. If you notice a large percentage of projects in a certain vertical market, this defines your niche. A certain service that shows up frequently can further define your speciality. If you see a pattern of why you get hired, then this becomes the positioning for your next ad campaign, tagline and website messaging. The goal is to market “with the flow” of what you are already doing well.
I know there are bright spots in your marketing or you wouldn’t be in business. Don’t focus on the problems. Yes, there is something innately satisfying about figuring out what’s broken and then fixing it. But if you focus on what is working, the “bright spots,” this path of least resistance will bring you successwith greater ease.
What Do You Think? What insights did gain from creating your Top 10 list?
Are there other areas of your business that you can leverage what is already working?
How could you apply these principles to your life?
I recently led my training seminar How To Become a Creative Superhero for The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). A critical lesson in the seminar is that failure is essential to success. I know…this seems wacky. But we must fail, and the benefits are below. Embracing failure as part of your creative process lands you on the path to marketing (and life) success.
If You’re Not Failing, You’re Not Living
Much of marketing professional services is demonstrating meaningful differentiation from your competitors. To do so, you’ve got to consistently communicate your uniqueness in new ways. Being different requires taking risks. Hugh Mcleaod says “great new ideas have lonely childhoods.” Creating something new can be messy, uncomfortable and unknown. It requires great courage. Even the world’s best fail. “Talent and intelligence never innoculate anyone against failure,” reminds J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
The Benefits of Failure
Failure teaches you things that you could learn no other way. As Bucky Fuller says, “You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.” This philosophy is the heart of the Japanese business concept “kaizen” (continual improvement). By pushing against, and breaking through boundaries, you develop a range of acceptable solutions. It’s also liberating to have your biggest fear (failure) be realized, and know you are still alive to create brilliance. Your subconscious mind wants you to succeed. You can see this in mini-failures that are actually “happy accidents.” This happened to me recently in a client presentation when the words out of my mouth were not what I intended (aka Freudian slip), but were actually considerably better. Be sure to recognize the gifts of failure when they show up in your creative process.
Build Failure Into Your Process
Like life itself, the creative process is beyond our total control. Accept it when failure shows up as a guest in your creative house. Greet failure and keep moving. This simple acceptance opens you up to the creative magic that will flow. The goal is to embrace failure early and frequently. You can even make it fun. Consider offering a booby prize to the person that comes up with the most ridiculous idea in your next brainstorming session. Be sure to save your ideas that don’t make the cut. They are simply solutions to the next creative problem. Plus, nobody has to see your “sketches.” You only need to unveil your final work of art.
Failure is like spinach for Popeye: it doesn’t kill us and only makes us stronger. The mind once stretched to a new idea never regains its original shape. Now take your newfound love of failure and incorporate it into your next creative marketing project.
As we leave the Information Age to enter the Conceptual Age, we need a new kind of hero. Dan Pink declares in A Whole New Mind that right-brainers will rule the future. Creative ideas are the currency successful marketers use to elevate their firm, stretch their budget and build their brand. But unlike superheros, creative ideas don’t just magically appear when you need them. Similar to Bruce Wayne entering the batcave to become Batman, here is a process that will transcend you from mere mortal into Creative Superhero.
1. Define the Task – First you must determine what is needed, why now, who is it for, and what resources are available. Creativity also craves boundaries (like a deadline and budget.) Be sure to elicit early support from anyone that can approve or reject your ideas. This phase should culminate in a creative brief that will be a target to use when measuring possible solutions. For a free sample of a creative brief template that we use at LecoursDesign, click here.
2. Investigate – Immerse yourself in your audience’s world and ask illuminating questions. Within the answers, creative solutions will begin to emerge. Search for a way to connect with your audience on an emotional level.
3. Create – Let the ideas flow by focusing on quantity over quality. I heed an image on my studio wall that says “Do Not Fall in Love with Your First Idea.” There are no bad nor perfect ideas. Make it playful and fun. Break this phase up into several short sessions and always be ready to capture ideas in between. Be sure to drink from a well of creative inspiration because output is directly related to input. Silence your inner critic “faster than a speeding bullet” or it will weaken you like Kryptonite.
4. Incubate – Leave your initial ideas alone for a day or two. There’s a reason people say they get their best ideas in the shower, on a walk, or while driving. The subconscious mind is powerful if you just let it emerge.
5. Analyze – Eliminate the weaker solutions from phase 3. Watch for safe ideas that your boss or client may like but you know aren’t exceptional. Don’t let the good get in the way of the great.
6. Refine – Prototype and refine the top 2-3 solutions while continually looking for improvements. If stuck, review the brief from phase 1.
7. Deliver – Make a big deal of presenting your ideas. Give them the reverence they deserve by presenting in person. Anticipate any concerns before presenting.
8. Measure – Create a feedback loop by measuring success against the objectives established in phase 1 for continual improvement.
We are all creative and I believe that innovating is a learned skill. Batman used his ingenuity to design the Batmobile and other cool gadgets to give him a competitive advantage. Nurturing your creativity can do the same for you.
Would you like me to lead an interactive in-house seminar or deliver a keynote speech to your organization on this topic? E-mail me to discuss.
By now, you should have started creating your Marketing Plan/Budget. Here are three tips to guide you, because as you’ve probably heard, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” I know it’s tempting to simply copy and paste last year’s plan but this is a bit like driving while only looking in the rear-view mirror. Market opportunities, alliances, relationships are constantly changing so your Marketing Plan needs to evolve as well.
1. What to Include
A good Marketing Plan is a one year roadmap of how you will achieve your firm’s Strategic Plan. Here is what you should include: Budget (see below), Staffing (who will do what and by when), Timeline (prioritized sequencing of implementation), Promotional Mix (advertising, web site, social media, brochure, video PR, events, etc.). If you need help in this area, I can recommend a consultant. To help you get started, click here for a free .pdf map to help you through the process.
2. Ask for the Money
Don’t be timid in asking for a healthy budget that will allow you to effectively market your firm. There are three methods I know of to create your budget. Projection is taking last year’s budget, and based on projected growth or decline, adjust this year’s budget. Percentage is taking a straight 10″“15% of gross revenues. I recommend Goal-Based; which is taking each goal from your Strategic Plan and breaking down what it will cost to achieve that goal. You can then check this against Projection and Percentage to make sure your budget request is realistic. Your labor costs should be 50″“70% of your overall budget with promotional costs covering the remaining 30″“50%. I’m happy to provide rough estimates to help with budget requests. Is it likely that your plan might change throughout the year? Absolutely. But if you don’t ask for the money now, it will surely be designated to something else later when you really need it.
3. Implementing the Plan
Having a plan is a great first step, but implementation is what you will be measured against. First, form a core Marketing Team (not too big, but with enough Principal muscle to be influential). Marketing Plans will fail unless the talent responsible for implementation is involved in the creation of the plan. Share the Marketing Plan with everyone in the organization because marketing the firm is everyone’s business. Finally, review and measure on a regular basis (at least monthly). Be sure to share success stories internally. This demonstrates the value of marketing and builds momentum and morale.
Just doing what you’ve always done will get you what you’ve always got. So invest in your Marketing Plan to be a beacon for your best year yet. This will help to prioritize proactive and reactive opportunities and make the most of your time and money.
What Do You Think? Is this helpful to get you started in creating your marketing plan? Is there anything else that you include in your marketing plan?
What are some ways you motivate your team to support your marketing plan?
Brands are typically thought of as products (iPhone) or services (Gensler). But you should consider yourself a brand as well. A compelling personal brand will help anyone that wants to stand out and thrive. To paraphrase Tom Peters in his seminal Fast Company article, A Brand Called You, start thinking of yourself as the Chief Marketing Officer of Brand You. Here are three steps to build Brand You.
1. What’s Your Story?
A brand is a story told in the marketplace. So step one is to unearth your story. Since people buy with emotion and justify with fact, a compelling story is what helps you to persuade. So, what is it that makes you unique and valuable? What are you most passionate about or proud of? What would your clients or colleagues say is your greatest strength? Think back to the last few times someone complimented you about your work. Is there a pattern of consistent praise that is unique to you? If you can’t remember, start a victory journal that records your accomplishments and compliments. Still stumped? Do a little market research by asking your friends, family and co-workers. It’ll boost your self-esteem and provide insight. At this point, don’t worry about the exact words of your story. We’ll address that next.
2. Brand Positioning
A brand’s positioning is the mindspace you occupy in your audience’s head. It is the articulation of your story highlighting what you do that adds remarkable, measurable and distinctive value. This positioning statement becomes your networking introduction when someone asks “what do you do for work?” It should be 15 words or less and ideally be something that only you can claim. It should include the following elements: “I am a [occupation] providing [range of services] to [categories of clients]. My [unique selling point] provides [specific benefits].” My sounds like this, “I am a consultant providing branding guidance to AEC firms. My visual and verbal story expertise helps clients win new business. Like the premise of a good movie, your positioning must be clear and compelling so others will spread your story via word-of-mouth.
3. You Deserve Promotion
Brand awareness is the final step in building your brand. Your target audience needs to know you exist and what you can do for them. I’m guessing that Superbowl ads and billboards aren’t in your personal budget so here are some tips. If your employer allows, do some moonlighting (either freelance or volunteer). I learned a ton about e-mail marketing and met many contacts as Marketing Chair of USGBC. Try teaching or making presentations to demonstrate your expertise. If you are verbally challenged, writing for trade publications is excellent visibility. As long as you are learning, growing, building relationships and delivering on your brand promise, both Brand You and your company will benefit.
