The three sessions aimed to provide a well-rounded approach for launching and nurturing a startup. As the final session, our panel focused on evolving your strategy through marketing. And with the ever-changing marketing landscape, we were excited to cover a range of topics and answer a host of questions.

Nearly 100 attendees joined our panel of experts, including Jeremie Bacon, CEO, Backstop Solutions; Stella Fayman, CEO, FeeFighters; Derek Koenig, CMO, Akoo International; Ross Shelleman, CEO, Target Data. I served as panel facilitator for the 1-hour session.

In addition to a packed house of attendees, the Twitterverse joined in the session. Using the hashtag #startupgrowth (some tweets are still available for review on Twitter), professionals across the country were able to join the conversation, and attendees were able to extend the conversation beyond the session.

Certainly, our discussion could have gone on for hours, but with only one hour we got into as much depth and detail as possible. For those who could not attend—and are looking for ways to evolve their marketing strategy—here are three key takeaways from the session:

1.  You can’t hide from social media. Maybe you (erroneously) hoped it was a fad. Or maybe you were scared to branch out because of a few horror stories. But social media is a crucial component to any successful marketing strategy. Not only is it an effective and cost-efficient way to build relationships with your target audiences, it is one of the best tools for small businesses looking to compete with the “big boys.” In many instances, social media levels the playing field for small- to mid-size companies looking to stand out and take their businesses to the next level. Just be sure to make your posts relevant and not just a sales pitch. Remember this little golden rule from Derek Koenig: Why should I care? Why should I share? In other words, keep your audience in mind and make your posts important and interesting so that you make a connection—ultimately causing the reader to engage (either with you or by sharing your information with their network).

Social media also enables businesses to more easily extend their public relations reach—especially when budgets are tight which is typically the case for start-ups. Media, reporters, bloggers and industry experts are active on social media and by tapping the various platforms you can easily reach and engage with them and their audiences. Social media is both time- and cost-effective. So, if you’re a business looking to grow, begin by building critical relationships with industry influencers via social media.

2.  Don’t waste your cold calling time by starting too low. Sure, you may just be starting out. Or maybe you’ve been on your feet for a bit. But are you selling yourself short during cold calls? Let’s face it, most of us don’t enjoy making cold calls. But they are still one of the most effective ways to generate new business, and they are a crucial component to successful marketing for startups. So while you may dread cold calls, do yourself a favor and at least make those calls more effective. Don’t settle for gatekeepers or low-level employees—aim for the top. Go directly for the CEOs and head decision-makers at your target clients. In today’s professional arena, CEOs are more accessible than ever. Using LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, you should be able to get the contact and background information you need to reach the right people.

I believe that you can NEVER underestimate the power of referrals to help you get in the door with a new contact or client, and the panelists all agreed. Stella said to be persistent and talk to anyone and everyone to make your connections. She highly recommends reaching out to potential business partners to facilitate introductions. Ross Shelleman stressed that the first step in securing a solid referral is to make sure you deliver on what you say you’re going to deliver. That’s so true!

3.  ROI is key to your short- and long-term success. Is your current marketing working? Now…did you have to think about the answer? At the startup stage, it is crucial that you are aware of how every penny is spent—and the results of those pennies. Formulate numbers for every resource and tactic you employ, and visit those numbers regularly to assess and make changes when necessary. When you make decisions for your business, they must be backed up by metrics—no exceptions. Bottom line: ROI is king. You must run your business based on numbers, hire based on numbers, and invest and grow based on numbers. You owe it to yourself and your business to be as thorough as possible. Follow through on this step, and you’ll already be ahead of the competition.

Now that you’ve got some tips to help propel the growth of your startup, it’s time to get out there and start implementing them! And if you’re looking for more marketing tips and tools, feel free to stop by the ClearEdge Marketing blog or read ClearEdge Connects, our e-newsletter. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/clearedgemktg.

Back in December, we shared some insights and revelations gleaned from ClearEdge President Leslie Vickrey’s facilitation of the 2011 TechServe Alliance Conference & Tradeshow. The conference included more than 60 women who work for or own IT services and staffing firms. Roundtable discussions covered relevant topics like social media, mentoring, recruiting & sales and employee retention.

Do you ever wonder what happens after these roundtable discussions? Whatever comes from them? 

Here at ClearEdge Marketing, we are constantly evolving and implementing some of the “tricks” and tools we share with our clients. And true to our word, we recently implemented a new employee recognition program. Our new quarterly employee recognition award—the Edge Award—was given to Marketing Director Carrie Loch. Carrie joined the ClearEdge team in 2009, and has emerged as a leader within our organization. She consistently demonstrates the highest level of service to her clients, and is the first to pitch in and help the team. We are proud to recognize Carrie’s efforts with the Edge Award!

You can reward and recognize your employees—now!

Employee recognition doesn’t always require a formal reward. As a matter of fact, you can create a culture of recognition (and retain your top talent) using some of these tips:

1. Get creative…or not. Maybe you’ve been itching to create a new award system. Quarterly, monthly or even weekly, you want to enact all the bells and whistles. That sounds great! But maybe your culture is a little different, or you don’t have the time and budget to institute a formal award. Employee recognition can be as small as sharing “kudos” during team meetings, or personally delivering praise and positive feedback on performance.
2. Be consistent. It’s great that you want to recognize the contributions of your employees, but if you don’t make a habit of it, you may lose the respect of your employees. New programs or initiatives can sometimes come and go, but when it comes to recognizing the efforts of your employees, don’t let it fall by the wayside. Experts say that habits can take 21 days to formulate. So start at the top, and assign one act of employee recognition to your managers and leaders. Pretty soon, you’ll have a culture of recognition—and happier employees!
3. Involve the team. A culture of recognition and support includes positive encouragement and recognition not only from management, but from within the organization. Find ways to involve the entire team in your culture of recognition. Take a few minutes during team meetings to encourage your employees to share positive feedback. Or if your team is nervous about speaking up, designate an area where your employees can anonymously deliver positive feedback to their co-workers. When your employees feel like valued members of the team, from management and their peers, they are less likely to be led astray by the competition!

Still looking for a little inspiration? Employee recognition programs are integral components of many top businesses:

Apple - Apple is known for its incredible security and secrecy. They’ve even gone so far as to hire employees for “fake” jobs to assess credibility and trustworthiness! But the company also realizes that without their top talent, their success would take a nosedive. As a result, the company has instituted extensive employee discounts—available to everyone from senior management down to part-time employees in their Apple Stores. Just last month, Apple added to its already-generous employee discount plan, with an additional $500 savings on a new Mac, and $250 off an iPad. Apple CEO Tim Cook even sent an email to the entire Apple team, thanking them for their contributions to the continued success of the organization. With a large company like Apple, it could be easy for recognition to get lost in the shuffle, or handed down to low-level managers. Instead, their culture of appreciation and recognition goes straight to the top.

Google - Fortune has named Google its #1 place to work in the country, and it’s not without good reason. Leadership at Google understands how difficult it is to find and retain top talent, and they’ve made a cultural commitment to keeping their employees where they belong. From free gourmet food to laundry facilities to surprise $1,000 bonuses and 10% raises, Google is constantly finding new ways to recognize the contributions of their employees and invest in their talent.

Wegmans - The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain has seen double-digit growth in past years. How do they do it? Their motto is, “Employees first, customers second.” The company understands that to delight customers and surpass expectations, they must invest in the satisfaction of their employees. Back in the 1950s, founder Robert Wegman instituted a then unheard-of employee benefits program, understanding even then the value of a happy and healthy team. The company also makes a significant investment in its employees, offering extensive training and cross-training opportunities, as well as an extensive scholarship program for employees and their families. It’s an investment that has paid off. In addition to their incredible growth, approximately 20 percent of their employees have been with the company for 10 years or longer. In an industry with high turnover, the number is astounding. The industry turnover rate is approximately 19 percent. Wegmans’ turnover rate? A mere 6 percent.

Afraid you can’t compete with the high-level programs available at companies like Apple and Google? Don’t be! These are great examples to get your creative juices flowing, but they won’t be an instant fit for every organization. Whether you have a staff of 10 or 1,000, you can implement an effective employee recognition program that is right for your business.

Feeling motivated? Get out there and start recognizing your employees! And be sure to come back to our blog and share your successes.

If you are like most sales and recruiting professionals in the staffing industry, you’re probably sick and frustrated with hearing your prospects and customers tell you “we’re not hiring and we have no budget.” How does one overcome such an objection? Better yet, how does one even engage in a meaningful conversation when you know your prospect or customer is operating under those circumstances? Here is an idea that has worked for me… and hundreds of others.

As we all know, the employment market is currently very challenging and many or most organizations do not have budget to hire consultants. But rather than hoping our prospect or client don’t bring up the “no budget/not hiring” objection, we need to do the opposite. We need to bring it up. Yes, you read that correctly. We, as sales people, need to bring up that objection and address it head-on. If we don’t address it head on, and instead, wait for our prospect or customer to bring it up (which we know they will), then we’re stuck in objection handling mode. And coming up with a rebuttal for this objection is much more difficult to overcome than if we address this objection on our terms. Here is an abbreviated sample conversation:

Recruiter/Sales Rep: “John, can I assume your business circumstances are similar to most of my other customers in that you’re not hiring and don’t have budget to hire any additional help now or in the near future?”

Customer: “Yes Dan, that is the case. I wish I could, but the funding is locked down. We are currently not spending any money on new hires. Try me back in 6 months.”

Recruiter/Sales Rep: [Show empathy for his current situation] “Gosh John, how are you and your team coping with that?”

Customer: “Well Dan, we are swamped, but we are getting by.”

Recruiter/Sales Rep: “John, now that we understand that and expectations are clear that you don’t have budget to hire, let’s change gears and talk about your current projects and all this work that is keeping you so busy.”

Customer: “Uh, ok Dan, what specifically would you like to discuss?” From here we steer the conversation to learn more about the specific details of their projects and more specifically the challenges and issues the customer currently faces.

By leading with the objection we take away the prospect’s excuse for not talking with us. Now that we have eliminated their objection from their “bag of objections,” we are able to move forward with the conversation and discuss their projects and challenges.

Now you may be asking yourself, “Why would I want to talk with a manager who has no budget and can’t hire?” Because in a down economy, you have to actually sell in order to generate job orders and make placements. And by selling, I mean creating sales opportunities where no pre-defined, budget approved job order exists. More specifically, you have to identify the customer’s pain points or critical business issues and then convert that into a job order. And right now, in this tough economy, your prospects and customers have a ton of “pain.” You just have to identify it and convert it into a sales opportunity.

The difference between a down economy and a good economy is that in a good economy, your customers have these very same issues and challenges, but you never know about them because you never have to ask. They just give you a job order. But now, in a down economy, you have to uncover what those issues are and sell to them. You have to offer a solution to their problem. In a good economy, they do that for you by developing a pre-defined job order. If you’re not familiar with this style of selling (it’s the only way to sell in this market) you should try reading my industry white paper Effective Sales Strategies for Selling IT Staffing During a Recession.

In a tough economy, you need to stop seeking out pre-defined job orders and instead seek out customer problems. It’s only when you find a customer problem that you have an opportunity to make a sale.

Happy Selling.

About The Menemsha Group
The Menemsha Group, author of the Menemsha Methodology, a proprietary methodology for selling IT Professional Services, is dedicated to serving sales professionals in the IT Staffing & Consulting industry. Leveraging the Menemsha Methodology, sales professionals are equipped with the necessary tools, knowledge, and self-confidence to sell up the customer value chain, resulting in high-end gross profit margins and bill rates. Our content & training is focused exclusively on wining strategic IT staffing engagements including the placement of senior-level IT practitioners and winning IT projects. The Menemsha Methodology provides a predictable and repeatable process guaranteeing success in selling IT professional services. www.menemshagroup.com.

Picture if you will, a packed room of 60+ women all who work for or own IT services and staffing firms. Can you see it in your mind? Now, visualize that these women are all actively participating in lively and interactive discussions examining critical and provocative business issues relative to the IT services and staffing industry.

Got a clear picture? Well, now you know what the scene was like in Phoenix, AZ, last month at the Sixth Annual Women’s Luncheon during the 2011 TechServe Alliance Conference & Tradeshow.

ClearEdge Marketing was a proud sponsor of the luncheon with our own president, Leslie Vickrey—a well-known veteran marketer in the IT staffing and solutions industry—serving as the discussion facilitator.

For those who were unable to attend the conference luncheon (and it was a great one!), visit the ClearEdge Facebook page to view photos with highlights from the packed Women’s Luncheon, below. Enjoy the recap!

Remember the Importance of Role Models

Leslie kicked off the luncheon with a poignant story about role models. She specifically mentioned her own mother (a guest at the luncheon!) and how she learned so much from watching her career over the years. From job moves to launching ClearEdge—her mother’s advice has been instrumental.

She then asked the attendees to think about how important role models have been in their career (and personal) development. Role models are critical in establishing who each person becomes. Whether you have role models or act as a mentor to someone else, it’s the fact that this mentorship and experience structure exists that is so important.

To wrap up her opening remarks, Leslie challenged the group to think about what they can each do to help teach one another. How can you be a better mentor?

Roundtable Discussion Topics

The roundtable discussions varied and included the following topics:

• How far into social media should you be?
• Is your sales turnover high enough? Why managing out underperformers is a must.
• The best performance metrics for an IT staffing business.
• How to groom talent within your own business.

Roundtable Discussion Key Findings

Discover the key findings around these topics.

Mentors

• Establish a mentoring program to foster talent development.
• To help enhance the predominance of the mentor program and help individuals gain recognition, add mentors to individual titles.

Social Media

In a poll of the room, when asked who was active on social media, only half the room raised their hands. Clearly it’s time to get social! Other findings around social media included:

• LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, not surprisingly, were the top three social media sites used by attendees.
• Who owns social media? Answers varied, but for the majority, it was either marketing or recruiting.
• How should a company manage social media? The best approach was to establish a team approach or taskforce.
• Measurement was identified as key to participating in social media.
• How do you measure social media? In other words, how do you determine what worked and what didn’t? Google Analytics is the overwhelming tool used to measure results and ROI.
• What are some creative ways to use social media to drive website traffic? Attendees use social media to drive traffic to their website. If traffic increases, then social media is working.
• Others have taken to adding reading lists on their company LinkedIn Group page as conversation starters and traffic drivers.

To learn how to use social media to amplify up your recruiting efforts, download our recent webinar: Supercharge Your Recruiting Efforts Through Social Media, held in conjunction with TechServe Alliance.

Employee Motivation & Retention

What are some creative ideas you have implemented to help boost employee morale?

• Establish an MVP of the Week for consultants. This will help consultants feel more connected. Boomerang was recommended as an easy tool to launch such a program.
• Host contests and time-off incentives as a way to recognize stellar work.
• Launch “fun days” such as crazy tie day or sports team apparel day (in line with big games or season launches) as a way to boost morale.

Recruiting & Sales

How can the relationship between recruiting and sales be enhanced?

• Consider equal pay for sales and recruiting to lessen the divide and foster team building.
• Establish a mentoring program where in senior recruiters train new recruiters. The key is to incent both the senior and junior recruiter (split commission during training).
• Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics. Hold sales accountable to metrics in CRM by turning metrics into reality. Make sure metrics are real—that they reflect real data and true effort.
• When recruiting, pay close attention for candidates that are “base salary” obsessed. This is a red flag that they are not self-motivated and not right for sales. Top sales performers want less base and more earning potential.

Miscellaneous Office Management

• Cross train skill sets to build the strongest team possible.
• There is a perception that “average” performers are neglected because the focus is on “toxic” performers—the squeaky wheel syndrome. For the betterment of the team, it’s imperative to take action sooner than later so you can focus on grooming the average performer into a stellar performer.
• Everyone agreed that timely time sheet entering and submission is a key challenge. It was suggested to take a positive approach and reward those who are regularly on time instead of continuing to focus on those who fail to enter on time.

At the end of the roundtable discussions, all of the findings were collected and presented as a whole to the group during a debriefing session of lessons learned.

Roundtable Discussion Moderators

Thank you to the wonderful group of women who served as table moderators and helped to foster such engaging small-group discussions.

• Threase Baker, Vice President of Operations & Owner, ABBTECH
• Jamie Delsing, Managing Partner, Consultis
• Leah McKelvey, Director, Corporate Marketing, CareerBuilder
• Stephanie Schroeder, Vice President, NetEffects
• Susan Thaden, President/CEO, Client Resources, Inc.
• Amy Vasquez, Executive Vice President, Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3)
• Karen Wilson, President, MAKE Corporation
• Mindy Zaziski, President & COO, FYI Business Solutions

All and all, it was a great afternoon of networking, camaraderie, strategies, best practices and laughs. We can’t wait for next year’s luncheon!

Have anything to add to the discussion? How have mentors influenced your career and life? How active are you on social media? How do you motivate and retain employees? How do you foster a stronger relationship between sales and recruiting? And, lastly, do you have any general business recommendations to share?

On one hand, company holiday greetings are a great opportunity to reach out to your employees, clients and prospects. You get a chance to put yourself in front of them all wrapped in the warm and fuzzy stuff and build good will on the company’s behalf. On the other hand, with such a wide and diverse audience, you have to navigate the pitfalls of looking goofy, unprofessional or even worse, being offensive.

It is also important to note that — as with any communication and especially digital ones — you are fighting for an infinitesimal window of attention. Make it interesting. Make it entertaining. And, in one way or another, make it personal. Here are some of our favorite examples of well-executed company holiday cards, videos and gifts to guide you.

CARDS and E-CARDS
The choice between cards that are printed or digital depends largely on your budget. A printed card will carry more weight as it represents a bigger investment of resources and time and possibly even personal touch if it’s been signed. However, a digital card can offer more creativity and will reach a wider audience — not to mention, you know if and exactly when they’ll arrive.

Regardless of which way you go, there are a few things that are good to consider. Always keep your company culture in mind as well as the audience that will be receiving your card. Touches of personalization and originality — from the earnestness of the first example to the disco music and friendly faces of the next two — impart a genuine feel that goes a long way.

	“It Is Simply a Joy Doing Business With You” – as simple as this print card is, it strikes the perfect balance between a sincere holiday spirit and saying anything too specific that might alienate the reader depending on how they celebrate the holidays. View the card.

	“Be Groovin’ Holiday” – fast, easy and potentially addictive, e-cards are a fun way to send a greeting using popular holiday hits that get your feet tapping. View the e-card.

	“The .Gif That Keeps on Giving” – create a web page for your holiday greeting. Make it fun, inclusive and unforgettable — and watch your page views soar! View the web page.

VIDEOS
“Live greetings” are getting more and more popular and it’s clear why: They are
warm, human and invariably feel more real than a generic or über-polished card. Don’t let technical quality stop you. As you will see in these examples, it is the effort and vulnerability of putting yourself on video that wins the audience over.

	“Baby It’s Cold Outside” – tap into your team’s talent and record a holiday tune that will earn you the same standing ovation third-grade plays do. View the video.

	“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – grab your Smartphone or Flip camera and get to recording! A short message from the CEO or a compilation of snippets from the executive team will come across as personable and original. View the video.

	“Happy Holidays From Next New Networks!” – recruit your millennial employees and let them loose on iMovie. See what interesting and out-of-the-envelope ideas come back! View the video.

GIFTS
When it comes to gifts, there are a few rules to follow. Keep it tasteful and all-inclusive. Gauge by the recipient’s culture if they are open to items such as alcohol before you tie a bow on that bottle of Hennessy. If you aren’t sure, steer clear of it altogether. Find out which of your clients have gift policies, and if so, what they allow. Here are some sweet and safe ideas we love.

	Gift basket – always a crowd-pleaser, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a tasty impression. View gift baskets.

	Charity gift certificates – share in the season of giving by giving charity gift certificates. You provide the donation; your recipient chooses the charity. View a charitable option.

	Chocolates sporting your logo – choose a universally loved gift of deliciousness and customize it with your logo so your recipient knows just who to thank for this sweet surprise. View the goodness of chocolate.

Other Yummy Gift Ideas from the ClearEdge Team

• Carol’s Cookies
• Vosges Haut-Chocolat
• Cherry Republic
• Deeply Fudgey Brownies

What are some of your favorite holiday greetings and/or gifts? How is your company spreading the holiday cheer (and its brand) this season? Are you mailing cards, sending emails or recording videos? How about gifts? What type of gifts are you considering?

Testing should not be taken lightly

I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for the finale of this email trilogy! Before we get into it, let’s recap what we talked about in part 1 and part 2 of Email Marketing Should Still be a Part of Your Marketing Mix.

• In part 1, we reviewed the major email marketing vendors such as Campaign Monitor, StreamSend and Vertical Response and why you should choose one over another as well as best practices for improving your email marketing including: using pre-header text, table of contents, buttons and links and logos and images (and image blocking).
• In part 2, we continued with best practices for improving your email marketing including integrating social media, creating emails for mobile and using plain-text emails.

In this final blog, we’re taking a deep dive into email testing (which in my opinion is the most important thing you can do to ensure success). So, let’s get to it!

More Than Looking Pretty

I can’t stress enough the importance of testing your emails. You should not only test for grammar and spelling errors, but also to ensure your emails are rendering properly in different email systems. Furthermore, you should be testing various subject lines, sender details, times of day and days of the week, etc. as these can have a big impact on open and click through rates. That’s what’s great about email marketing; you can test many variations instantly see results and update accordingly!

Testing subject lines, sender details, etc. is typically referred to as A/B testing—a baseline sample that is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve response rates. Email marketing vendors are getting smarter and smarter everyday on A/B testing and some of them are working to improve A/B testing functionality. For example, Campaign Monitor has this really cool A/B testing feature where you choose what to test (i.e. subject line), and what metrics decide the winner (i.e. open rate). Then the tool will send both versions to a small subset of recipients, see which version preforms better, and automatically send the winning version to the remainder of your list.

I personally haven’t seen any other A/B testing as easy as this, but it’s not to say that A/B testing isn’t possible with other email marketing vendors. It’s usually more of a manual process. Bottom line: whatever vendor you choose, be sure to A/B test as much as you can. It will give you important benchmarks and information that you can use in your future campaigns.

Don’t Forget, Emails Should Still Look Pretty

A/B testing is just one part of testing emails. I know I said that it’s more than just looking pretty, but really it should look pretty too. Make sure that you are testing so your emails render properly in different email systems such as Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo!, etc. Email marketing vendors such as StreamSend and Campaign Monitor have a tool you can use to view emails in different systems. They show you screenshots of how the email appears in all of the major email systems and will show you how they look with images turned on and images turned off. Furthermore, these tools will send emails through real spam filters such as SpamAssassin, Postini, Baracuda, and tell you which ones passed and which ones failed. This way you get a 360 degree view of how your email will look on the other end of the send button.

Pull it All Together with Reporting

You’ve done all the work to make your emails render properly and you’ve done A/B testing, now reporting is the final step in testing your emails. Reports detail all open rates, click through rates, what links/buttons preformed the best, how many “shares” the email got and more. Use this as a learning tool to see how your emails preform against one another. Is there a specific day that preforms the best? Is there a specific sender name that outperforms the others? What are your typical open rates? Start to look at these different areas as benchmarks and build your own best practices.

These best practices are just some of the things you can implement in your email marketing. What email marketing tips do you have? I would love to hear your opinion. Speaking of opinions, there are many out there on what works in email marketing and what doesn’t. So, I will leave you with my biggest advice (and you probably guessed it): test, test and test some more, then go with what works the best for you!

P.S. More Resources

To continue your research on email marketing, I have compiled some of the best resources I have found on the Web thus far. If you have any favorites, please share!

• Campaign Monitor Blog
  • Mastering mobile email in 5 minutes
  • Image blocking in email clients: Tips and techniques for 2011
• Vertical Response Resources
  • Free Button builder
  • VR Blog
• StreamSend Blog
• Campaign Monitor vs. Vertical Response
• Email Marketing Vendor Comparison
• Open rates and click through rates including industry averages
• Why Bother With Plain-Text Emails?

The other day I was riding Chicago’s “L” and saw an ad for a local business which promoted its social media links. To distract myself from the commute, I pulled out my smartphone and went to their Facebook page. To my surprise, despite running an ad that promoted social media, the company hadn’t updated its page in over 6 months and only had a handful of followers. The same was true for its Twitter account. I found myself thinking that this company wasn’t social at all. I felt duped.

The ad did get me thinking though… Exactly what defines being social? Are you social just for starting a blog, establishing a Facebook page or tweeting on “The Twitter?”

Sadly, no. Social media marketing is far more complex and strategic than just randomly posting corporate or product/services content on a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. I imagine, though, that this lack of a strategic social vision is how a lot of companies and executives approach their social media involvement.

According to Jive Social Business Index 2011, a study from Jive Software and Penn, Schoen & Berland, 78% of executives surveyed thought social business (social media) is increasingly perceived as a strategic executive imperative and critical to the future success of their businesses. Over half of the executives interviewed believe that their companies would face moderate to high risk if they failed to adopt a social media strategy.

What these numbers tell me is that the tide is trending toward more widespread social media adoption; that CEOs and their executive counterparts are finally ready to truly join the social media revolution. Unfortunately, these numbers are misleading.

The Jive survey also found that only 27% of executives/decision makers listed social media as a top strategic priority. That’s just over a quarter of the respondents! And, nearly half (47%) admitted a social plan was necessary but not a strategic priority with nearly a fifth (19%) stating a social media strategy was simply not necessary at all.

Sigh.

So, despite companies recognizing that a well-crafted social media strategy is a vital part of the marketing mix, there still remains a disconnect between prioritization and implementation. CEOs and other top-level executives who have identified social media as a top priority still lack a strategic social vision. In other words, just because the executive suite sees social media as a strategic imperative doesn’t mean it translates in to a strategic business plan. It might just translate into the creation of a Facebook page and a few tweets here and there.

Get on Board the Social Train

Many companies have been resistant to create a social media strategy, instead relying on existing best practices that in time will prove to be dated, ineffective and costly. Social media marketing today is more of a requirement than a nice-to-have, and to keep up, companies—specifically C-level executives—must be open to change. So, how can you get your executives to get on board with social media? Start by addressing and overcoming some of their fears and focus on the numbers and metrics.

To make social media more of a priority, marketers and social gurus must prove the value of social media to skeptical, and possibly frugal, senior executives. For example, try launching a social campaign via Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Twitter, and track the analytics. The goal here is to show how leads from the campaign drive traffic to your website through messages posted on these mediums and how those leads translate in to customers. Ultimately, tying social investments to tangible business benefits and competitive advantages can help raise the priority and assure that budgets are properly allocated to social initiatives.

Share your comments. How active is your company in social media? How would you convince a CEO, who plans to hold out until social media becomes “more mainstream,” to become active today?

Why integrating social media, creating emails for mobile and using plain-text is important

In part 1 of Email Marketing Should Still be a Part of Your Marketing Mix, we discussed the major email marketing vendors as well as talked about implementing best practices into your emails including: using pre-header text, table of contents, buttons and links and logos and images (and image blocking). To continue our email marketing best practices discussion let’s talk about integrating social media, building emails for mobile and using plain-text emails.

Integrating Social Media

Make your emails easy to share. By including “social sharing” icons/links such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter people can automatically share your email. GetResponse, in June, 2011 announced the results of its “Email Marketing and Social Media Integration Report.” The study revealed that email messages with:

• A social sharing option generated 30% higher click through rates than emails without a social sharing option
• Three or more sharing options generated 55% higher click through rates
• Twitter sharing option returned over 40% percent higher click through rates than messages without any social media links

In addition to social sharing, if your company has any social media profiles, be sure to include icons/links to those pages so people can follow you. I personally like to add a call-to-action to them by adding an intro like “Connect with us” or “Join our community.”

Creating Emails for Mobile

Reading emails on smartphones and tablets is becoming more and more popular every day. In fact, one of our clients recently told us their online magazine had 20% of their readers on smartphones and 9% on tablets. I can only imagine that the number will continue to increase. Therefore, when creating emails, think of what the user will see when viewing. For example, we said earlier to use buttons as much as possible. When you use buttons and someone reads your email with a phone, it would be easier for them to click the button vs. a link (therefore getting to the information you intended them to get to). This doesn’t mean that you need to use all buttons, just be conscious of how many links you have. Finally, be sure to include a link to view in a browser and keep your email slim in size (no more than 640 pixels wide).

Using Plain-text Emails

In the “old days” of email marketing, HTML emails didn’t always render properly (due to the email system or slow download speeds), and the plain-text email would show instead. Today, almost all systems render HTML emails and the majority of people have high-speed internet. And yet, you should not ignore the plain-text email. Some people just prefer plain-text emails over HTML emails, but also, spam filters don’t like it when and email is sent with only an HTML option. Don’t forget to think about mobile devices. Not all of them display HTML properly. Some of them only display the text portion of HTML (removing your images or stacking them vertically). Some of them only display plain text. Play it safe and make your plain-text back up message for every campaign.

Now that we’ve covered the different email marketing vendors as well as some easy tips you can implement into your email campaigns in part 1 and part 2 of Email Marketing Should Still be a Part of Your Marketing Mix, it’s time for the final piece of the puzzle… testing. In part 3, we will discuss testing emails and its importance as well as some valuable email marketing resources. So, check back soon! But in the meantime, let me know what tools you are using to increase your email marketing success.

Choosing the right email vendor for you and implementing simple best practices

Should email marketing still be a part of your marketing mix? The short answer is YES! Email marketing is just one of many communication tools you should be using to continually connect with your prospects and clients. From event announcements/invitations to monthly e-newsletters, email marketing is an easy and affordable way for your brand to stay top of mind. Like many online tools, email marketing is rapidly changing, and by implementing a few, simple best practices, your emails can make a large impact.

In part 1 of this three-part series, we’ll walk through the available email marketing vendors and talk about some best practices in email marketing including: using pre-header text, table of contents, buttons and links and logos and images (and image blocking). In part 2, we’ll continue with email marketing best practices, including integrating social media, email marketing for mobile and using plain-text emails. Finally, in part 3, we’ll discuss testing emails and its importance as well as some valuable email marketing resources.

Email Marketing Vendors

There are many email marketing vendors to choose from to say the least! I’ve had a chance to use several myself, including Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, iContact, Jango Mail, MailChimp, StreamSend and Vertical Response. In my opinion, there really isn’t a ton of difference between them and I would highly recommend you select the company you feel most comfortable using and the one that has the features that you are looking for. For example, some offer only a monthly subscription (i.e. send up to X amount of emails for X price) while some offer pay-per-email pricing as well. So, if you only send one or two emails a month to a small database, you might want to go with a vendor that offers the pay-per-email option. The best part is all of these vendors offer free trials, allowing you to sign up, take it for a test drive and if it’s not for you, move onto the next. For a simple, side-by-side comparison of the popular email vendors, click here.

Pre-Header Text

Pre-header text is a short blurb that appears at the very top of your email, above all graphics and content and is the first thing your contacts will see. The pre-header text you are probably used to seeing is: “Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.” Pre-header text is not just useful for emails not displaying correctly, but can also be used to incite call-to-action and be an extension of your subject line. When viewing all emails in an inbox such as Outlook, Gmail and iPhone, they use the pre-header text as the teaser line (next to the subject line), providing an extra piece of information that helps readers decide whether to delete your message or give it a quick peek. A good example of pre-header text is: “Click here to download the survey report: Top 10 IT trends for 2012.”

Here is a sample of pre-header text from a Southwest Airlines email I recently received:

Here is how the pre-header text from that same Southwest Airlines email shows up when I view my inbox:

Table of Contents

When you have an email with a lot of content like an e-newsletter, include a table of contents. Place the table of contents as close to the top of the email as possible. This way, readers are able to quickly view the content of the email and decide what they want to read.

Buttons and Links

Did you know, on average, emails have a 26% higher click through rate when using buttons? So why not use buttons whenever you can? Similar to pre-header text, buttons incite a call-to-action such as Register Today, Contact Us and Download Now. In addition to buttons, create as many opportunities as possible to link to various locations on your website. The more buttons and links the better chance you have to increase your click through rates.

Logos and Images (and Image Blocking)

One way to make an email easy to read is to break up blocks of text using logos and images. When you use logos and images, be sure to link them whenever possible. Furthermore, pay attention to your image-to-text ratio. If you send emails using an image (or images) as your sole content, spam filters are likely to send it to the junk folder. There is no set rule as to a standard image-to-text ratio, but a good rule of thumb is to have at least one paragraph of text for every image or logo you use.

Do you use image ALT tags? An ALT tag is descriptive text added behind the image that will display in default of blocked images. Did you know that over 50% of email users don’t see images by default (meaning they have to manually click to download and view all images in an email)? Beyond that, 30% of them don’t even know their images are blocked. That is a huge number! Think of the last email you sent and think of how it looks without the images. Does the message get lost? If you didn’t have ALT tags, then your answer is probably yes. Adding ALT tags ensures your intended “message” of the image gets across. Just be sure to be very descriptive and your image will not be lost!

We’ve covered a lot: the different email marketing vendors as well as some easy best practices you can implement into your email campaigns. Stay tuned for the second blog on Email Marketing Should Still be a Part of Your Marketing Mix, where we will continue to discuss best practices in email marketing including integrating social media, building emails for mobile and using plain-text emails. Check back soon! But in the meantime, let me know what tools you are using to increase your email marketing success.

What Are QR Codes?

At its most basic, a Quick Response or QR code is a barcode with attitude. QR codes are tailor made to quickly and easily link users to information via their smartphones without having to type in a URL.

QR codes and other two-dimensional codes are expected to achieve widespread use this year. According to ComScore in its first ever report of QR code usage, some 14 million people in the U.S.—more than twice the population of Massachusetts—used a QR code in June 2011.

QR codes are also a marketer’s dream. From ads, postcards and resume cards—such as those from Meet-Meme—QR codes afford consumers vast access to information, fast!

URLs: Short. Short. Short.

Every QR code needs to link to a mobile website URL. The general rule is that longer URLs create more complex codes which are harder to read by smartphones and mobile app scanners. Whenever possible, use a link shortener such as bit.ly to shorten URLs before generating the QR code.

Keep in mind that many scanning apps are finicky. While longer codes may scan just fine, they are not reliable in less than optimal conditions such as when the codes are colorful (instead of black and white), when used on reflective surfaces or on glossy paper stock. Why take the chance? Keep your URLs short.

Mobile-friendly Landing Page & Content

A key QR code rule is to make sure that the website landing page is mobile friendly to both the mobile phone and the mobile user.

For the mobile phone:

• Similar to a regular website, place the most relevant information at the top of the mobile screen. Remember, this is what users will see first as it will load first.
• Images, navigation, content and videos on the landing page should be optimized for the small screen and mobile broadband constraints.
• Do not use flash or large graphics. These will slow the page load and lead to the user ending interaction.

For the mobile user:

Make the content valuable enough to engage users and worthwhile enough to decode the QR code. If the QR code is going to link to an already existing web page, trim down the content to the most important elements. Remember, your goal here is to get the user to interact: sign up for a newsletter or connect with your social media.

Entice the user even more by adding an incentive as a “thank you” for taking the steps to interact. The incentive can be as simple as a giveaway of some sort: a white paper, research, retail coupon/discount, etc.

Additional user best practices:

• Use radio buttons, graphic buttons and “clickable” content. This minimizes the amount of work and text that is required by the user to interact with your landing page.
• Eliminate the need for text input by using easy drop-down lists. For example, provide a drop down list of email clients (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, etc.) when asking for an email address.
• Size interactive page elements such as submit buttons, form elements, links and navigation for touch-screen interfaces.
• Make it easy for users to spread the word. Incorporate mobile-friendly Twitter/Facebook share icons on your landing page.

Picking a QR Code Generator

There are hundreds of QR Code generators online. Some, such as Barcode Maker, simply repurpose the Google Chart API while others such as MyQR.co provide analytics and the ability to customize the color of your QR codes.

For mobile marketing campaigns targeting iPhones and Android phones, I recommend I-nigma. It claims to be the most widely used mobile barcode reader in the world and therefore has a higher chance of being the app that users have installed on their iPhone or Android phone. As with most reliable QR code services, the reporting element is subscription based, but the code generator is free.

Larger QR Codes are More Reliable

The barcode size itself increases as data contained within the barcode increases, so using QR codes as large as possible is recommended.

A 1” x 1” barcode can hold up to 60 characters. This is the smallest size that will still be reliably scanned under virtually all conditions such as scanning on irregular surfaces, while outdoors, from greater distances, in low light conditions or with an older camera phone.

For QR code placement, be sure to use a generous blank border (or quiet zone) around the QR code. Too narrow and the code will not link to the intended URL. The rule of thumb is to have a quiet zone that is at least 4 times the width of the modules (the black squares/rectangles that make up the code).

Test, Test & Test Again

To increase your chances of success, test the QR code on a variety of mobile phones and devises using multiple scanning apps. Check to see how the code renders when scanned as well as its functionality at driving users to your landing page.

With QR codes, the potential for promoting your business is limitless. Do you have any additional QR code tips and ideas? Please share them or even the most interesting QR code you’ve seen.

Many organizations I talk to are still afraid of Facebook. Afraid that someone will post something negative about their company. Afraid that an employee will post confidential company information. Afraid that a candidate may sue them for viewing the candidate’s Facebook profile and NOT extending a job offer. Afraid their employees will spend all day updating their status, commenting on friends’ statuses and not doing any actual work. The list goes and on.

What it all comes down to, though, is a fear of the unknown. When Facebook first came into existence, it was used primarily by college students. The movie “The Social Network” documented the creation of Facebook as a network for college students. For many that perception of Facebook has not changed; it’s still seen as a place to talk with friends online instead of what it has become — a place to engage and communicate on a personal level with customers, prospects, employees, candidates, vendors and partners. The platform has grown to over 200 million members and 80 billion monthly page views. Clearly it’s resonating with people.

Another big fear has to do with not being able to control what’s being said about their company. But why is that scary? If you think people out there are just waiting to post negative comments about your company on Facebook, then perhaps there’s a bigger issue at hand. Are you providing great customer or candidate service? Or is your perception that people are unhappy with your company? In my humble opinion, what’s scarier is NOT being aware of and participating in the conversation. Isn’t it better to know and take action than to ignore and hope it goes away? Facebook is a great place to engage your audience, find out what they like or don’t like about your company, then use that feedback to improve. It’s basically the concept of focus groups but in an online setting.

Eric Qualman, author of Socialnomics, created a fascinating video called “Social Media Revolution” which was originally created in 2009 but was updated most recently in June.  The point of the video is to show just how widespread social media is and the danger to organizations of NOT participating. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s eye-opening and well worth the few minutes it takes to watch it.

At the end of the day, those forward-looking, innovative organizations are the ones who realize the benefits of using social platforms such as Facebook to identify, enhance and deepen their relationships with customers, employees, candidates, etc. The challenge is to first determine the strategy for the Facebook page (customer service, public relations, recruiting, etc.) and how this platform integrates with your other marketing efforts. The benefits your company can realize by engaging in the conversation on Facebook are endless.

Sound familiar? We asked three staffing industry experts to share their advice with other recruiters on what to consider in this situation.

Mike Cleland, President, Charted Path

Here are three tips on how to avoid this situation:

1. Make sure the hiring manager has budget approval before searching for the perfect fit, along with understanding the impact of not hiring the position. These two bits of information will give you a better understanding of how critical the position really is.
2. Try to come to a mutual agreement with the client on how the hiring process will work up front. This includes the timeline of decision making, the people involved, along with a commitment of the type of candidate they will hire.
3. Educate the client that if they don’t move now, the candidate will be gone. Remind them that it’s a talent-centric market and a candidate won’t wait around when another job is right around the corner. Provide any data that will shore up your argument around the demand of that specific skill set. The overall unemployment rate may be high, but highly qualified candidates are still in high demand.

Megan McCann, President, McCann Partners

The pendulum has swung! And talent is in demand. Contractors know it. But do clients? Forward-facing sales and recruiting professionals need to paint a clear picture with clients of today’s talent market. Namely, there is more activity than we have seen over the past handful of years and people are moving, not delaying, in taking action when it comes to their careers, most especially top talent. Here’s what I suggest:

1. Recruiters need to clearly understand and qualify where candidates are within their search process (i.e., interviews/offers pending, rating of the opportunities to their job search criteria, what is their decision-making process/timetable, etc.). Equipping their sales counterparts with this information will help them better position the candidate when presenting them to the client.
2. Sales needs to affirm the client has internal approval and budget for the hire, as well as understand and, in certain cases, assist in streamlining the client’s internal interviewing and hiring processes. They also need to have a clear understanding of the role, responsibilities, need, timetable for hiring, etc. This requires direct and open communication with the end client.
3. Recruit, recruit, recruit…a position is still open until an offer has been tendered, accepted, and the candidate has started. Top talent can also open other doors so the time will be well spent.

Michael Tosto, National Recruiting Director, Harvey Nash USA

First, you need to ask yourself whether you are viewed as a partner or as just another vendor. In my opinion, the most important factor is the client relationship. If you have a strong relationship with your client and you have properly qualified their needs, then you should be able to influence their behavior. Be up front and express urgency from the beginning; explain that if they do not act quickly this person will go to a competitor, and then if they aren’t prepared to move quickly tell them not to waste anyone’s time as the candidate will not be on the market long. This shouldn’t be delivered as a threat, but rather a reflection of the tightening candidate market.

Watch for the “cold feet” warning signs and try to steer clients in the right direction. The most important thing is to establish a strong relationship with your client and gain their trust. Ideally, the client will listen as you smooth out any hesitancy they may be feeling and heed your expertise on when to close the deal and hire the perfect candidate.

Provide your own tips and advice on how to best address this scenario here!

As the surge in social recruiting hits unprecedented levels, how far will recruiters go to connect with candidates? From LinkedIn and Facebook to Google ad campaigns, some companies are now turning to text-based (or SMS) campaigns as part of their mobile engagement strategy to reach candidates in real time on their mobile phones.

We reached out to a few staffing industry marketing and recruiting friends and asked:

• Is text-based recruiting a good idea?
• Does it work for all skill sets?
• Could it take recruiting too far?
• Is it one of the hottest new methods sweeping the industry?
• Do you have a story to share?

Overwhelmingly, we found that most aren’t using text-based recruiting tactics…yet. And, for those few companies who are, it’s for non-technical jobs.

However, we are hearing about more and more companies implementing opt-in SMS features. The opt-in approach tends to be more widely accepted as it gives candidates a choice.

In a recent CMS Wire article Lisa Arthur, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo, talks about how and why you may want to integrate SMS into your mobile engagement strategy. She recommends the following steps for companies that are interested in embracing SMS, but haven’t yet begun:

• Listen: Survey your current audience to better understand what your market wants. Who are your customers? How would SMS benefit them? What transactional goals do you hope to achieve?
• Think of the possibilities: From QR codes and coupon codes to news alerts, what ways could you use SMS to engage users? Map out an effective strategy so you map where you want to go and end up.
• Start small: To be sure that you don’t engage in spamming, pilot a small project. SMS marketing, while convenient, still costs money. Start small by targeting a segment of your overall audience. Learn from their interactions and feedback before you build a comprehensive SMS marketing program.

These same steps can be applied to recruiting to incorporate SMS. In general, it seems to be a pretty big no-no at this stage in recruiting to use mass SMS efforts to generically recruit to an entire candidate pool mainly because the messages aren’t personalized to the person and targeted to his or her job interests.

So, we want to hear from you. Working from the questions above, where do you stand in the “to text or not to text” debate?

Follow Leslie on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, or email her at lvickrey@clearedgemarketing.com.

Throughout the years, Harvey Nash has leveraged the survey in many ways. One initiative that resulted in a Silver Tower award from the Business Marketing Association (BMA) is its C-level events. Held in key markets across the U.S., these events allow Harvey Nash to share the survey results in detail with industry leaders and to learn what they’ve been seeing in their companies. As the host, Harvey Nash is able to build their brand while meeting face-to-face with key clients and prospects, effectively becoming the go-to resource for emerging IT strategies and trends.

A survey is a great reason to build an event around because it provides valuable insights and the foundation for a detailed discussion that is relevant to your clients and prospects. Establishing successful events, especially one’s attended by a C-level audience, requires a combination of determination, persistence as well as an assurance that the event will be worth their time. This can be broken down into something I call the three “how to’s”:

1. How to get C-level people to attend
2. How to conduct the event so it resonates with the audience
3. How to keep in touch after the event

Need tips on how to create surveys? Refer to my fellow colleague, Nikki Leonardi’s blog:
Surveys: Set Your Sights on a Higher Response Rate.

1. How to get C-level people to attend

Getting C-level people to attend can seem like a daunting task. And to be completely honest, it’s going to take some hard work! First, ask yourself if you have a list of contacts that you want to attend your event. I realize this may be an obvious question, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen projects stop in their tracks because this fundamental component so important to the invitation process hasn’t been fully figured out. If you don’t, start there. Once you have your targets identified and contact information secured, consider these additional tactical action items:

• In the communications, be sure to let attendees know the value the event will provide, how it will help them in their jobs and how it will give them an opportunity to connect and collaborate with their peers. Knowing the details of the event and what they will get from attending may persuade recipients to participate.
• Call attention to the fact that the event is targeted to the C-level audience only (or even just a limited number of participants). Networking among peers and participating in a more intimate event (meaning more one-on-one time and getting into deeper issues) can set you apart from a less desirable free-for-all.
• A little star-power never hurts, if you are hosting a C-level event, call up that C-level friend at the big-name company and get them to participate, include their name and/or company on the invitation.
• When researching venues get creative, look at unique spaces such as art galleries or places your attendees might not otherwise have a chance to go. More importantly seek out a venue that is close to your clients and prospects, minimizing commute as a possible excuse for not attending.
• C-level executives are in high demand all the time and while you may not be able to find a day that works for everyone, be sure to avoid major holidays, popular vacation times or when other large industry conferences or small local association events in your area are scheduled.
• Time of day can also be a factor in attendance. Pro and con arguments can be made for holding your event before work, after work or during lunch. Consider testing the various times, checking with meeting planners at the venue on what they’ve seen work well, or even ask local associations the time of day where they see the most participation to help you narrow in on what would work best for you and your target audience.

2. How to conduct the event so it resonates with the audience

Like a bad movie, no one wants to attend an event and leave saying to themselves “I will never get back those three hours.” When deciding on the format of the event, consider what the audience wants to learn and what information they can take away and immediately put into action. Again, surveys are a fantastic reason for events. Sharing the results of the survey, having a subject matter or industry expert present will make the attendees time worthwhile. Panel discussions are also another approach that is often well received as it gives your attendees the chance to ask their own questions and get answers from a variety of peers. While it probably goes without saying, make sure the presentation doesn’t include a sales pitch, although a few bullets about you and your company are probably OK.

Beyond the presentation or panel discussion, including a networking component to your event can also offer attendees real value. Seeing old colleagues and making new acquaintances that can lead to new business, new partnerships, or even new jobs, can hardly be seen as time wasted.

3. How to keep in touch after the event

Following up and keeping in touch with your attendees soon after the event is arguably the most important thing you can do! Your event is top of mind, so now it’s time to engage, meet and potentially close a deal or get a referral. Some of the ways you can follow up include:

• Recap your event reminding attendees of the valuable information they received — post online, promote individual insights via social media pages or turn into a blog. Make sure to promote photos and videos as appropriate.
• Send an email post-event thanking the individual for their attendance. Give the participant an opportunity to provide their feedback on what they liked and found helpful and what they thought could be improved upon. Take stock in the feedback provided and use it to improve on future events.
• Those who expressed interest in attending or even registered but failed to show up shouldn’t be forgotten in your post-event activities. Send an email recapping insights, link to a video and/or follow-up by phone. Help them feel like they were every bit a part of the event and had the opportunity to learn from it. You might just be rewarded with more face time or new business.

Following the three “how to’s” of executing C-level events will put you on the path to one that is well attended and becomes sought after for years to come. In addition, if you use a survey as the basis for your event, it can help you demonstrate your thought leadership. Have you executed any events at your company (C-level or not)? Were there any tactics that worked well? I am curious to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

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Year after year the Harvey Nash CIO Survey, conducted in association with PA Consulting Group, provides a wealth of information on technology-related trends and topics. This year was no exception. Here are a few of the findings I thought were fascinating that I wanted to share:

• This year’s survey found that 74 percent of CIOs believe if they don’t innovate and embrace new technology, their company will lose market share. On the flip side, only 34 percent think they’ve achieved anything close to their innovation potential.
• Sixty-nine percent of CIOs surveyed claim to now have more strategic responsibility. While leadership ability, communication and influencing skills are still recognized by CIOs as their responsibility, third-party management and business change management have increased dramatically.
• Finally, the Harvey Nash survey showed that CIOs are spending more of their IT budgets on outsourcing than ever before. In fact, 28 percent will spend up to one-quarter of their IT budget on outsourced activity.

Want more insights on what obstacles and opportunities face IT leaders today? Click here to download the full report.

The Fine Line between Getting it Right vs. Getting it Done

Early on in my career I learned a very valuable lesson about getting it “right” versus getting it “done.” As a junior PR rep, I was tasked with congratulating a local media reporter on a recent promotion. All that was needed was a short congratulatory note. The goal, of course, was to express well wishes, as well as to begin to foster a relationship between the firm and the reporter. Easy peezy, or so I thought.

After many, many rounds of revisions with management on exactly how to perfectly express our sincerest congratulations, too much time had passed. Mind you, this was before regular use of email, so the letter was to be sent via snail mail on company stationery. We missed our window of opportunity and the note never went out.

Why didn’t the letter get sent? The simple fact is we lost sight of our ultimate goal—establishing a relationship with the reporter—and focused too much on message perfection.

It’s not about marketing perfection
Sometimes getting it done, albeit done well (meaning no typos or grammatical errors), tops delaying the project as you work to get it perfect.

As a marketer, I regularly walk the fine line between getting it done and the ideal of perfection. Take this blog post. At what point do I stop rewriting and just publish so that I can communicate my message to my intended audience? I can rewrite and rewrite until I am blue in the face, but at what cost?

Marketing success in any industry or niche isn’t about marketing perfection. In fact, it’s easy to lose sight of the goal if your focus is on marketing perfection since nothing in marketing is ever truly perfect. You need to identify your end goal and then market with an eye fixated on that goal.

Let’s look to Apple as an example of how it kept its eye on the goal of bringing to market a really cool multi-touch tablet computer. The recently launched iPad 2 did so with a camera, but unfortunately, the camera isn’t all that good. Still, that didn’t stop Apple from putting it in the iPad 2 anyway. Why? Because the camera wasn’t the goal of the iPad, it was an added feature. Ideally I’m sure Apple (and users) would have liked a stellar camera in the iPad, but not it if meant the iPad 2 launch was delayed by months. Even with poor camera reviews, iPad 2 sales exceed expectations. Goal achieved.

First impressions still count
If you spend most of your time focused on perfection, you’ll also end up wasting time chasing an elusive myth. That being said, rushing to get something done is not the correct form of action either—first impressions still count.

While there isn’t an absolute plan for perfection, by planning you are more likely to establish and achieve your communications goals. Start with the basics: goals, audience, channels and content and go from there.

Why are you waiting?
Flexibility and adaptability give you speed and agility. Take the appropriate steps to ensure your marketing communication is error free and tied to your goals, and then take the leap. Don’t let perfection stand in the way.

If you want to leverage the cloud ― or mobile, or security, or whatever service/solution you are selling ― in your marketing efforts, how can you follow Martin and Strickland’s advice? Here are three suggestions:

Tip 1: Be the Expert
Prospects and clients look to you to be the expert and to guide them into making smart decisions. Continuing with cloud computing as our example, we know most CIOs are moving to the cloud to reduce cost, increase productivity and simplify IT. However, let’s say you recently read about some barriers that are preventing CIOs from moving to the cloud. Barriers I’ve recently read about, include:

• It’s insecure: Many are concerned about the data being somewhere else.
• It’s simple: It actually takes time ― eight months or more to standardize and test in the new environment.
• It’s always cheaper: Costs typically vary once applications and users are added on.

One way to share your knowledge and expertise is by hosting webinars. Take for example Harvey Nash, who recently hosted a cloud computing webinar Cloud Computing—Clearing Up the Fog. In the webinar, Harvey Nash invited a client to share their experience about moving to the cloud and how it impacted their ability to service their customers. Attendees were able to hear first-hand how the cloud solution impacted Harvey Nash’s clients’ customers.

RESOURCE: For more information on hosting webinars, read my three-part blog Yes YOU can! How to build and present successful webinars.

Tip 2: Address the Issues with Solutions
In addition to showcasing your expertise, you need to come prepared with solutions to issues your clients may be facing. Again using our cloud computing reference, a 2010 survey conducted by ISACA on cloud adoption found that 45 percent of IT professionals think the risks far outweigh the benefits, however, only 10 percent said they would move mission critical applications. Data ― its availability, accessibility and recovery ― are still primary areas of concern with the cloud.

Armed with this insight, you can share suggested resolutions for overcoming such obstacles that clearly impact end clients. Take for example, The Armada Group, a provider of cloud computing, SOA and virtualization professional services. They have a blog to address issues, offer insights and best practices about cloud computing. The blog helps Armada establish themselves as thought leaders and allows them to be a go-to resource on cloud computing for their clients and prospects.

RESOURCE: For more information, read my two-part blog (aptly titled) Blogging Tips from the Expert.

Tip 3: Provide Ongoing Insight
It’s not enough to hit your clients or prospects with a dash of expertise or a sprinkle of your solutions and assume they’ll respond to you immediately. Instead, continue to provide information and insight that is pertinent to helping them address the needs of their clients.

Rounding out our cloud computing example, let’s use a nugget I found in recent research: The CIO who has not yet begun to think of a cloud computing strategy may soon be left behind. To stay competitive, more and more CIOs are urged to think of the strategy as a “bigger picture, complete IT strategy.” Enable your client with the insight they need to develop their strategy.

In the second half of 2009, ClearEdge’s client MPS Partners sought to bring independent research to its clients and prospects. They partnered with Microsoft to conduct a pulse survey of technology leaders on cloud computing. The goal was to determine whether cloud computing was merely a well-hyped trend or a revolutionary change for IT. The survey revealed cloud computing had the potential to become the next evolution in how IT organizations’ strategies work to leverage and manage applications, platforms and infrastructure and provided fodder for client/prospect engagement.

In 2010, to benchmark changing cloud computing adoption strategies and attitudes, MPS Partners conducted a smaller, concentrated supplement to its original survey. In that short year, the supplement revealed a shift in more companies interested in adoption of the cloud. To leverage both surveys’ findings, MPS Partners hosted several cloud computing roundtable events in partnership with the Illinois Technology Association (ITA) as well as established a LinkedIn Group to continually gather feedback from IT leaders, monitor cloud computing adoption and address any challenges they may face. Today, MPS Partners continues to leverage the survey through roundtable events and social media, giving them the ability to stay on top of cloud computing trends and therefore help their clients successfully create and implement their cloud strategies.

RESOURCE: For more information on pulse surveys, read Surveys: Set Your Sights on a Higher Response Rate, a blog from fellow colleague, Nikki Leonardi.

Whether you’re trying to sell to CIOs of large businesses like Royal Caribbean, SMBs or start-ups, tailor your pitch to demonstrate how your solutions will support their end clients. Is this a tactic you have tried before? How did it work? I am curious to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

1. Above All, Have Clarity – In everything that you write, be it a social media post to a white paper, be simple, use clear language, say what you mean and by all means, mean what you say. Most often the simplest language is the best.
2. Use Strong, Visual Verbs – Sure footed verbs are the engine of strong writing. Visual verbs convey action and draw people into the story. If I say “heckled, hurled, swung” don’t you just start painting a picture in your head? If it paints a picture, use it. Avoid lazy verbs (izes), such as synergize, utilize, optimized. Compile visual verbs you like and write them down in a notebook, starting your own “go-to” verb collection.
3. Pursue the Active Voice – A noun-verb construction works best, ex. Jack hit the ball. A passive voice is duller, slower and more obscure. Think of it this way: Would you rather read a sentence that starts out with, “A meeting was held,” or “We met?” What about “A decision was made by the managers,” or “The managers decided?” Not only is the active voice shorter in the second examples, it reads better and has more action.
4. Specificity Rules – Be specific, not generic. Give examples. They liven up the story. Be narrative and decide what makes the writing different. In corporate writing if you are talking about a product or a service, give an example of how that product or service helped your client (be specific), saying “once client X started using our product, sales increased from X to Y.”
5. Avoid Jargon, Fancy Words or Flavor of the Month – This is the hardest rule for corporate writers to follow. We’ve all used the terms “driving results” or “operational efficiencies” or “innovative solutions.” When you think about it, what do those phrases really mean? Separate good detail from the bad. When you explain terms and choose simple words over complex ones (re-read step #1), you will start to break that jargon habit.
6. Find Real People – Get out of your cube or office and do some real “reporting.” When researching the topic you are writing about, don’t just use your computer. Find subject matter experts and interview them. Demand examples and create drama (in your writing of course) from what you’ve learned. It will make your piece way more interesting.
7. Sell the Benefits – In your headlines, intros and quotes. Headlines advertise your story in a way that should make readers pause. Think of a newsstand. What headlines get you to buy the newspaper or magazine? Your introductions should pull the reader in and make them want more. Why should anyone care? Answer that question and there’s your intro. Use quotes only when it adds to the piece. When you do, give them personality and spice, connecting them to the audience with a real human voice.
8. Create Value – What is the value of your writing? Create value in real terms, using examples that people can relate to. For example, I grew up in Minneapolis and when they were building the light rail, I read an article about the exorbitant cost to taxpayers. The article helped me evaluate whether this was good or bad solution for the city. One example they used said the cost of the light rail is equal to every rider owning a Lexus. This was an example I could relate to and was of real value to me. Constantly ask yourself “What’s in it for me/for them?” When you answer that question in your writing, the reader will come away with value in your story (and will be more likely to remember it).
9. Good Writing = Re-writing – Allow yourself to write pure garbage. This is very liberating, trust me! Type as fast as you can, getting everything out. Don’t write in your head, write with your fingers. Get down what you know first and start with detail (a nugget), then write your intro. You’ll be surprised at how effective this really is! And don’t back-up or erase; when you get the itch to edit, just keep going. Once it’s all down, I like to step away and focus on something else. By taking a break, I can review the rough draft with fresh eyes and finesse it just so. When re-writing, omit meatless words and tighten.
10. Stop Boring Yourself – Find something interesting and cling to it. Trust your instincts. If you are interested in it, chances are others will be too. I’ll say it again… create drama and be bold. Drama in its nature can never be boring! Have no fear!

Even though today I am not in a veterinary clinic helping sick animals, hopefully I’ve helped you in your quest to becoming a writer. Of course, these 10 steps are not the end all be all. To me, they are simply good everyday reminders. I am not perfect at using all of them all of the time, but that’s OK!

Do you have your own writing ways, steps or mantra? I invite you to share them with us! After all, we are all in the same corporate writing boat.

Building Your Business on Referrals and Word of Mouth

It wasn’t cold and snowy enough here in Chicago, so I traveled to Minneapolis at the end of January to present to the Minnesota chapter of TechServe Alliance. My presentation titled, “Marketing for Where You Want to Be: 10 Proven Ways to Strategically Grow,” triggered a lively discussion that generated a great deal of debate.Of greatest debate? The premise of creating “Raving Fans,” clients who are so delighted with your product or service that they become sales people for you.

The concept isn’t new: you may remember Dr. Ken Blanchard’s book, “Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service”.  It was a ubiquitous presence on office bookshelves in the early ‘90s. While the “raving fans” catchphrase may have grown a bit clichéd, the concept is more relevant now than ever.

Blanchard writes, “If you really want to ‘own’ a customer, if you want a booming business, you have to go beyond satisfied customers and create Raving Fans.”

Fred Reichheld presented a similar theory in his book, “The Ultimate Question” (the question being “Would you recommend this company to a friend?”). He writes that a company benefits when it so delights its customers that they willingly come back for more and tell their friends and colleagues to do business with that organization. Reichheld also provided a mechanism to measure customer satisfaction.

I know firsthand the power of raving fans. ClearEdge is a business built on referrals and word-of-mouth. Of our top 10 accounts, 100% were referred to us by current and past clients as well as people we have worked with in the past. Customer referrals have played a tremendous role in shaping our client roster and spurring our growth.

I’ve written about this before, pointing out that for many organizations, one of their most valuable assets is their existing client base. Clients are powerful resources with broad networks of colleagues, peers and friends. Converting clients into fans doesn’t require much in the way of out-of-pocket-costs. And many of us realize we have overlooked these customers as a sales channel.

So, ask yourself: Do you have customers, or do you have fans?

• Do your clients refer their contacts to your company?
• Will they willingly provide testimonials that demonstrate your company’s value and achievements?
• Will they speak positively of your brand?

Plenty of companies come to mind with legions of raving fans. Apple. Google. Whole Foods Market. Zappos. Amazon.com. But what about smaller businesses? How do we begin the process of converting customers into advocates?

First, engage your clients at various levels—for example, at the executive sponsor level, at the project manager level, and at the peer level. Don’t isolate your relationships within one segment of the business. Communicate your care and concern to clients.

Next, empower your employees so they are positioned to fulfill their promises and know how they can make a positive difference to customers.

Third, regularly conduct client satisfaction surveys to understand how your clients feel about you (and how to make them happier); how their needs are changing, or if any accounts are in peril. Such surveys are easy to implement and provide valuable data for benchmarking performance over time. Online survey tools like Survey Monkey and Zoomerang, along with feedback tools such as NetPromoter and Inavero, make surveying easy. Review the results with your employees and identify ways you can become even better. If a formal survey is too much for your business, remember to at least ask off-the-cuff how you’re doing. Lunch, coffee, breakfast—get clients to open up about working with you.

Finally, create case studies and testimonials that illustrate what it’s like working with your company. Case studies have a powerful way of demonstrating your capabilities, underscoring your qualifications and experience, and showing a solution in action. They help your sales team tell a story, and they show the results you’ve achieved. Testimonials are also effective when they are authentic, personal, distinctive and provide hard evidence.

These steps will start you down the path toward building a network of raving fans which in turn will lead to new business and steady growth.  And as always, we’re open to your ideas and suggestions. So please do share…

4. How to address comments, or more importantly how to GET people to comment. One question we are asked most by our clients is, “How do I get people to comment on my blogs? and How do I address them?” This is a tough one and an area I thought worthy of sharing some additional resources. I found this blog by Darren Rowse (creator of ProBlogger.net) called 10 Techniques to get Readers to Comment on your Blog. The advice that stuck out to me is to be open ended by asking questions and inviting comments. And when you do get comments, be sure to interact and reply. When someone leaves an insightful or interesting comment, comment back. The idea being more people will add comments and what started as a static piece of content becomes a dynamic conversations between readers.

5. Length, frequency and promotion. Other questions we get asked a lot!

• How long should my posts be? There is no rule, but rather generally accepted guidelines. Usually, the shorter the better. A blog can be two sentences to 4,000 words. But a few hundred words are typically the sweet spot. I am the worst culprit of not following this ‘guideline’. But, if your blog is longer, break it up into a series (which is what I did here). This way, you’ll have more than one blog to post!
• How often should I blog? You’ll want to blog as often as you can. For larger companies two-to-three blogs per week is a good number, for smaller companies, one blog per week. You can use Twitter to supplement your blog postings, but strive for no less than every other week. Once you get a good base of blogs, you can even refresh your older blog posts if they are still relevant. This way, you have new content without writing new content!
• How do I know when and what to post? Create an editorial calendar and share with all involved to keep everyone on schedule for creating and posting content. Include the intended date, topic and author/source. Add any upcoming events/announcements, holidays and story ideas. Be strategic and organize thematically. A good way to spark topic ideas is to follow other blogs that are in your industry. This is a working calendar that can change as new topics/ideas become available. However, remember that blogs aren’t always planned topics! So while it’s good to have a schedule, try to be spontaneous too!
• How do I promote my blog? To promote your blog, use everything in your arsenal including: e-mail signature, business cards, tradeshows, your website, your newsletter, all social media pages and word of mouth. For example when you post a new blog, tweet about it, post it on Facebook and so on. Make sure an RSS Feed is added to your blog so people can automatically receive content (most often this comes automatically with blogging sites). Comment on the blogs you’ve subscribed too, driving traffic to your blog! Register your blog with sites such as Technorati. Furthermore, don’t stop at promoting your blog as a blog, promote it to help catch the eye of reporters (you’re a subject matter expert they can interview on specific topics!) and pitch for public speaking opportunities.

One last thing I want to leave you with. No matter what you blog about, what tools you use to blog (i.e. WordPress, Blogger, Moveable Type) and how often you blog, the point is that you are blogging, getting your name and your brand out there. Keep it up! The more you do it, the more you will learn and the more you will be well on your way to becoming an expert.

Since you know I am not an expert myself and this is not the end all be all of blogging best practices, I invite you to share your tips that you’ve learned along the way so we all can be perpetual blogging students!

First and foremost, I want to reiterate what you may already know, but it’s an important point. Why does blogging matter? Blogs are one of the fastest, easiest and least expensive ways to communicate today. It provides direct, unmediated communications with prospects, clients, fans, curious bystanders, and even critics and skeptics. Blogging is a way, as a professional, to establish your own digital persona and set yourself apart. As a company, blogging builds your brand and demonstrates its value. Furthermore, blogging is a great way for companies to address any negative issues that may arise, and keep everyone updated and informed. Blogging can give your company positive content during crisis, and can help mitigate any negative news results coming up in search engine queries about your company.

Now, I want to take you through the first three of six best practices I have learned along the way about blogging.

1. Determine your topic. What is your purpose for blogging (primary news channel? thought leadership? customer stories?). You can focus on all of these, but put your editorial hat on vs. your marketing hat. Ask yourself: Who is our target audience? And what do we want to convey the most to them? Think broadly, meaning your blog can be about news announcements, comments on industry trends/issues, events, presentations, acknowledging glitches, changes in direction, etc. Which brings me to one point, when you do address issues, be timely in your response, acknowledge the problem, promise updates and aim for candor and humility when mistakes happen. This makes you sincere, direct and will instantly build trust.

2. Writing a blog. I admit it is tough for me to write blogs sometimes. But it doesn’t have to be! For me, it starts with the headline, which helps me create the intro paragraph that flows into the second paragraph and so on. I aim for short, descriptive titles that capture attention. Be consistent in your writing style (i.e. capitalize every word in your title). Have the blog come from one author unless there is a good reason for it to come from more than one author. Also, this is when you establish your voice. Strive for informal and conversational (it’s the one marketing medium where this is OK, so be sure to take advantage of it), be direct and use clear language. Be humble and make benefits understandable. Provide examples to explain complicated ideas. Don’t use corporate jargon that your readers won’t understand. But most importantly, have fun with it!

3. Smart writing. Meaning, making your blog SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly.

• Include links to other sites, called a “blogroll”. Blogrolling provides your readers with content they might find useful and will also add to your content. If you enjoy the content you are linking to chances are your readers will too.
• Include website keywords whenever you can and categorize your blog according to the subject.
• Finally, add Google Analytics to track clickthroughs, visits, monitor popularity and compare effectiveness of your blog over time. This way, you can adjust your blog as needed so it is optimized in a way to make it easy for people to find you online. If you’re using WordPress it is automatically built-in, which you can find on your dashboard.

In part 2 of Blogging Tips from the Expert, I will share with you the final three blogging tips spawned from questions we get asked from our clients. These tips include how to respond to comments (and how to actually get people to comment), recommended length for blogs, how frequent you should blog and most importantly how to promote your blog.

If you have any ideas on blogging, I encourage you to share them with me and all our readers.

But wait! Before you start down the survey path, you have to think about who will be taking them. Surveys need to be well planned and deliberate. Just because you send a survey, doesn’t mean you’ll get responses. In fact, the response rate is one of the biggest challenges companies face when administering surveys―and quite often is an afterthought. The reality is, your survey is only as good as the data (and amount of data) you receive. But don’t worry… it’s actually not that complicated. Here are a few quick tips that will get those responses up in no time.

1. Screen and Clean
Your list, that is. A little list housekeeping at the front end of a survey goes a long way. There is no use in sending surveys to outdated contacts. If you aren’t already keeping your customer and prospect database updated regularly, spend a little time with your employees to verify and update the contacts and their information. If you don’t have a contact list or just want to start fresh, there are plenty of companies who offer list services. For a small investment, they’ll target in on the audience you are trying to reach and provide you with that current contact info. For more information about lists, read our three-part blog series.

2. Target and Focus
Wait to develop your questions until after you identify your target audience. The topic and series of questions should be geared toward the individuals you are surveying. This is important because it allows you to focus on the language and types of questions that will resonate with them. Is the target audience made up of end-users of your product, influencers or decisions-makers? Will they be able to truly answer the questions you are asking? Is there any industry specific lingo you need to be aware of? If your audience feels engaged and can easily answer the first few questions, chances are they will continue; otherwise, they’ll likely drop out.

3. Keep it Short (and Fun!)
The worst thing you can do is waste someone’s time. Your customers and prospects have minimal time to respond to a survey, so make sure you get to the point quickly. Choose 5-10 questions that drive at the topic you are trying to better understand. Tell them upfront that this survey will only take “X” minutes to complete (and make sure it’s true). Make the questions easy to answer, like multiple choice, ranking, etc. No matter which survey tool you use (i.e. Survey Monkey, Zoomerang), they make it easy to create surveys and collect data. If you have the time, throw in a random (lighthearted) question (i.e. What is your favorite dessert?). It keeps them awake and maybe will add a smile to their day. Besides, you may be able to use the data point in some future promotion or presentation.

4. Incentivize
People tend to do things if they know they will get something in return. You don’t have to hand out a gift to everyone who takes it, but you can enter everyone (or first 50 completed) into a drawing for a worthwhile prize. Are they people who like the latest and greatest toys (i.e. an Apple iPad, an Amazon Kindle, etc.)? Are they sports buffs (i.e. a new golf club, sports tickets, etc.)? Or do you need something more generic (a weekend getaway, American Express Gift Card, etc.)? You can also tie it directly to your business (free attendance at a conference, copy of report in advance, etc.). The possibilities are endless and it doesn’t have to be over the top. It’s simply a nice way to say, “Thank you. We appreciate your time.”

5. Timing is Everything
If you haven’t been sending a lot of mass e-mails (via a third party e-mail vendor such as Vertical Response or Constant Contact), you might need to test a couple of different groups and see what day and time works best for your audience. This is easy using an e-mail system as you can see the response rates virtually in real-time. The general rule of thumb is to send Tuesday thru Thursday in the late morning or afternoon (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT). But, be aware―every industry is different, so it is important to know your recipients and if there are any looming deadlines or key industry happenings that would deter them from having time to complete a survey. Think about your clients’ and prospects’ day-to-day activities and when they might actually have some downtime to open your e-mail and take the survey.

6. Make it Personal
Take into consideration who the communication is coming from. People feel more compelled to complete something for someone they know or from a person in an executive position. An e-mail from your CEO inviting clients to take the survey indicates the commitment and importance of the topic. Or a simple e-mail from your client’s daily contact can make them feel more obligated to complete. Additionally, (if applicable) add a personal salutation , including a name feels less mechanical.

7. Promote, Promote and Promote Some More
The worst thing you can do to increase response rates is rely solely on your e-mail blasts. Use the e-mail blasts as the first communication. But you want to reach more than your database. Promote the survey on your website, in your e-mail signature and on social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). You can use your company pages as well as enlist your sales team to use their personal pages (it’s easy and they will be more likely to post when you supply them with sample content). Furthermore, are you partnered with any industry organizations or associations? Ask them to promote your survey to their contacts. If they agree, find out which mediums they will use (e-mail, website, blog, social media, etc.) and supply them with the content. Lastly, promote your survey in all conversations with clients and prospects. They will appreciate the fact that you value their opinion and be more likely to take the survey. If you have an incentive, be sure to mention that as well. Then follow-up the conversation with a personal invitation to the survey.

8. Everyone Needs a Little Reminder
Not everyone has time to take the survey immediately and chances are, if they put it on their to-do list, it will keep dropping lower on the priority list as more deliverables come in. One or two quick reminders will help in keeping it front of mind or even post reminders on your social media pages. Try sending reminders on different days and at different times from the initial invite, it might be received at a better time. Plus, this is a perfect opportunity to personalize it further and have someone follow up (with a phone call, if there is time). Be sure to mention a deadline for taking the survey!

If at first you don’t succeed… yes, try again! It’s not the end of the world if you have to change your outreach strategy mid-survey. Research has shown that 50% of responses (for an online survey) will arrive within the first day of receiving. So if that rate is low, you may need to step back and think differently. Review the tips above and try something new: send the invitation on different days, provide give-a-way (if you aren’t already doing), buy a list, extend your follow up, partner with an association, etc.

While some may think surveying is a science, it really is more of an art form. If you are new to this, it may take some trial and error. Just don’t give up! When done right, surveys are an incredible sales and marketing tool―and can be a lot of fun. The information you receive can go far (which we’ll talk about more in an upcoming blog.) So start thinking about what you want to know from your clients and prospects and start surveying!

Lastly, let us know about your survey experiences. What tools did you use to increase responses? Did you see a spike when promoting the survey a certain way?

Jessica Elliott and Leslie Vickrey from ClearEdge spending time with The Amazing Hondo!

Rounding out the conference was the Women’s Roundtable Luncheon, sponsored by ClearEdge Marketing. I was extremely fortunate to host an interactive session with nearly 50 women business owners, managers, recruiters and sales leaders. We sat in groups of 10 exploring industry topics suggested by our esteemed group of moderators. At the end, we held a 15-minute wrap-up session that examined the most heated and challenging discussion points—measuring customer satisfaction, retaining staff and taking advantage of social media and Web 2.0.

So that you may benefit from the knowledge and experience of this thoughtful group of leaders, I’ve captured several takeaways from the roundtable discussions and outlined them for you below:

Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Are you measuring client satisfaction? If not, you’re in good company. Most luncheon participants said that more job orders were the sign that things are going well on an account. What attendees quickly realized is that they are likely missing out on a world of important information regarding what makes a buyer of their company’s services or solutions come back for more. Alternatively, they don’t really know what is turning a client off and perhaps sending them to a competitor.

ClearEdge Marketing clients that monitor client satisfaction often do so in one of two ways:

• They have a home-grown program that consists of an internally developed satisfaction survey sent by e-mail. They can be sent to clients once a year, bi-annually, quarterly and even as frequently as each time a project is completed.

• Others partner with a third-party provider (e.g., Inavero, Net Promoter) that has a formal, methodical approach to measuring client satisfaction. These companies typically measure satisfaction on an annual or bi-annual basis.

As you would expect there are pros and cons to both satisfaction survey approaches, such as cost, the ability to benchmark against others in your industry and administration. However, regardless of the approach you take, the end results should be to know more about what you are doing right and what action or inaction could be costing you clients. In addition, we also encourage clients to use the satisfaction survey results in their marketing efforts. The data can be used to help demonstrate credibility in the sales cycle, or help you secure local awards.

Retaining Staff

It seems everyone in the audience was seeing an increase in demand for their company’s top talent. So how did participants suggest keeping their most prized team members? Incentives and bonuses are the preferred retention strategy. Specific examples included:

• Simple recognition programs are still a powerful retention tool. An example shared at the Luncheon was to recognize an individual with the highest gross profit for the month by celebrating his/her achievement in a regular status call, sharing it in a company e-mail and awarding him/her with a gift card to a coveted restaurant.

• Strong incentives also keep staff focused and working hard. One business leader shared how her organization provides big rewards for sales team members who are able to break into new accounts. The reward? A sales rep will get double commission on the account for the first year. Yes, you read correctly: DOUBLE COMMISSION! (If you are interested in a successful approach that generates an average 20-30% ROI, check out our article Cozying up to Frigid Prospects).

• Rewards trips were also named as a great mechanism for keeping people on board, particularly sales staff. Not only does an amazing, company-sponsored trip provide an incentive for sticking around (you can’t get the dream vacation if you no longer work for the company), it also motivates long-term performance. And if you open the trip up to spouses/significant others, your sales rep is now being encouraged “to win the trip” at home as well as at the office. While some companies certainly have scaled back on reward trips in recent years, I was surprised to hear how many companies actually still go BIG (think trips to Hawaii!) and swear by the results…not worth cutting!

Social Media and Web 2.0

Although around 90% of the audience focused a portion or all of their time talking about social media and Web 2.0, surprisingly many were still in the early stages of actual use. While there was commonality among the applications being used—primarily LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter—how people were using these tools varied widely. Certainly a good portion of the audience is using social media to pull information, including:

• Learning more about the companies or individual prospects they are targeting from a sales perspective
• Keeping up with what’s happening within current client companies and looking for insights to further penetrate accounts
• Educating themselves about their competition
• Screening candidates

On the flip side, attendees also discussed how they used the popular social media tools for pushing out information to clients, prospects and candidates including:

• Company announcements such new team members and press releases
• Articles and industry updates
• Awards or client recognition
• Birthday wishes, pictures of team events, philanthropic activities

These messages are great for brand building and they provide an opportunity to personalize the company, demonstrate its culture and establish it as a credible advisor. If you aren’t already, be sure to integrate your marketing messages across all your social media mediums. Not all clients, prospects and candidates communicate in the same way or use all of the social media tools. So, if you post something to Twitter, be sure to also post it on LinkedIn, Facebook, your Web site, in your newsletter, on your e-mail signature, etc.

Taking Social Media to the Next Level

Given the level of interest in social media and Web 2.0, I wanted to share some additional recommendations we typically provide our clients once they implement a social media program:

• Stop Lurking, Start Participating—So many of the women at the Luncheon admitted that they are takers or lurkers when it comes to social media. That is, they spend the majority of their efforts looking at the information that is posted, but don’t actually contribute their own opinions or recommendations. Ironically, the table I sat at was really looking for ways to get their audience to engage with them by commenting on posts that were made on Facebook, as an example. I would argue that one of the most effective ways to jump start the two way conversation is through making posts of your own.

• Get to Know Your Fans and Followers—This is something we regularly recommend to our clients. Closely evaluate who is following you on the social media tools you are using and cross-reference them with your database—are they current clients, prospects, current candidates, future candidates, etc.? Use that information to establish a program that feeds the needs of your audience—target messages directly to your fans and followers and make sure your sales reps and recruiters are aware of what’s happening, who’s interested in learning more. In addition, evaluate what is getting a strong reaction and use that to create a program that provides more of what your audience likes.

• Evaluate Your Own Brand—How much of a presence does your company have compared to your competition? What are they doing that you aren’t? These are definitely things you want to look at because you can be sure your clients, prospects and candidates are. What’s more, how does your own personal profile stack up against others with your same name and possibly in your industry? Be conscious of others that a client, prospect or candidate may mistake you for and how their reputation may inadvertently be affecting your own.

• Social Media 101—Still in the early stages? Tips for how to get started and keys to measurement are closer than you thought: Webinar Presentation—Tags, Tweets & 2.0: Lessons in Social Media Musts & the Marketing Evolution.

Jessica Elliott, Barbie Barta, Leslie Vickrey, Threase Baker and Diane Gellar enjoying the luncheon!

We’d like to give a tip-of-the-hat to Michelle Spellerberg, Sr. Director, Brand Management & Emerging Media, CareerBuilder.com, and Leah McKelvey, Marketing Manager, Staffing and Recruiting Group, CareerBuilder.com, who hosted a session called Recruiting: How connected are you? A social media workshop for your IT staffing firm. Their presentation had a number of great suggestions. If you haven’t already, check out a few sites they recommended and search yourself or your company just for kicks:

• Social Mention: Real-time social media search and analysis
• HootSuite: Manage multiple social networks—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.—in one place
• BlogPulse: A trend discovery site for blogs
• Addictomatic: Searches the best live sites on the Web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images

There were plenty of questions around legal issues and social media, such as who owns LinkedIn contacts. Be sure to reach out to Diane Geller of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore to help answer your questions and put appropriate protections in place!

I would like to thank everyone who joined us at the luncheon, especially the following Women’s Roundtable Luncheon moderators who made this year’s event a great success.

• Threase Baker, Vice President of Operations and Owner, ABBTECH
• Barbie Barta, Vice President, PSCI
• Jamie Delsing, Managing Partner, Consultis
• Stephanie Schroeder, Vice President, NetEffects
• Susan Thaden, President/CEO, Client Resources, Inc.
• Amy Vasquez, Executive Vice President, Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3)
• Karen Wilson, President, MAKE Corporation

Lastly, I would like to encourage those who attended to add any comments—what we may have inadvertently left out or other thoughts you think should be shared. Please remember to keep the conversation going through TechServe Connect, the new private social networking site for TechServe Alliance members. TechServe Connect has an Executive Women’s Online Forum, a community created exclusively for the powerful and successful female executives in the IT services industry. Make sure you sign on to TechServe Connect and join the Executive Women’s Online Forum and connect with your peers!

I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom from Jack Santiago: Shoot for perfection. Settle for excellence. See you at next year’s Conference November 2-4 in Phoenix, AZ!

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

You’ve gone this far, don’t quit now
Following up after a webinar is where most companies drop the ball, not realizing how they can turn the event into so much more after it’s done. I would argue the follow-up is the most important piece of webinars. This is where you really get a chance to reach out to your audience, gather feedback and ultimately get those meetings!

After the webinar you’ll get a list of the attendees and non-attendees. To attendees, send a “thank you for attending” e-mail that includes even more value-added content. Use the webinar content and turn it into a blog, online FAQ, podcast, etc., that can be included in your follow-up message. Also be sure to include a clear call to action statement such as doing a one-on-one presentation with people on their team who didn’t have a chance to attend the webinar. Then, follow this e-mail up with a phone call! For non-attendees, send a “sorry we missed you” e-mail that gives a brief overview of what was covered, include insights gained from the polls conducted during the webinar, link to a blog, online FAQ, podcast, etc., and again, include a strong call to action statement.  And, you guessed it, follow up with a phone call.

In both e-mails you can provide a link to the presentation and offer setting up a meeting (a one-on-one presentation). Either way, you can post the presentation on SlideShare to easily share your slides either publically or privately. Once your e-mails are sent and your phone calls are made, take further advantage of your “value-added” pieces. Post your follow-up materials on your Web site and your social media pages, link to them in your e-mail signature and use them in your e-newsletters. Encourage your sales team and others in your company to share it on their personal Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages as well.

Finally, poll your audience after the webinar to find out what they thought. What did they like about it? What could have been done better? Most webinar tools offer survey features, but if they don’t, consider using survey tools such as Survey Monkey or Zoomerang. You can use this to improve your webinars as you continue to do them.

Even YOU can create and present successful webinars!
There is a clear difference between webinars that stay with your audience, and those they wish they could forget. By creating a comprehensive plan that accounts for all the details prior to, during and after your webinar, you will set yourself up for success. Use your first few webinars as a learning experience, focusing on your topic, your audience, your presentation and your presentation style. Don’t forget to look at every opportunity to follow-up and qualify the leads coming through your webinars. With lots of practice and a little luck, you’ll have mastered the art of using this online technology to expand your connections with clients and prospects!

I want to encourage you all to try these tips, and send me any feedback or best practices that work best for you and your company.

Now is the time to practice and engage
The headline says it all, NOW is your time to practice the webinar and engage your audience. First, you need to get a webinar tool. There are several great tools out there, including Adobe Connect, Go to Webinar and WebEx. The tool you choose is really a matter of preference, required features (polling, auto-registration, operator assistance, etc.) and budget, so do your research.

No matter what webinar tool you use, always do a dry run of the webinar so you get comfortable with the presentation and timing. Even if you are a really great public speaker, webinar presentations are a whole other ball game. A live audience is replaced with your computer screen. If it helps, imagine your computer in its underwear (just kidding). Practice will also help you learn the ins and outs of the webinar tool, test your phone line, and resolve any technical glitches you may have. If possible, involve people on your team (remotely) to provide you feedback. Finally, learn how to open the phone lines to the audience for the Q&A session. By opening the phone lines instead of solely relying on the chat feature, you encourage interaction with your audience.

While creating your presentation, keep in mind these best practices that we’ve learned along the way:

• The number one reason webinar attendees drop off in the first five minutes is because the presentation is too sales oriented. Keep the sales pitch out of the content as much as possible! Save the sales pitch for after the event in your follow-up meetings.
• Aside from a brief introduction to establish credibility, the audience typically doesn’t care about what you can sell to them. This doesn’t mean that you can’t talk about success stories from your clients; it just needs to be presented in an educational way.
• Teach don’t preach. Your webinar should add value to the audience. They want to walk away with insights, knowledge and tips that can help them in their daily jobs, so create your content around this idea.
• Unless the webinar is promoted as a product or service demo, stay away from the temptation, otherwise your webinar may come off as too salesy and you will lose interest.
• Leave enough time (15 minutes or so) for a Q&A session. This way all questions get answered and no one leaves the webinar feeling they weren’t heard.

As for the structure of your presentation, we have found that breaking it up into three parts is the easiest way for your audience to stay attentive and really learn. People digest information better when it’s broken into three’s (hence this blog having three parts!).

1. Introduction (2-3 minutes) — the first section is used to introduce the speaker, describe and set up the topic of the webinar.
2. Presentation/Examples (30 minutes) — this section should be the “meat” of your webinar, providing answers to the issue, solutions and tips. A great way to present this section is the use of lists (like a top 10 list). After you’ve presented your topic, be sure to provide examples. This is where you talk about case studies and success stores to really drive home your point and establish even more credibility.
3. Q&A (15 minutes) — to help prepare for the Q&A session, show people on your team the presentation, what types of questions do they have, what’s missing?
4. Poll Questions (5 minutes) — I know I said there were three steps, which there are, but during the webinar, it’s always a great idea to poll the audience to help keep them engaged throughout. Don’t just poll for polling’s sake, use the information during and after your webinar. Polling allows you to get to know your audience from the outset. You can then start to use this knowledge to customize your content. Most webinar tools have this feature built in and you can see the data instantly. In addition, the results are available after the event which gives you some ammo for follow-up. Very cool, huh?

At the end of your presentation, be sure to promote your next webinar. People will then keep it in the back of their mind and be more apt to register when they receive the next communications. Finally, leave 5 minutes or so in your presentation for buffer time. This will help you overcome timing issues if (and when) technical difficulties happen (and yes they do happen, so its best to build this time in)!

In part 3 of Yes YOU can! How to build and present successful webinars, you’ll learn everything you need to know about following-up after the webinar, which some would say (and I completely agree) is the most important component to achieving your desired ROI.

Catchy headlines anyone?
Three rules when writing webinar headlines that will demand attention

1. The headline should always be benefit-oriented (what will the user gain?), use strong language
2. K.I.S.S. – you know the old adage – keep it simple silly
3. For e-mails, keep the subject line no longer than 50 characters (and that includes spaces too) – this is important for the entire subject line to show up in inboxes/PDA devices

Examples of some successful webinar titles:

• Become the social media guru in your office
• Flip-cam it! Low-cost workshop on low-budget video
• Get in the driver’s seat with Facebook for PR webinar

Having recently worked on an award winning webinar series, this got me thinking, what’s the difference between the webinar that gave me great advice and the webinar where I just couldn’t stay engaged? The short answer is preparation. The long answer is the reason for this blog and what I believe separates winning webinars from an all out snooze fest.

First, let’s take a step back and talk about why companies even want to do webinars. In my experience, the biggest reason—and for obvious reasons—is business development. Webinars are a great way for a company to reach a geographically dispersed audience, especially if their sales force is limited. If done right, (and I do stress IF done right) webinars do a great job of building credibility and they bring value to your audience. After all, that’s why people attend webinars, because they want to learn something. This keeps audiences’ engaged and coming back time after time for more webinars (and hopefully as a client!).

In my experience in creating and participating in webinars, the simplest way to breakdown how to build and present a successful webinar is in three phases, 1) pre-webinar, 2) during the webinar and 3) post-webinar.

In this first part of a three-part series I am going to focus on everything pre-webinar. The next installment will focus on the best practices for during the webinar and the third installment will be on, you guessed it, what you should do after every webinar.

First, it’s your chance to reach out
While planning your webinar there are four questions you need to answer, 1) what’s the topic?, 2) who’s my audience; 3) how do I get people to attend; 4) what is my follow up and expected return?

When deciding on a topic, don’t just pick one that YOU are interested in. Instead, consider your audience and what it is they want to know more about. Take an informal poll of your sales and delivery teams. What questions are they getting from their clients and prospects? What value are they communicating about your products, services or solutions? What push back are they giving your team on the products, services or solutions you are selling? What challenges are they facing? Additionally, don’t be afraid to ask clients for insights either. And always know what your competitors are doing (not to do the same thing, but to ensure your topics stand out). Answers to these questions will get you well on your way to developing an interesting and engaging topic your audience will want to listen to and more importantly, learn from.

The second piece of the pre-webinar plan that’s important to the event’s success is getting people to attend. There are several approaches you can (and should) take to get attendees. First—and I really can’t stress this enough—is making sure your list is current, and contains people you want to target. I won’t go into this in detail, but check out this blog for more information on list development.

How do you get your list of contacts to attend your webinar? Try and reach them in as many ways as you can. Send a few e-mail blasts, post it on social media pages and your Web site, add a link to your e-mail signature, send a personal note along with a copy of the invitation and make phone calls. Ask any associations you are affiliated with or your partners to promote your webinar as well. This way, you leverage their database and reach their contacts too (genius)!

In your communications, tell the audience what they will get out of attending the webinar and make registration easy (1-click maximum). The more channels you use and the more benefit oriented the communications are, the more people you will get to register. The key here is don’t just rely on the e-mail blasts to get registrants, a joint sales and marketing effort is critical.

We often get asked by our clients how to get registrants to actually attend the webinar. There will always be important meetings or deadlines that come up during your webinar so it’s normal not to have 100% of registrants actually attend the webinar. However, I believe personal touch goes a long way. While you’ll want to send out a reminder e-mail one or two days before the event, or even the same day (depending on the tool you use, you can set it up so this automatically happens), consider having your sales team call the registrants the day before or day of to thank them for registering thus reminding them of the webinar. Also consider sending a meeting request to registered attendees so it appears on their calendars and they don’t schedule anything over it.

Three additional ways to attract attendees is first, think about a co-sponsorship with another firm or one of your business partners. If you co-sponsor your webinar this may help reduce some of your costs, establish more credibility and open up your webinar to even more contacts (as I said before).  Second, if it’s in your budget, include a high-prized giveaway such as an Apple iPad or an Amazon Kindle. Who doesn’t like winning a cool prize? Give the prize to one attendee and announce the winner at the end of the webinar (this makes people want to stay too). A giveaway is a great tool to use as a follow up (here’s your chance to set up a meeting, by calling the winner to make sure they received the giveaway, or bring it to them if they are near you).  Third, and this is also if it’s in your budget, hold an internal contest. The team member who gets the most registrants/attendees will receive a free lunch, night on the town, etc. This not only increases your attendance, but it increases company morale too.

Finally, come up with some metrics to measure. Figure out how many people you want to register, and how many people you want to attend. It may take a few webinars under your belt to get the desired registrants/attendees, but stick with it, if done right your numbers will increase. Your metrics should also go beyond just the webinar. Decide how you want to follow up after the webinar (discussed in detail later) and what you want to get out of it (i.e., number of meetings).

Don’t be disappointed if you get only a handful of people to attend your first webinar. Use it as a learning experience and leverage all of the follow up communications I will be talking about later to promote on your Web site, through social media, etc. The best part is that your attendees don’t have to know how many people are on the webinar!

In part 2 of Yes YOU can! How to build and present successful webinars, I go through best practices for creating your presentation and how it should be structured. Do you have any ideas on how to attract webinar attendees? Please share your best practices too.

For our most recent dinner, on April 6th, I dug deep into my Journalism roots and came up with the idea for a special format: on-the-record with Brad Spirrison, Sun-Times Monday Tech Columnist and editor for Appolicious, and off-the-record with Jennifer Scanlon, Vice President and CIO of USG Corporation.

Over a delicious dinner at new restaurant Prairie Fire, Jennifer shared important career lessons, focusing most of her time on the absolute importance of communications. Here are three gems she shared with us:

• Form follows function.
When presenting to executives, skip all of the data and analysis up front and go straight to your recommendation. Of course have the information to back it up, but always make your opinion clear (and tell it often). And always give them a heads-up. This is important: You never want to surprise an executive; always, always give them fair warning before presenting something in a group environment. Jennifer mentioned a story about: Grandma’s on the roof! I won’t go into details, but essentially, sometimes before you get to the big news, you need to take a few baby steps first (element of surprise doesn’t work well in business!).

• Simple is elegant.
It’s been said that simplicity is the cornerstone of elegance. When sharing technical information, you need to state it in terms easy enough for your mom or dad to grasp. Business people don’t care about cloud computing and other IT jargon. Keep it simple. When writing, really think about what needs to be communicated to get your point across, and then eliminate everything else (very difficult for me to do as a writer, but the point is a good one). For more on this, Jennifer recommended “Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide” by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway and Jon Warshawsky, and “Say It With Charts: The Executive’s Guide to Visual Communication” by Gene Zelazny.

• Confidence wins.
When speaking publicly, you have to project confidence. And if you don’t, do something about it—Toastmasters has been known to work miracles. Other simple tips you can use to your advantage when addressing an audience:

1. Write a script. You don’t have to memorize it; just having it to fall back on will help you combat the jitters.
2. Write your script BEFORE you tackle your PowerPoint presentation, will keep it on point!
3. Use quotes sparingly, definitely not back-to-back.
4. Know your style and use it effectively to make yourself memorable. Make a statement (and yes, sometimes a statement can be as simple as your shoes!).

It was no surprise that Brad came with his new toy in tow, an iPad that he obligingly showed off for everyone. Brad carried the communication theme through dessert (the best chocolate molten cake ever!) with an insightful discussion on social media, its impact on the business community and the different generations that are now occupying the same workplace.

Now the first and only honorary male member of our group, Brad returned the compliment with an observation that our dinner was the first networking event he had ever attended where no one tried to sell anything. I can’t imagine a better remark, as this is very much the atmosphere we have strived to create from the beginning: a close-knit gathering where we can relax and not worry about the “salesy” environment that is more often than not present at networking events.

The day after our event I read a CIO Magazine article, ironically, about “The Shrinking Female IT Workforce”, and was surprised to find: While male CIOs earned an average of $177,843 in 2009, female CIOs earned $148,965. This affirmed for me how important it is for women IT executives to support each other—as well as the upcoming generation. Whether it’s through networking associations or by reaching out as mentors or industry liaisons to female students about to enter the job market, building a supportive community starts with us.

Special thanks to Jennifer and Brad for the enlightening conversation. To the women in our group: Thanks for participating in our unique (and completely hush-hush) dinner group, and all of the wonderful opportunities you’ve presented to some of my closest colleagues. I cannot wait for our next dish together.

Five Pre-2010 Marketing Musts

1. Clean Your Prospect List. From Jill Ruiz, ClearEdge Senior Project Manager.
A good or mediocre prospect list is a weakness for any business today. Strengthen your database by ensuring it is a vetted and targeted list of prospective clients that are well worth marketing to. The time you save your sales staff on pursuing poor leads is extremely valuable. The money you save by ensuring marketing programs aren’t pushed out to the wrong contacts is precious. And the more time you focus on strong, qualified leads, the greater your chances are of winning new business. Here are three ways to ensure your prospect list remains lean and effective throughout 2010:

• Purge and update. Get rid of all outdated, inaccurate addresses. Involve your sales team in the clean-up and make it an ongoing effort that is part of your sales process throughout the year.

• Build it out. Grow your list by adding qualified leads from conferences you’ve attended, events you’ve hosted and other networking events and opportunities. Rented lists can also be a good way to enhance your current prospect list.

• Maintain, maintain, maintain. Schedule list clean-up days consistently and in advance to ensure useless addresses are weeded out. Once you’ve implemented multiple list-building tactics, regularly evaluate those investments and their return to determine whether eliminations are required.

2. Leverage Social Media. From Lia Pinto, ClearEdge Social Media Coordinator.
According to Forrester Research, 73% of Internet users worldwide have at least one social media account. Your clients, your candidates and the people you want as clients and candidates are networking, learning and socializing through social media channels in greater numbers. 2010 is not the year to fall behind in the continuous communication evolution. What do you do to keep pace with the social media movement?

• Appoint a person or build a social networking committee. Once you’ve decided to build a social media presence, hold someone accountable. Start with those in your organization who are already familiar with and frequenting social media sites. Identify internal team members who can help contribute content, keep up with networks on a regular basis and watch for information being shared about your business and industry across social networks. And remember-by listening to your clients and peers you will learn how to engage/relate with them.

• Set reasonable, strategic goals. Start slowly and strategically by defining your audience and determining which social media tools and sites your business can leverage with ongoing success. Create a presence on networks where your audience “hangs out.” For example: Are they reading blogs? Do they keep up with Twitter? Do they share content on Digg? Are they viewing videos on YouTube? Are they on Facebook or LinkedIn? ROI for social media should also be different; it depends on what type of interaction you’re looking for and can be different with each organization, industry or social network. Additionally, ROI should not just be monetary, it should be measured “socially” as well.

• Be realistic. When it comes to social media, don’t spread your business too thin. It’s better to become the master of one or two social media sites than to sporadically and half-heartedly post content in five or six places and hope for results. Besides being realistic, also be transparent. Organizations present in social networks need to be truthful and attentive by responding to questions and comments and learning from suggestions and criticism.

3. Review Sales Processes for 2010. From Kathy Dooley, ClearEdge Marketing Director.
Forward-thinking organizations are preparing for the upswing of the market by optimizing their sales processes. Here’s what you can do:

• Examine sales capabilities. Are your sales team and selling approach aligned with how customers buy? Does your staff have the knowledge and tools needed to differentiate you from the competition? Look for gaps in skills and knowledge and find ways to rectify talent and knowledge issues. The beginning of the year is a crucial sales period and you need to have the best team, right from the start.

• Bring process discipline to your sales organization. If the sales process is not clearly mapped out for sales teams, define and map it now. It’s critical to competitive survival today to have a high-performing sales team that management can monitor and support. Without defined sales processes, it’s almost impossible to know how effectively teams are networking and selling.

4. Polish Your Web Site. From Krzysztof Pabian, ClearEdge Creative Director-Multimedia.
To make certain your number one marketing tool is inviting and can deliver bottom-line business results, you don’t need to break the bank. The following small investments in your Web site are worth every penny because they drive traffic and help bring business to you:

• Check the content. A careful sweep will ensure that your business’ messages are strong, clear, appealing and up-to-date. When’s the last time you posted a press release or event? Have you integrated your social media presence into your site? When kept current, your Web site shows visitors what a relevant and credible force your business is. A simple test: What year is your copyright line? We actually see sites with 2006!

• Check your design. Does your site load quickly? Look good on any browser (don’t forget to test Safari and mobile applications!)? If not, visitors could be leaving as soon as they see it. Now’s the time to ensure your site design echoes your brand and company character, and doesn’t get in the way of the site’s functionality.

• Put yourself at the top of the list. Search engine optimization (SEO) will help you achieve strong Internet accessibility. If you haven’t invested in SEO, now is the time. It means the difference between showing up on page one of a Google search, and showing up on page four. Quick fixes: Add title tags to every page and be sure to include meta tag descriptions! Oh, and is your URL registered on sites such as Google and Bing?

5. Get “Creative.” From Jessica Castaneda, ClearEdge Marketing Director.
In our daily dealings with professional services and staffing firms, the ClearEdge team often hears clients say “Once we’re in front of clients, we always win the business. The tricky part is getting in front of them.” What are some of the best ideas for getting in front of prospects for the New Year?

• Use the power and accessibility of the Web. Webinars are an increasingly popular means of sharing expertise and thought leadership in a non-salesy, easily accessible manner. Prospects that may not be open to face-to-face meetings, may be willing to listen in on an informative Webinar as they eat their lunch. As long as the material is relevant and timely and you market your event appropriately, you are sure to gain the audience you seek. For additional credibility, consider teaming up with an association that caters to your target market. Associations are always on the lookout for educational content for their constituency. They may be willing to co-host such events and market them to their membership.

• Form networking groups. Unlike social media sites, networking groups enable you to build long-term relationships with clients and prospects using face-to-face interactions. Building an intimate networking group that enables peers-such as CIOs or CEOs-to share ideas, best practices and lessons learned will position you as an industry insider and trusted partner.

• Prepare to launch a Target Account Program (TAP). A TAP allows your business to rapidly increase awareness and create new business opportunities by honing in on a targeted group of well-researched prospective clients. Properly implemented, a TAP will enable you to increase sales activity and-most importantly-set new appointments!

“Out with the old and in with the new.” You often hear this as the New Year approaches. At ClearEdge Marketing, we say “In with the programs and processes that work,”-be they new best practices or old ones-and out with those that haven’t shown a proper return! The real key to success is taking time to prepare your marketing and sales strategy, and that time is now. Welcome to 2010, the prelude. Be sure and make the most of it.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

On November 10, ClearEdge Marketing was delighted to host a Webinar on social media and its marketing applications to an audience of TechServe Alliance members. From business owners and presidents to sales, recruiting and marketing professionals, attendees were there to learn how their businesses can use social media to engage clients, prospects and candidates. As presenter, I was challenged to make the content useful to social media neophytes and enthusiasts alike.

Well I like a challenge, and I think the Webinar we came up with did a good job of explaining the fundamental value of social media to businesses today and how to put the tools to work. For ClearEdge (we are a B2B company too), social media has become a way to continuously underscore and share the knowledge, value and hard work of our team through Facebook/LinkedIn postings, tweets and blog entries (that’s right, you’re in our social media Web right now). Our whole staff is out there interacting in the marketplace, and that is expanding our reach and the market’s understanding of our skills, experience, resources and expertise.

For IT services and staffing firms, social media offers numerous ways to do the very same-share knowledge, engage with clients, prospects and candidates and build a captive, vocal base of fans. And while it’s easy to see why Apple, Applebee’s and even Fiona Apple have fans and followers, several industry professionals have asked me what the value of a fan base is for an IT services firm. I encourage clients to see a fan base as a way of momentarily giving your company Star Trek-like capabilities to beam valuable and welcome knowledge directly into someone’s world. Do it well, and those fans will leverage the insights you’ve provided, share them with an even wider audience and praise your brand across their expanding networks.

To learn more about the core value of social media marketing, current trends and successful approaches, I invite you to review my full Webinar presentation online here as well as the transcripts of our event Q&A session, which can be found below. I also encourage you to see the results of the polls we conducted during the Webinar of IT service industry attendees, which you can find on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. I think you will find it interesting to see how your peers are feeling about and using the tools today.

With social media, there is always more to learn, so I encourage you to share your insights and perspective by comment or tweet. We are big “fans” of learning, engagement and lively debate at ClearEdge Marketing.

Social Media Webinar Q&A

If I have multiple social media accounts (i.e. LinkedIn and Facebook), should I list all of them in my e-mail signature or focus on only one?

• a. You should include all icons in the signature and hyperlink to profiles. See the screenshot below for an example of how to do it without clutter. 

Does it take a specialist to build social media pages and profiles?

• a. Not at all. Setting up a profile on LinkedIn and Twitter or a Page or Group on Facebook is easy work. Our Webinar presentation (posted here) includes some tips and best practices you can follow as you do it. In addition, each site provides a step-by-step wizard that makes building profiles and pages quite simple. However, if you don’t have the staff and bandwidth or want to create more elaborate profiles with custom graphics and coding, outsourcing is certainly an option.

What is the difference between a ‘friend’ and ‘fan’ on Facebook?

• a. A friend is someone within your personal profile while a fan is for company (or organization) pages.

Is Twitter effective for posting job openings only or should we add other content?

• a. We suggest tweeting a mix of both job openings and content relevant to your Twitter followers. Try not to tweet about ‘what are you doing,’ but rather what great content or information ‘has your attention.’ For example, tweet about industry information/insights/stats that you stumble upon throughout your day or events that may be of interest to your audience. Request feedback about industry news and information you post. And when tweeting a link (or URL), always send a question or explain what your link refers to.

If you have multiple offices, is it better to have one corporate Facebook profile or separate corporate and office pages?

• a. I think having one corporate Facebook Page (or profile) that is central to your organization is important. This is where you can concentrate company-wide information, press releases, events, photos, videos, etc. And if you want a place to share local information relevant to only a particular office, you can create Groups for offices and list them on the main corporate Facebook page. A good example can be seen on Spherion’s Facebook page. They have a main corporate Page and created Groups for several of their local offices, including them in a separate tab on their corporate Page (see screenshots below). This provides the best of both worlds and centralizes it in one place as well.

 How do you find enough content to share with your audience?

• a. Besides your company’s news (press releases, events, photos, videos), you can also keep your audience informed of industry news, statistics, conferences and events. Good, useful information is what keeps your fans and followers engaged and paying attention.

You can keep yourself up-to-date with industry news by subscribing to blogs, using RSS feeds and visiting industry publications online. You can then share links and insights to your fan base and followers as long as you are always attributing the content to its original source. When you share third-party content you must always follow Fair Use and Copyright laws and you need to clearly identify the source of your information as you see in the Twitter feed example below. 

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

These are just a few of the many lessons I gathered at the 2009 TechServe Alliance Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Since the event, my head has been brimming with bright and bold ideas I took in as an attendee and as a speaker on IT services marketing. I want to share some of what I learned at the Conference with the hopes that these lessons inspire new thinking and clever 2010 strategies for your organization.

Do They Like You? It’s a Question Worth Asking.
In business, being liked is not a question of feeding egos; it’s a matter of closing deals. Ken Schmidt, branding guru for Harley-Davidson, shared this insight in his keynote address, which explained how people buy from people (brands and businesses) they like. No matter how clever an ad campaign is or how ambitious the sales person, a prospect will not buy from a company if they don’t actually like you and want to work with your organization. So how do you get prospects to want to work with you? Here was Ken Schmidt’s seasoned advice:

• Don’t rely on subtle cues. Be clear and consistent in your messages and goals. Don’t be afraid to ask bold questions like, “What do we need to do to get you to try our services?” And remember, the meeting is a much bigger deal to you, than it is the client.

• Be clearly, noticeably, purposefully different. It doesn’t matter how any other company does it. Only worry about conducting business the way you know how, with clients and prospects’ needs at the top of your mind. Let them know you value what they say. If they want to see X happen, tell them you’ll take their idea back to headquarters. Making them feel important and valued will help build and strengthen your relationship.

• Do something they won’t expect. Here’s an example: On your way to your next sales meeting, call the client 15 minutes in advance and say, “I thought about stopping at Starbucks on my way to our meeting, would you like me to bring you anything?” It’s different. It’s something they won’t expect. It will make them feel like you did something special for them. If they say no, you don’t stop. But at least you asked.

• Listen and understand. You MUST understand your clients and prospects’ needs, even if those current needs do not include you. If a client or prospect says they don’t need your services at this time, respect that. Send a note with an article you think they would find interesting, and let them know you look forward to having them as a customer-but until then, you hope they’re well. It’s polite and courteous. And who doesn’t like that? Just remember to stay in touch with them from time to time until they are ready to become a customer, and try to give them reasons why they should be.

Be Focused, Firm and Fun
Keynote speaker Cynthia Pasky, who is the founder, president and CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3), shared her firm belief in how client relationships built on trust are the ones that last. Pointing to S3′s rigorous, unswerving focus on specific industries, she explained how that strong focus on building rock solid relationships across those industries has allowed S3 to enter its 20th consecutive year of growth and profitability. Pasky offered the following ideas for how IT services organizations could replicate their success:

• Define the market-don’t let it define you. Understand what you want the market to be. And know what you want your business to be in terms of clients, size, industry and what type of GM%. Be clear from the bottom up, and stick to it-even if it means you have to walk away from business.

• Don’t overlook account penetration. Ask yourself what else you can sell to existing clients. Is there market share to be had? Do you see competitors when you walk the clients’ halls? If so, there’s share to be had.

• Keep cold calling. Cindy still does it and believes it should be part of every sales rep’s approach.

• Be creative and have fun. If you don’t have a badge that allows you to get into your clients’ halls, sneak in behind someone who does. You haven’t done your job if you haven’t been thrown out of your customers’ offices a few times. While this approach isn’t for everyone, being bold in the right cases can help set you apart and show you’ll do anything to win the business and service the client. Do everything you can to be selling and take good care of your team as you do it. Have fun. Enjoy what you’re doing.

Make Your Message Your Own
I was privileged to lead two marketing discussions energized by enthusiastic participants who are eager to differentiate their marketplace messages and become more effective sales and marketing professionals. One of the primary keys to increasing sales and marketing effectiveness is better collaboration between these two groups.

A poor sales-marketing partnership means longer sales cycles, increased cost of sales, missed opportunities and the risk of looking incompetent to clients and potential customers. A strong sales-marketing partnership equals a rich, qualified pipeline of prospects that feeds a successful, strong sales cycle. Here are a handful of the winning strategies ClearEdge shared with Conference attendees for improving sales and marketing relationships and performance.

• Alignment to the sales cycle. Marketing teams need to design tools that effectively support their sales teams at every juncture of the sales process.

• Targeted account lists. Every sales professional/account executive should be working off of a short, targeted account/prospect list. By building separate, vetted targeted account lists, a business maximizes its sales efforts. Account execs will no longer end up calling into the same account or accidentally calling an existing client.

• Role reversals. Neither sales nor marketing should work in a vacuum. Send marketing out with sales to meet customers and see their environments, learn customer and prospect challenges first hand, see hard jobs like cold calling and presentations first hand, and understand the responsibilities, stress, routine and tools of sales professionals. Send sales over to marketing to learn how programs are developed, the science behind marketing, the people behind the work and the work behind the work.

• Metrics and measurement. To know the effectiveness of a marketing tool or program, you must measure new revenue and clients by program and campaign, the number of lead generations that can be tied to a specific marketing program or tool, as well as how clients and prospects responded to each program or tool. Successful measurement requires a simple reporting system for sales (e.g. CRM, Excel, or an online tool like Salesforce.com), as well as open and honest communications between sales and marketing.

• Centralized tools and information. Easy access to critical information-for both marketing and sales-will ensure a continued symbiotic relationship between the two departments. Marketing should ensure that up-to-date items like collateral, program results and success stories, as well as tool and program training resources are available to the sales team in a central, easy-to-find location. Sales should make information on program progress, program results and in some cases, prospect lists, readily available to marketing teams.

We’ll here’s hoping you still like me and ClearEdge despite the length of this blog. As you ponder my likeability, please remember I have only covered three sessions from a Conference that was packed with more than 30 lesson-rich sessions. Of course, I might share more next month so be sure and tell me what you’d like to hear more (or less) about and I will gladly oblige.

Leslie Vickrey
Founder & President
ClearEdge Marketing

As the economy slowly begins to turn around, companies are gearing up for growth. Forward-thinking organizations have prepared by instituting client-focused sales processes that integrate best practices and real-time Web 2.0 technologies to accelerate new sales. Has your company done the same?

The migration from a traditional, seller-focused sales approach to a more client-centric, consultative process is nothing new. What’s missing for many organizations is a disciplined, measurable and consistent sales process that leverages best practices and social media to drive results.

Reality check: Is your process truly a process?
As I work with clients across the nation, I am repeatedly surprised by the number of companies—both small and large—that lack a defined and documented sales process. Although many clients claim to have a process in place, it often consists of procedure sheets and flow charts, or is completely outdated. The lack of a systematic, measurable and well-managed sales process results in disparate methodologies, inconsistent messaging and unpredictable performance across the company. It’s a costly, slow and ineffective way to develop business.

On the other hand, a systematic sales process streamlines, enhances and standardizes business development activities that drive revenue growth. It is aligned with the client’s buying cycle, focuses on the client’s needs and goals, and integrates best practices, technology and tools throughout. Most importantly, a well-crafted process arms your sales team with the knowledge, resources and leading-edge practices needed to capture and grow sales.

Process optimization takes time, discipline and management commitment
Implementing a new or revamped sales process doesn’t happen overnight. It requires thoughtful planning, collaboration and analysis. It begins with an examination of current selling capabilities:

• Is your selling approach aligned with how your customers buy?
• Does your sales team have the knowledge and tools to prove your unique value to the customer and clearly differentiate you from the competition?
• What are the best practices within each sales team?
• Do you have baseline metrics (e.g. average sales cycle duration) that allow you to gauge the effectiveness of the process?

Once you’ve done your homework, the real work begins. The best approach for bringing process discipline to your sales organization is to:

• Determine if you develop the process internally, purchase and customize an off-the-shelf sales process, or develop your own with the assistance of a sales process expert
• Identify an executive sponsor to support and drive the efforts to affect companywide change
• Create a cross-company advisory team to provide input and ensure process validity
• Build buy-in from the entire sales team by eliciting best practices, tools and techniques
• Conduct a comprehensive, objective assessment of how your customers buy so that your process aligns with the way they prefer to be sold to
• Incorporate Web 2.0 tools to simplify research, lead generation and relationship building
• Establish measurements and key performance indicators to determine what’s working
• Routinely evaluate the process and make adjustments so it stays relevant

Integration of Web 2.0 tools and techniques is a must
Gone are the days when cold calling and pounding the pavement were the sales tools of choice. Today’s savvy buyers have raised the bar. They have no desire to speak with you unless you’re able to see the business through their eyes and understand what is important to them. So how do you gain that knowledge?

Strategic sales organizations are using market intelligence and leveraging personal and professional networks to replace high-volume prospecting activities with high-value prospecting activities. They’ve done this by integrating a variety of Web 2.0 tools and techniques—InsideView, Google Alerts, RSS Feeds, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Spoke, Jigsaw and netprospects, to name a few—into their sales processes. These tools enable them to:

• Narrow their prospects to high potential clients that meet their demographics
• Determine the right person at the right level to contact
• Gain market intelligence that helps pre-qualify prospects and conduct sales calls that speak directly to the customer’s challenges or goals
• Leverage personal connections to turn cold calls into warm calls
• Identify compelling events that trigger business opportunities

You can’t manage what you don’t measure
The biggest challenge with adopting a new sales process is getting everyone to follow it. Sales management must continuously reinforce the process, hold salespeople accountable, and monitor and measure performance against benchmarks to ensure the process is working.
In order to provide this oversight, there must be an automated means for capturing, managing and sharing vital customer information. 

On-boarding: The oft-overlooked step
Another mistake I’ve seen clients repeatedly make is not integrating the new sales process into their sales onboarding process. Reviewing the sales process and practicing critical sales skills with new employees not only accelerates their assimilation into the organization — it jump starts their success.

A high-value endeavor
At its core, sales process optimization is about developing and institutionalizing a methodology that aligns sales strategies with company business objectives and customer needs. When this process is managed, monitored and continuously improved, your organization will reap measurable results, including increased revenue, decreased sales costs and sustained competitive advantage.

So tell me, what is your company doing to optimize its sales process? Do you have any best practices worth sharing?

Kathy Dooley
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

You’ve followed part one of this blog and spent the time and allocated the resources to conduct an internal audit of your database. You’ve evaluated and implemented the multiple tactics in part two of this blog to grow your prospect list. Now what? The last, and arguably most important step to an effective prospect list is to maintain, maintain, maintain!

Step 3: Maintain, maintain, maintain!

Regular maintenance of your list cannot be stressed enough. This ensures your database is always fresh and accurate and steadily growing. There are two critical steps to maintaining your list:

1. Regularly scheduled clean-up—As I stated in part one of this blog, regularly scheduled list clean-up should become a part of your sales process. Develop internal processes that work for you, such as an annual sales team “spring cleaning” day, and bi-annual “update your profile” e-mails. Document the process that fits so you can use it going forward. Schedule the next list clean-up day(s) and “update your profile” e-mails ahead of time to ensure they do not fall through the cracks.

2. Tactical Evaluation—Once you’ve implemented multiple list building tactics, they need to be evaluated in order to determine any that are ineffective. Do this at least bi-annually and annually. You can schedule the tactical evaluation to coincide with your clean-up day(s) and “update your profile” e-mail blasts. Evaluate the investment and return (quality prospects added to your list) to determine if any tactics need to be eliminated and dollars need to be reallocated. Use the first evaluation as a benchmark going forward. Again, document these processes and schedule the evaluation days ahead of time.

The key is to develop and document processes that work for your company. Make it a part of your culture. It will take some time and effort, but with an accurate database, you will see higher ROI and business growth. 

Do you have additional information for people looking to implement a list development strategy? What best practices work for your company when cleaning, building and maintaining your list?

Jill Ruiz
Senior Project Manager
ClearEdge Marketing

In part one of this blog, I discussed how to conduct an internal audit and clean the list you already have by engaging your sales team in “spring cleaning” and sending “update your profile” e-mails. Once that process is in place, you are ready to find new prospects for your list. 

Step 2: Find new prospects—build your list!
The key to building a solid, accurate list is by utilizing a multi-channel approach to diversify your list growth tactics and reach as many prospects as possible. The most frequently used tactics, which I will explain in detail below include, but are not limited to, online registration, gathering qualified leads at conferences/events, referrals and co-registration, research firms and purchasing/renting. Choose at least three tactics to implement.

Conferences and other events
Conferences and tradeshows are favored ways for companies to grow their prospect lists, since you are able to interact with and evaluate prospects who express interest in your services. This is an effective way to zero in on your target, but make sure the sales team follows up with all prospects in a timely manner via a phone call. If they aren’t able to follow up by phone, as a back-up only, send an e-mail thanking the prospect and offer an incentive for them to register on your Web site.

Don’t stop at conferences. Participating in local events and associations, networking lunches, sponsoring Webinars, even online discussion forums and newsgroups—almost anything can (and should) become a list-building opportunity.  

Use your Web site—online registration
Developing an online registration (opt-in) form is perhaps the easiest, most cost-effective way to build a prospect list. Make sure all of your marketing efforts direct prospects to this online form, including your advertising, direct mail campaigns, e-mail signatures and social media efforts (including your corporate Facebook page, LinkedIn accounts and Twitter tweets).

The most effective registration forms collect only the necessary information. This form should not take the place of an introduction sales call. It’s an opportunity to gather the critical contact information for your sales team to follow up and start the sales process. The best way to get prospects is to give an incentive to register with your company. Offer relevant thought leadership pieces such as industry surveys, business articles, newsletter case studies or even conference and event notifications. Remember, a lot of people get annoyed when requested to register—so, be sure to make the content they are registering for of relevance and value.

Referrals and co-registration
Referrals are a useful and easy way to gather prospects. It’s simple to add ‘Refer a Friend’ links to eNewsletters or a call-out to a direct mail campaign, but make sure you offer an incentive that is relevant and will attract your target.

You can also team with companies or organizations to offer co-registration. Co-registration is when one company, on its own opt-in form, offers their subscribers an option to opt-in to another company. For example, you subscribe to an eNewsletter on a Webpage, and in the process, you are invited to subscribe to one or several other eNewsletters of the same general interest. You and your partners jointly grow each other’s lists. Look for sites similar to your own by searching for them in search engines and directories. If they have an eNewsletter similar to your own that doesn’t necessarily compete, opt-in to see what types of communications they send. If you find the information will be of interest to your target, the company is a good candidate. If they don’t have an eNewsletter, you may be able to arrange a deal where they would offer free subscriptions to your eNewsletter from their site in exchange for a link from your site to theirs. Just be aware that co-registration requires close monitoring, to ensure poor performing sources are identified and removed. 

To rent, or not to rent? Using outside list rental and research firms
Buyer beware! In my experience, companies who rely too heavily on rented or purchased lists are often disappointed in the results as well as the cost. There are also subscription-based companies, but those can be costly as well. Used (smartly) as just one part of a larger overall list development strategy, rented or purchased lists can enhance your internal prospect list even further.

Using companies like Hoovers and Harte-Hanks or subscription-based companies like ZoomInfo can sometimes be ineffective if your prospect list is highly targeted (typically, the more criteria you have for your target, the smaller the list will be); which is often the case in selling a niche service versus something broader. However, it doesn’t hurt to look into it. Just make sure to ask critical questions such as how they update their information (opt-in, members update, phone calls, outside databases/partnership, etc.)? How frequently that information is updated? What are their opt-in permission levels? What information is included in the list name, company, address, phone, e-mail (e-mails are usually an additional charge)? How frequently do you get to use the list (is it one-time purchase or multiple uses)? What is their policy for returned addresses (in other words, if x% are bad contacts, how many will they replace)? Finally, ask for a sample name or two from a company where you know the contacts you are requesting. This tactic will help with a quick “spot” check on quality.

On a separate note, if you are using e-mail as part of an online campaign, most list companies will send the communication for you, and will not reveal the address unless the prospect opens or replies to your e-mail. Therefore, it is important to inquire about the list companies’ process and reporting. A good practice would be to sign up to the list firm’s eNewsletter to see firsthand what kind of information they send, how frequently and what kind of contact information they are looking for. 

Some list companies will also offer a telemarketing service as a follow-up to your communications. If your sales team does not have the capacity to follow up with every prospect after a communication has gone out, outsourcing the telemarketing service may be worth the extra cost.

Another, often more effective tactic is renting lists from associations or trade publications in your industry. You have a greater chance of reaching your specific target audience through these vehicles. Do your research to determine which associations and trade publications you should approach by downloading or requesting a media kit and find out if they offer list rental services. More often than not, they do!

What is your advice or personal experiences with building your company’s list? Do you have tactics that work? What do you think other people should know about before buying a list?

In part 3 of It’s All About the List: List Development Strategies That Enhance Your Marketing Campaign, I will discuss the importance of and how to maintain your list. Please click here to continue to part 3 of this blog.

Jill Ruiz
Senior Project Manager
ClearEdge Marketing

To maximize ROI and grow your business effectively, you need to have a solid, accurate database. Having a solid prospect list is the backbone of any company’s sales strategy and a critical component to continually achieve desired ROI in your marketing campaigns, Keep-in-Touch (KIT) Programs or Target Account Programs (TAP).  Take the time to build and maintain your database. If you don’t, you are simply wasting time and money.

In the first of a three-part blog, I will address steps you can take to achieve the most effective prospect list:

Step 1: Conduct an internal audit—clean your current list!
Step 2: Find new prospects—build your list!
Step 3: Maintain, maintain, maintain!

Step 1: Conduct an internal audit—clean your current list!
Most companies have a prospect list already. But so many people move jobs within a given year that, lists become outdated, inaccurate and are therefore fairly useless. The very first step in developing a solid, effective prospect list is to clean up the one you already have (and if the list you have is a stack of business cards sitting on each sales person’s desk or in their LinkedIn networks, start building and documenting your list now, now, now!). It’s important to regularly validate the information in your prospect list—after all it’s the lifeblood of your sales efforts (which is why it is so surprising how many companies don’t invest in nurturing and building it!).

With that said, your sales team should be involved in and accountable for the quality of this list (although marketing and inside sales can support with research as appropriate, it’s the sales team who owns the relationship). An effective way to engage your sales team in an internal audit is to dedicate a day (or two) of your team’s time to call and e-mail everyone in their database. Turn this into a “spring cleaning” activity with incentives such as catered lunch, casual dress and/or a contest to see who can update their lists the fastest and most accurately (tracking the returned communications, either e-mails or printed pieces, against the sales person as they come in). And who knows, maybe client meetings will occur just by reaching out to update contact information!

In addition to your sales team spring cleaning, you might want to send clients and prospects periodic “update your profile” e-mails, note cards or customer surveys. Offer them incentives for replying, such as discounts on services or an attractive raffle prize. If you feel none of these efforts are right for your company, you may need to invest in outside help to clean up your list. Most telemarketing companies offer this service, but the fees can be steep and you lose the “insider’s knowledge” your sales team has of each client and prospect. Not to mention you lose an opportunity to reach out to those prospects you may not have approached in a while.

List clean-up is not a one-time solution. It’s ongoing and should become part of your sales process—an annual or bi-annual activity that not only ensures your list is always accurate it ensures the right prospects are on the list. Think about it. When you buy a list, one of the first questions you ask the list company is how often do you update the list. Why should it be any different for your actual list?

What is your advice or personal experience with cleaning the list your company already has? Do you have an internal process in place? Is that process regularly put into action? Do you think it’s successful? If so, why? If not, why not?

In part 2 of It’s All About the List: List Development Strategies that Enhance Your Marketing Campaign, I will discuss various ways to find new prospects and build your list. Please click here to continue to part 2 of this blog.

Jill Ruiz
Senior Project Manager
ClearEdge Marketing

Now we all know that those conversations are great, but what we all need is the signed contract. But given the fact that conversations are happening, companies are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, things are loosening up even a slight bit-we can all count on the fact that those signatures are going to start hitting the paper soon.

In the meantime, there are several things that we can do to stay in front of clients so when the time comes that the proverbial coffers for technology investments are opened back up, we’re all ready. Here are some tips my friend shared with me, along with articles on each topic:

1. Create Valuable Reasons to Connect. Identify your top prospects and research material that might be useful to their company. Maybe you’ll find an article about an industry trend that relates to their business, perhaps you’ve seen some statistics pertinent to their industry, or it’s possible that you can share a best practice that might be helpful to them either from your own business practice or a non-competing client. Try inviting your client or prospect to a business-related function as your guest. The more face time, the better. As an example, Steve Ballmer recently presented at a Chicagoland Chamber event. Great opportunity to invite (and pay) for a client to join you at an event. Identifying ways to connect with prospects at low or no-cost is an art mastered by nonprofits that have much to share about how to deepen relationships by maximizing existing communications. Come up with a value-added reason to reach out and keep your company name in front of the prospect.

2. Build Trust. It’s no surprise that the level of trust in companies across the U.S. is at a record low. And since people tend to do business with companies they know and trust, now is your time to make sure that your company is viewed as trustworthy in the eyes of your clients. Simple things like calling when you say you’ll call, providing information that you say you’re going to provide by the time you said you’d provide it, sharing success stories, all of these actions add up to trust in you and an increased likelihood of being selected when the time comes to sign on the dotted line.

3. Recognize and Appreciate Your Customers’ Situation. Obviously in a sales role, it’s important to touch base with clients and prospects. What’s important right now, though, is to meet them where they are in terms of the status of their business. Be empathetic to their current situation. If they are unable to buy today, listen to their concerns, probe them about how they’re overcoming challenges and ask about areas unrelated to what your company has to offer. From your customers’ perspective, demonstrating true concern for their company will go a long way when they reemerge and are ready to make purchasing decisions. Just because companies are hit with hard times doesn’t mean an end to business opportunities.

4. Make the Most of the Buffalo. Make the most out of every marketing effort possible. It’s not a big surprise that most companies want to achieve big marketing gains with little marketing spend. So, once you identify a message or an article or a case study that is relevant for a group of prospects, be sure to e-mail the link, post it on your Web site, include it in a newsletter-use it wherever feasibly possible to increase your connection with clients and prospects in a way that is beneficial to them. Also, be sure to leverage the tools you already have in place and maximize your own marketing opportunities.

5. Be Patient. It’s extremely hard to be patient, especially today when the typical sales cycle is being dramatically extended. However, patience is a strong virtue in negotiation, and without it, you typically can kiss a sale goodbye! Patience shows a customer that you care about their success, not just your deal. Whatever strategies you implement for increasing sales and setting the state for future success, be sure that you practice your patience.

We’re all in this together. We invite you to share some of your tips and stories of sales survival.

Jennifer Higgins
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Over the years I’ve heard horror stories from clients about sales presentations and client meetings. Almost every story boils down to one thing: not being prepared. Below are some preparation tips that will help ensure your sales meeting yields the positive results you’re after.

Pre-meeting Prep

Define goals. Before the meeting, you must understand what the specific audience members’ needs and expectations are, as well as spell out your own specific purpose. With clear goals, it’s easier to ensure everyone’s needs are met. Even consider asking your prospect questions prior to the meeting-to help frame the conversation, set expectations and ensure they’re getting the most out of the meeting.

Create an agenda. You wouldn’t go on vacation without your luggage, so why would you go to a meeting-the meeting you set up-without a plan? An agenda is a “meeting map” that lets everyone know where the discussion will go and that you’re taking your prospect’s time seriously.

Know your audience. Take some time to research the basics of the company you’re meeting with, as well as who you’ll actually be speaking to. What are their names? Titles? Roles? If you understand where they fit into the company’s decision-making process, you can tailor your presentation to meet their needs and answer their questions. It’s also a good idea to be aware of any predispositions or prior knowledge they may have about your company and product, as well as the jargon they use (like, what does “scrum” or “agile” mean, if relevant to them).

Prepare with purpose. If you’re creating an actual presentation to help guide the meeting, make sure the content is purposeful, thoughtful and customized to cover all of your audience’s needs. Avoid filling your PowerPoint with slides about your company-remember, it’s not all about you, it’s about the prospect. Don’t waste their time by making them sit through irrelevant material. Break down your content and allocated time with the prospect-if you have an hour to learn as much about them as possible, try and only spend the first 5-10 minutes informing them about you to gain credibility and get them to open up about their needs.

The design of your presentation is also important. Your template should be up to date, with logos and graphics that are attention-grabbing and interesting. Dates, services, client lists, case studies, etc. need to be current. Try to avoid content-heavy slides and/or talking directly to the slides (i.e. reading verbatim what’s on the slide!).

Work with a partner if necessary. Does someone else at your firm have more expertise than you on a certain aspect of your product or service? Partner with that person for your meeting. Make sure each of you contribute valuable information.

Practice. Poor presentation skills are one of the most common pitfalls with sales presentations. The best sales teams rehearse regularly and are rigorous about presenting in top form. New, less experienced sales staff should be trained to present.

Confirm. The day before your meeting, send an e-mail to all audience members that confirms the logistics and includes the meeting agenda. Be careful to word the message in a way that doesn’t make it easy for them to cancel. For example, end with “I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow” versus “Let me know if we’re still on.”

During the Meeting

Know your content. A colleague of mine (I won’t name names) once gave a knowledgeable, seamless presentation to a client by phone. Impressive. Unbeknownst to me and fellow audience members, she gave that presentation while walking through an airport parking lot searching for her car. Very impressive. While I don’t recommend trying this for yourself, I do recommend owning your content-knowing it inside and out. No reading slides word-for-word the entire time.

Outline next steps. Make it clear for everyone at the end of the meeting what will happen next. There should be a form of action that allows you to reach out to audience members again. Let them know you’ll e-mail a sample case study or article about a specific topic or question covered during your conversation. Invite them to an event. Send a proposal if there’s an opportunity. Or, schedule a follow-up meeting. Always take into consideration what’s next.

After the Meeting

Follow through. Whatever action you tell the audience you’ll take, take it. The meeting is your chance to make a great impression, and prove that your firm is prepared, organized—best-suited to meet your audience’s needs. Following through on your promises proves you’re trustworthy, and gives them a preview of the road ahead should they choose to work with you.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

To answer this question, let’s first look at the reasons e-mail marketing is so popular.  

It’s cost-effective. You can run a valuable, effective e-mail campaign with a minimal investment to create and manage. And forget about postage or envelopes. With e-mail marketing, you can get your message out to hundreds, even thousands of contacts in a matter of seconds, by clicking a few buttons. 

It’s simple. Whether you manage your campaign in-house or use a third party, the tools to send it are very intuitive and easy to use, and the results are easy to measure. 

It’s accessible. Nearly everyone has an e-mail address and can be reached via this medium. 

It can be as frequent as you’d like (just don’t go overboard). With a plan and some discipline, e-mail marketing allows you to regularly stay in front of your clients and prospects. 

While these characteristics make e-mail marketing popular, the popularity brings consequences, including a decrease in industry-wide response metrics and in subscriber tolerance. Dozens of e-mail marketing messages every day means recipients may not have the time or interest to even open a message, let alone click through it. And while someone may have signed up to receive your messages, too many will cause them to put you on the top of their blocked senders list. 

What You Need to Avoid the Blocked Senders List

A plan, discipline and the following tips will help you stay in front of your clients and prospects, providing them with perfectly timed, high-quality e-mail marketing messages. 

• Thoughtful, valuable content. Whether you send your message in the form of a newsletter, Keep-in-Touch (KIT) program or e-card, content is king. Your message must be clear, concise and appealing, so that people will read it, gain interest, and ideally, reach out to you. But you can’t just have great content. It needs to be appealing and appropriate for each segment of your target audience. While you may not have the resources to craft a different message for each group, you can create different subject lines that are relevant for each.

• Branded template. Your e-mail template doesn’t have to be elaborate, but you want readers to know it’s from you. A simple, generic design that includes your company logo and reflects your brand can be reused time and again.

• Discipline and consistency. Just as two trips to the gym each year will not prepare you for a triathlon, your e-mail marketing campaign will not gain client interest if you only send it twice a year. To increase open rates, you must be consistent. If your campaign is monthly, it’s important to send your message around the same time month-over-month (e.g. the third week of the month). A little discipline will go a long way in your effort to stay top-of-mind with those on your list, and the more familiar your list members are with your company, the more likely they are to open your message.

• Consider a third-party service. While you can use a personal e-mail program such as Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes, programs like Vertical Response and Constant Contact allow you to upload your e-mail template, test it, send it to a large (or small) list and track the results of your campaign. Both programs are relatively inexpensive and are easy to use.

Measuring Your Results

Once you’ve blasted your message to your list, programs like Vertical Response and Constant Contact allow you to see results on things like who opened it, clicked on any link within your e-mail, as well as which e-mails bounced, and who unsubscribed from your campaign. MailChimp provides an “apples to apples” benchmark comparison for small businesses in several industries, so you can see how your numbers compare.

If your open rate is low (under 25%) on your first few campaigns, don’t be disappointed. It can take several months for people to become familiar with your company and gain interest in your messages. But there are several things you can try to boost your open rate over time. Play around with subject lines, always keeping them simple and short. Experiment with launch times as well. You may be more likely to open a message on Thursday or Friday afternoon when the week is winding down, as opposed to Monday morning when your inbox is filled with requests. Another method is to identify the recipients who haven’t opened the message and have your sales team and recruiters forward the original to them with a personal note. This helps them see your subject line as relevant to them individually.

While it may take a while to perfect your timing and subject line formula, one thing is certain. A list filled with incorrect or old e-mail addresses will not reap positive results. It’s better to have a shorter, accurate list, than a long one filled with addresses that aren’t in use anymore. So take the time to clean your list! Before you blast your message, check for typos, broken links and missing graphics. And remember: you can never send too many tests.

Jessica Elliott
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Successfully selling your services and solutions in a dynamic and highly competitive marketplace requires a solid understanding of your customers’ needs — and a sales process and messaging strategy that clearly demonstrate your ability to meet those needs.
 
Unfortunately, many companies continue to rely on out-of-date sales processes and sales materials that tout features and benefits of their offerings but have little relevance to the client’s challenges or goals. A key to an effective sales methodology is the incorporation of customer-relevant messaging focused on how your solutions solve the buyer’s pain or increase their gain. In failing to incorporate and reinforce their value proposition through targeted messaging at every stage in the buying cycle, these firms are missing out on revenue-generating opportunities.

Here’s what savvy companies are doing to ensure they are providing the right message at the right time during the sales process:

1. They take the time to truly understand their customers’ buying cycle and the selling activities that take place within it. Then they ask salespeople what they are trying to accomplish at each step. This helps to determine what kind of messaging is needed at each stage in the sales cycle.

2. They create impactful value statements and customer-orientated communications focused on buyer needs, challenges or goals.

3. They embed this messaging in their sales process and all marketing materials, and provide the sales team with tools specific to each stage in the buying cycle.

4. They train and re-train their sales team on how to deliver the right content based on the current selling situation. Instead of focusing the conversation on their company and its services, they first determine the customer context, and then map out how to respond to these situations.

5. They make sure all necessary content is available in a single, central repository.

Where does your organization stand?
Here’s a checklist that allows you to quickly evaluate whether your sales messaging strategy is on target and effectively supports your sales process:

 Have you assessed and enhanced your company’s sales messaging within the past 12 months?

 Is it current, streamlined and aligned with challenges facing your buyers?

 Is it supported with built-in proof points, testimonials and case study summaries that objectively convey your value?

 Is it integrated into your selling process and sales cycle?

 Have your sales professionals embraced the messaging and are they conveying it consistently and appropriately to their clients and prospects?

 Does your sales team have access to, and use, the appropriate sales collateral at the right stage of the buying cycle?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it’s time to find out. And if you don’t like the answers you are getting, it’s time to make a change!

Create a game plan
The first step in a sales messaging optimization strategy is to ensure your sales cycle is aligned with the decision makers’ buying cycle. Once you’ve identified how key steps in your sales cycle (e.g. prospecting, qualifying, presenting, closing and penetrating) align with your buyers’ cycle, you need to:

• Develop impactful messages tailored to the specific needs and buying preferences of customers at each stage in the cycle. Provide “messaging roadmaps” for the most pressing business objectives facing your target buyers. Build content that conveys your understanding of their objective and communicates how your firm has helped other clients meet similar objectives through your solutions. Validate your capabilities and value with proof points and mini client success stories. 

• Involve members of the sales team in drafting the messaging to ensure it is timely, on target and will be used. Consider creating templates that allow for some customization based on different customers and segments.

• Integrate these value statements into your sales process, sales training program, Web site content and marketing materials.

• Train your sales team how to effectively convey your value proposition and message to the right person at the right time.

• Create one central online repository for all sales and marketing materials. Salespeople should only have to go to one place to find everything they need to help identify, develop and close deals.

• Inspect what you expect: Have ongoing dialogs or role plays with all sales team members to ensure your messaging is being appropriately and consistently communicated.

Continuously evaluate and improve your messaging
Just as the goals and challenges of decision makers continuously shift in response to changing business objectives, so should your sales strategy and messaging. Stay closely attuned to the trends in your marketplace and the buying patterns of your clients. Periodically evaluate and adjust your sales process and sales messaging to ensure you’re able to capture the attention and business of target buyers.

Kathy Dooley
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Taking the Long-Term View
We all talk about how important it is to build long-term partnerships with our clients. That commitment is never more apparent than when clients go through layoffs. How you treat, value and support clients during the dry spells in hiring activity can have a significant impact on the viability of that partnership when the rains come pouring back. So, how do you demonstrate customer care and build client loyalty when your customers aren’t buying? Below I’ve outlined a simple, two-part approach you can take to help keep your client relationships strong, position yourself as a true long-term partner and enable you to tap into new talent sources and a wealth of future business.

Part 1: Make Your Client Shine Now
Your client is going through a tough spell; tensions amongst their rank and file are no doubt high. Providing a few simple, value-add services can make them stand out to their retained staff, in their communities and to their displaced alumni. While you are not an outplacement firm — nor should you try to be one — you are a master at finding, vetting and placing professionals. Develop a communication your client can disseminate to their displaced workers with a list of available services you are willing to provide, some ideas include:

1. Resume tips and techniques – No one knows resume best practices better than your recruiters. So offer a free webinar to your client’s downsized staff. Review basic resume tips, techniques as well as pitfalls to avoid.

2. Jump start their job search – After a period of adjustment, displaced workers will be ready to start looking for new opportunities. Offer to include their resumes in your database with the expectation that if an opportunity arises they will definitely be called.

3. Become their career expert – Develop a monthly or quarterly newsletter — or develop a career page on your Web site – that gives clients, their current staff and their displaced workers industry information, career advice and current job openings. This positions you as an expert to your client, while also opening the door to future referrals as downsized staff find other employment and possibly run across opportunities for your business.

Part 2: Help Your Client Plan for the Future
While it may seem premature to begin future-state workforce planning while actively going through a downsizing, it’s actually the perfect time. Layoffs are often a reaction to short-term, cost-containment issues; but that won’t always be the case. Downsizes, however painful, give the client a unique opportunity to plan for and develop a more appropriate workforce structure based on future business goals. Offering your workforce expertise during this process will enable you to build an even more solid partnership with the client.

1. Technology and Skills Assessment – Offer a high-level, technology and skills assessment. Will the skills they currently have in place support their six-, 12- or 24-month business goals? Are there key software or infrastructure changes on the horizon that will drive the type of skills they will need to retain or recruit?  By providing your client with an assessment of their current workforce and a forecast of the top skills they will need in the near future, you are helping them make better workforce decisions in order to meet their overarching organizational goals.

2. Flexible Workforce Planning – Having the right skills in place is critical, but developing an optimal workforce structure for their organization will help your client keep costs down and efficiencies high. After all, those were some of the reasons for their current layoffs. By assisting your client in proactively planning for the right mix of direct hires, contract staff and outsourced engagements, they will be in a better position to quickly ramp up or ramp down operations in order to meet the changing demands of the marketplace.

It Pays in the Long Run
For any firm, it is obviously critical to maintain profitability and focus on what is currently making your business money. But, it’s is also important to keep your name in front of clients who may not be ready to buy. The beauty of these value-added services is in the “offering” itself. Just letting clients know you are committed to the partnership despite their current spend will gain you incredible leverage — regardless of whether they take you up on the offers.

Keep in mind, the inevitable economic upswing will soon affect everyone, including your clients. Actively maintaining your relationships, demonstrating your value and supporting your clients during layoffs and dry
spells — when many of your competitors have long hit the road — will put you in the best possible position to shut out the competition and capture significant client-share when activity does pick back up.

Jessica Castaneda
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Defining Twitter
While these figures are impressive, you may be wondering what exactly Twitter is and why it is important to you. Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows people to post news and other important events to their group of followers. It enables your followers to be “in the know” on the latest developments with you/your company. It also allows you to more easily identify trends – which, in turn, will help you sell more. Users create an account, set up their profile and have 140 characters of text per “tweet” (aka post) to highlight a certain topic or news article/event. 

With Twitter, you establish an online community of people whom you connect with (follow) and/or they follow you. In Facebook they’re called “friends” or “fans,” in Twitter they’re called “followers.” Your followers will also have their group of followers, and so on and so on.  Those that Twitter engage in viral marketing every minute – all it takes is an interesting/relevant tweet for another person to republish it to their followers (this is called re-tweeting). As you imagine, a good tweet can be spread around the world in a matter of minutes.

At the end of the day, Twitter is an effective and efficient communication tool that enables businesses to join in the conversation and engage directly with their clients/prospects, the media and other key audiences. You can hear what other people are saying (or not saying) about your brand and other issues that matter to you. Remember, even if you ignore Twitter, those conversations will take place without you.

Beyond the Twitter Hype: 5 Tips to Getting Started
Before your business joins the conversation on Twitter, here are five etiquette tips that are important to know.

1. Define your strategy
Like you do for any campaign, you need to define your approach and strategy. What are you looking to accomplish by having an account on Twitter? Who is your target audience? If you have multiple reasons for establishing a Twitter account (i.e. customer support, brand awareness, public relations, humanizing your brand), you may want to look at creating different Twitter accounts for each area of focus.

For instance, Kelly Services has 15 different Twitter accounts; whereas Technisource has one, but does an excellent job at leveraging Twitter. In fact, Technisource appears to be the only IT staffing-related Twitter account that is really using Twitter to engage its audience. Their tweets are relevant, user-focused and insightful. In case you’re wondering what they’re saying, here’s an example: Jump-starting a tech job search | Career Advice – InfoWorld – http://tinyurl.com/cfhzav. 

Regardless of the number of accounts, make sure that you have consistent messaging and branding. As a reminder, Twitter should be just one component of your integrated marketing strategy, which should include other social media marketing tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

2. Be transparent
Companies should tweet as individuals. Be candid, be real. Twitter provides an opportunity for your followers to get to know more about your company – but most importantly about you. Your tweets demonstrate your ability to understand their needs and concerns – and that you are looking out ahead of the curve to help address and solve those needs. Your tweets should detail different areas of your life – not just work or business-related items. Like everything, do it in moderation – sprinkle some personal tweets throughout your regular tweets.

3. Join in the conversation
While following key people within your industry/areas of interest is a must, don’t just sit on the sidelines and listen in on the comments being said about your company or a topic of interest. Get into the conversation – especially if there are comments about you or your company. One of the key things with Twitter is to not only get engaged, but be real in your tweets. People want to hear what you have to say.

4. Add value
At the end of the day, people are interested in “what’s in it for me?” Make sure that your tweets are customer-centric – not self-promoting and self-serving. While it’s okay to have a few tweets that promote your business, too many and you will lose followers. Your tweets should focus on the needs/interests of your followers; after all they are following you for a reason.

5. Tweet frequently
In today’s busy world, front-of-mind awareness is everything. Like everything else, the more you put into it – the more you get out of it. The more tweets you have, the more likely you are to gain new followers. Good news is that you can leverage technology to reduce the amount of time it takes to make a tweet so you can post multiple tweets each day or week, whatever your preference.

Once you start Twittering, you will begin to wonder how you lived without having instant access to relevant, pertinent information. Next month we’ll address some next steps that you can take to make your tweets as relevant as possible. In the meantime, have additional tips or thoughts? Let me know. Or you can follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/elizabethsmith.

Elizabeth Smith
Director of Social Media Marketing
ClearEdge Marketing

Stay close to your customers.
Customer satisfaction surveys. These are a great way to make certain you’re meeting your customers’ needs. They allow you to learn firsthand what your clients are happy with and what needs to be improved—critical, strategic information no matter the economic climate. But it’s not enough to just distribute the surveys. Once you’ve gathered the results, share them! Let clients, prospects, everyone know that first-rate customer service is a top priority for you. And, if applying for awards or refreshing your message strategy, incorporate the metrics and insights you gather from surveys.

Keep-in-Touch Programs. The purpose of a Keep-in-Touch program (KIT) is to consistently, informatively and creatively distinguish your business by showcasing your internal knowledge and expertise to decision makers. KITs provide a vehicle for persistently reaching out to clients you already have, as well as those you’re trying to win. 

Status updates. Now more than ever, customers want and need to know exactly how you’re helping them. Frequent status updates are an effective way to ensure needs are being met—both on their end and on yours—and that the necessary progress is being made. 

Revisit your strategy and business model.
Get back to basics. Do you know your value proposition? If not, look at your clients’ pain points. How does your company address AND fix these pains? If you can’t sum this up in less than three minutes (1-2 sentences), you’re not focused enough. Once you know what your value proposition is, focus, focus, focus on it and consistently use that message in everything you do. If you communicate your value effectively and clearly emphasize what makes you different, you’ll find clients moving from competitors’ client rosters over to yours.

Create brand advocacy. Get referrals. Ask for client testimonials and create case studies to add to your marketing arsenal. When your arsenal is well stocked with a range of messages and proof points that tell a consistent, provocative story, you’ll be able to produce campaigns that reach the right audience, drive significant business leads and expand brand awareness. If your clients love your work, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to advocate your brand!

Aim for lead conversion, not just lead generation. Measure Target Account Program (TAP) results, and if lead conversion is low, see what you can do to increase it. Make sure your message is reaching the right audience within your target company, even if it means slightly different campaigns depending on the audience.

Be of service.
Examine your existing client accounts. Make sure you’re doing all you can to serve and add value to their business. Come up with innovative ideas to retain your client base as well as shift to growth markets. If you’re tapped out with existing clients, ask them for referrals into new companies. Get them to introduce you whenever possible.

Remember your ABCs. A great tip from one of the marketing roundtable panelists. Always Be Closing (ABC). Everyone on your team needs to be a salesperson, especially in this economy. Your whole team should be thinking about new ways to provide clients with valuable service in addition to ways to bring in new business. Just by answering the phone with the most positive tone possible and being of absolute service can help!

Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Communicate internally, as well as externally. Not only should your clients, prospects and other key stakeholders be informed on what’s happening with your company, but your internal team should be up-to-date as well. If your team understands your company’s bigger picture, they’ll better understand how they fit into it and the role they play in reaching company goals. There’s no such thing as over communicating with your team—during economic downturns and always!

Ensure your Web site is in tip top shape. Keep your content up-to-date and correct. Track where visitors are going, what pages they’re staying on, what they’re interested in—and focus on maintaining and updating those areas while looking for ways to improve the less popular areas. We live in a world where the first thing people do when they hear about a company is visit its Web site. This means there is no marketing tool more important than your site… so make the most of it!

Along with the strategies outlined above, it’s important to remember to network. It’s crucial to embrace social media networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as blogging. Learn what each can do for you, and then actively participate on them.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

In the 1990s, the ClearEdge team was deep in the corridors and offices of corporate America. We were building and managing large-scale marketing, advertising, PR and branding programs for professional services, technology and healthcare companies.  We  worked with large publicly traded companies as well as small start-up firms. Today, we are still together doing what we love—marketing, advertising, PR and branding. The difference is our approach. Embracing the outsourcing models we long helped clients to market, ClearEdge now serves as a flexible and scaleable outsourced marketing team to a diverse range of national and multinational companies.

Why does this model work for ClearEdge? First of all, there is a great need in the marketplace. When our founder, Leslie Vickrey, decided to build her own marketing firm, she knew there were copious small and mid-size professional services, staffing and IT services companies nationwide without the budget for full-time marketing resources. They needed on-demand, highly effective marketing support that allowed them to compete with larger, widely established firms while staying within the bounds of modest marketing budgets.

Professional services companies—experts in the consulting and outsourcing model—were quick to see value and cost efficiency of outsourced marketing resources. In just a few years, ClearEdge has become the go-to marketing support firm for the IT professional services industry and continues to deepen its reach into finance, healthcare and legal.

Our outsourced model has also brought ClearEdge back to our roots of big, global corporate marketing. Changing business models coupled with recent economic difficulties have made outsourced marketing support a very useful tool for large companies and global enterprises as well. Today ClearEdge supports internal teams and runs marketing projects for Fortune 1000 firms, demonstrating that outsourcing is as much a part of the Chief Marketing Officer’s toolkit as it is for today’s CIOs, COOs and CFOs.

The amazing part for us—the ClearEdge staff—is that we get the best of all worlds. We still get to work on the dynamic, creative and deliberate marketing programs we love. Some are small and targeted, some are expansive. All are strategic and measured.

We get to work on local and regional projects as well as global initiatives. We get to be part of large, corporate marketing teams, we get to lead marketing teams and sometimes we ARE the marketing team.

Our work is rich in learning and diversity. Marketers are hungry for knowledge, new market research, industry news, new technologies, new ways to share information, new imagery, new words, new ways of thinking. At ClearEdge, learning is our constant working mode as we study and build strategies and tools for taking on the unique and challenging marketing needs of our diverse clientele. The reservoir of knowledge we are continually building has allowed us to bring new and intriguing ideas to our clients time and again.

Best of all, the ClearEdge outsourced model allows us to work with talented, hardworking and passionate colleagues who live and work in locations across the country and in a few cases across the globe. ClearEdge prides itself on being a small team of committed marketers who achieve big success. A close-knit, happy team with big goals and bold resolve. That’s how we see our work at ClearEdge Marketing—the best of all worlds.

Jessica Castaneda
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Social Media Observances
In speaking with several clients from different industries, we’re seeing more and more companies interested in harnessing the power of social media – specifically Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Social media is rapidly becoming the new marketing communications tool for companies to reach and build relationships with candidates, job seekers and clients alike. It’s a way to differentiate themselves and stand out in today’s saturated online marketplace where everyone has a Web site.

Companies have successfully leveraged social media to increase their brand awareness, and ultimately sales, by generating interest and gaining constant attention to their brand. One such way a company capitalized upon this fast and growing free marketing tool was to promote its first annual tradeshow via Facebook. The results: tripled the expected attendance! Upon analyzing clients’ Web analytics, I’ve also seen social media sites generate referring traffic for a company’s Web site.

Facebook: The Most Popular Social Networking Tool
Many of our clients get their first taste of social media by creating a profile page on the popular social networking site Facebook. It is rapidly becoming the most popular social networking site, with 600,000 new users being added each day. With minimal associated costs, Facebook serves as a great stepping stone that allows each client to express their brand in an edgier, more targeted approach. It enables companies to speak directly to job seekers and candidates, as well as provide their targeted audience the opportunity to provide feedback or input on a specific topic/item. Facebook also allows the opportunity for our clients to expand and build upon their page as the page gains more traction or as more tools/resources become available – in essence creating a microsite.

Get On Board
So what are you waiting for? Jump into the social media world with a Facebook profile page for your company and start forging those online relationships. But before jumping in, make sure that you understand your target audience’s needs and interests so you can feature the right information that resonates with them. Already launched a Facebook profile page for your company? Share your story with us.

Elizabeth Smith
Director of Social Media Marketing
ClearEdge Marketing

The good news is that there are tactics you can employ that will have a minimal cost associated with them—but will produce great returns, build your brand and increase your lead generation efforts. In fact, if done right, the ROI from employing all of these tactics will only continue to improve over time. So just what are these tactics?

1. Incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) best practices
Today, more than ever, we’re inundated with so many messages that when people need to search for something, they just Google it. Making sure your company ranks high in organic search results doesn’t happen magically—nor does it happen overnight. But it can happen. The outcome—a flood of new, and possibly returning, visitors to your site—and therefore, more revenue.

These best practices range from keyword research and incorporating the keywords that resonate with your audience across all mediums to confirming your site structure is search-engine friendly and using correct programming code to draw the right attention to keywords on your page.

2. Improve your Web site
Amidst some speculation out there, content is STILL king. Review your site’s content. Does it resonate with your target audience? Is it up to date? Is it Web-friendly? Does it have a call to action on each page? Beef up and revise content as needed, making sure that you incorporate applicable keywords as part of your SEO strategy.

Also, understand the behavior of your Web site visitor by analyzing your site’s traffic. Once you see a trend or a pattern, take steps to remedy any glaring problems so that your visitors will stay on your site longer.

3. Create a blog
Remembering that content is king, producing a blog with targeted posts focused on key industry topics is a guaranteed win-win-win. Your target audience will gain insight and be able to share their comments about that posting.

At the same time, you will be able to leverage its content across multiple marketing mediums. These mediums can range from e-newsletters as part of a Target Account Program (TAP), Facebook and Twitter, to providing you the option of sending clients/prospects a link to a blog posting highlighting the sales point you’re addressing. Your company will also be able to demonstrate its expertise on select topics and, when done right, it will also help you to become a recognized industry resource. The days of long white papers have been replaced with informative blog posts and shorter articles focusing on key business-related topics.

Lastly, the search engines will associate this relevant content to your company when people are searching for topics related to your post—thus helping you increase in the search engine rankings (in other words, appear higher on the list).

4. Implement a linking strategy
People are short on time and new products and information are rolled out every hour. Unless you’re Microsoft or Coca-Cola, not everyone knows about who you are and what you have to offer. Implementing a linking strategy helps dwindle that percentage down—one comment at a time.

This is done by posting comments on various blogs and forums that ultimately directs others back to your site and/or blog. For example, you’re in IT staffing and are looking to recruit potential SAP developers. Locate and join any user groups and communities focused on SAP. Once a member, post comments and reply to other people’s comments (a.k.a. threads). Continue to do this for a couple of posts, and then start to mention in future posts that your company specializes in IT staffing and is in need of SAP developers. Provide a link to your site and/or job posting. Repeat this process across multiple mediums and sites.

5. Invest in social media
People have been connecting to friends, family and colleagues on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for some time and businesses have discovered how powerful these social networking and social messaging sites are for reaching their target audience.

Like businesses, consumers are also turning inward during this economic situation. They are making more and more purchasing decisions based upon recommendations from friends and colleagues in their network. This trend is expected to only continue—thus promoting the need to not only have a company presence on these social networking and social messaging sites, but also actively post and comment on them.

As with anything online, these tactics should complement each other. This creates a synergy that enables you to maximize your efforts and build your brand, while generating additional revenue. Another benefit to having an online presence is that it enables you to modify your messaging and/or approach at a moment’s notice—helping you stay current with the latest trends and hot topics.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get online! Start experiencing firsthand the benefits of implementing these five key methods to help you to generate additional revenue.

Elizabeth Smith
Director of Social Media Marketing
ClearEdge Marketing

Marketing can be a sentimental business unit—look at me beginning this blog by referencing a classic holiday tearjerker. But sentiment has its place, sometimes in sales, frequently in customer appreciation and retention and often in brand image. With that in mind, we at ClearEdge are going to get caught up in the silver bells, mistletoe and Tiny Tim-like joys of the season and share three simple marketing tips to help you cheerfully close out the year.

Send Glad Tidings
Even if you don’t feel like making merry, take time to wish your customers, prospects, partners, suppliers and employees well this holiday season. In downtimes, business and personal networks are worth their weight in golden jingle bells so make an effort to make contact before the end of the year.

If your budget cannot include a holiday mailing, e-greetings are acceptable and personal calls are even better. It gives you a chance to check in with important resources, underscore the importance of key relationships and, perhaps, gather some valuable market information.

Make a List, Check It Twice
Build and vet your first quarter prospect list now! 2009 is going to be a tremendously competitive year, and you need to have your sales strategy in place long before that apple starts to fall in New York City.

Take several hours this December to work with your sales teams, analyze the existing pipeline and build strong prospect lists you can begin working from at the first of January 2009.

Put a Penny in the Old Man’s Hat
Corporate giving programs have swelled in popularity and generosity in recent years. If your organization has made a commitment to a charitable organization, see if it’s possible to continue or even boost those contributions this holiday season.

Client and employee retention are powerfully influenced by a company’s culture and image. Continuing your good efforts despite difficult times speaks volumes to the values most important to your organization. 

We at ClearEdge wish you a safe and joyful holiday season. May your merry days be many and the ba-humbugs be few and far between!

Sarah Schunk
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

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Yikes! My initial, knee-jerk reaction was not unlike those who posted messages in response to the AdAge.com article. How careless? How could she? It immediately reminded me of a similar situation. In August 2006, RadioShack communicated layoff announcements by e-mail. Approximately 400 employees walked into work on August 29 and received the following message in their inbox: “The workforce reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.” 

However, having been the author of layoff messaging in a past life, and one of a handful of individuals with the technical permissions to distribute company-wide e-mails to several thousand employees, I quickly began to empathize with Carat’s VP. After all, one false slip of a keystroke and that could just as easily have happened to me. I don’t believe she maliciously distributed the draft documents by e-mail in advance of a planned formal announcement. It was most certainly an accident.

And that’s when it struck me. The RadioShack and Carat layoff situations are actually quite different. Though both companies, it appears, developed thorough communications plans and messaging to share the unfortunate news, RadioShack purposefully chose e-mail as its method for making the announcement. RadioShack’s decision to alert affected employees that their positions were eliminated by e-mail resulted in a number of not-so-positive headlines.  RadioShack defended its actions saying it had forewarned employees at its Fort Worth headquarters about the impending layoffs and that they had told employees they would learn about their job status via e-mail.  Given the open office environment, RadioShack felt it was the best way to preserve the person’s privacy and dignity, as opposed to walking through cubicles and tapping people on the shoulder to call them into the office.

Many of the outplacement experts cited in the numerous articles written on the topic said the approach was inappropriate. In a New York Times article, Derrick D’Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, said he had never heard of such a large number of employees being notified about a layoff electronically.  He said it could be seen as dehumanizing.  “If I put myself in their shoes,” Mr. D’Souza said.  “I’d say, ‘Didn’t they have a few minutes to tell me?”’

I believe most workers have come to accept that workforce reductions are part of the normal course of business.  While it still won’t be easy for the employee being let go, the person delivering the news, or those left behind, taking a timely, honest, personal approach will do a great deal to minimize animosity.  No matter how large or small your organization is, creating a cohesive internal communications plan that addresses how, when and to whom you’ll make your announcements will allow you to coordinate the organizational changes face-to-face affording employees the dignity they deserve.

As you would expect, Carat has received some harsh criticism in the press.  While it’s still too early to tell what the exact fallout will be from the Carat VP’s mistake, I doubt it will be much more than a stomach flip at the thought of it happening to you and a reminder to always double and triple check the To:, Cc: and Bcc: boxes of your e-mail when distributing sensitive documents.  RadioShack on the other hand continues to serve as a good example of how not to communicate workforce reductions to employees.

Jessica Elliott
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

A. TV
B. Print ads
C. Billboards
D. Your customers 

If you answered “D,” you’re onto one of the hottest new trends in marketing—customer evangelism.

The concept of customer evangelism is all about creating true believers in your company. When you build this kind of loyalty, you gain two priceless assets: a pool of repeat customers and ongoing word-of-mouth referrals to new customers.

The tricky part: you can’t hire or buy customer evangelists. You have to earn them. But how? According to Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, authors of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force, the following techniques can help you build a loyal following.

-Constantly communicate with customers to understand what they love about your products and services.
-Share knowledge with customers to increase the perceived and actual value of a service.
-Build “buzz” based on sincere, personal referrals. 
-Create a customer community, where people who care about your business, products or services can gather.
-Provide “bite-size” products or services so customers can share the experience without an expensive purchase.
-Aim for a larger cause to create emotional connections.
 
How do these techniques translate into real life? Today there are plenty of ways to build customer evangelists. For now, I’ll focus on constant communication and building a buzz based on referrals.

Constant communication. Company blogs are perhaps the easiest, most cost-efficient and widest-reaching way to stay in constant touch with clients. Blog content can be posted quickly, it is informal yet controlled, and it provides a forum for feedback on the subject matter posted. Other benefits to blogs that are often overlooked are that they can give companies higher search engine rankings and exposure to a wider, diverse customer community. An example of a company with a wide-reaching blog is Google. Their blog talks about everything from issues they think are important to society to company news. Keep blogs informative, avoid marketing “fluff,” and keep them fresh.

Another opportunity to turn clients into evangelists is through your company newsletter. Even if your client or prospective client isn’t looking to purchase your services right at that time, they are reminded of you and perhaps learned something from your newsletter that they might share with a colleague. Whether your newsletter is printed or sent via e-mail, you’ve established top-of-mind awareness and another chance to connect with clients.

Building a Buzz. Of course “word of mouth” advertising is invaluable. It says something about your reputation as people typically only recommend a company where they’ve had stellar service and have been treated well. Any opportunity to post customer testimonials on your Web site or to include them in a newsletter gives clients a taste of what other similar companies are experiencing and a look at new ways that they themselves might be able to maximize your services.
 
One final word of advice—keep things natural. While it’s important to encourage customer evangelism, don’t try to force it.

Jennifer Higgins
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Take for instance: Flickr, Plaxo, Wiggio, Yammer—ever wonder how names like these originated or what the solution is that they offer? Welcome to the plethora of Web 2.0 sites with strange names that are unrelated to their service—a collection of Web sites dedicated to services and applications that enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration. Based on some of the names, you would never intuitively know what their purpose is or what innovative solution they are presenting.

They Do What?
Browsing Web 2.0 sites can often feel like you are on a road trip, deciphering letters on license plates into words and phrases like “ANYWR” (anywhere). Sometimes the names make it clear what vegetable of the day the creator ordered for lunch (CALLIFLOWER) or that they needed a jolt of caffeine before work that morning (Cappuccino). But it’s not always clear what the solution is that they offer. As if anyone would immediately know that Wiggio would allow a group to collaborate online or that Plaxo was a professional networking site. 

Clearly, a quirky name is a popular way to get attention among these companies that are trying to revolutionize and differentiate the service they are offering. And for those companies that just have no creativity left there is even a Web 2.0 Name Generator just in case a company or application needs help coming up with a completely unrelated name.

A recent blog posted on CIO Insider went even further citing the following three rules of thumb to qualify it as a ridiculous Web 2.0 site:

1. The site’s mission statement must be impenetrable   
2. The site must solve a problem that has been solved a million times already or didn’t need solving in the first place
3. Its name must love the letter “r” but eschew vowels ( Drivl, Grazr, Hngry), or be a refugee from “Jabberwocky” (CurdBee, Egghub, Humyo, Jiffle)

The Entertainment Factor
Clearly some of this just feels like haphazard entertainment, but as marketers, we can appreciate the creativity being harnessed through these sites. The names are often deliberately created to be different, catchy and short, in an attempt to promote their brand and make it easy to remember. Think about it, before Web 2.0 emerged, names like Wikipedia and Google were barely known. Now, “Wikipedia” has become part of our everyday language, and “Google” is a verb. While their name helps, Web 2.0 sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and Google are successful because they embrace the Web 2.0 credence. They bring together collective knowledge, support interaction and communication, and are constantly evolving based on user feedback. It is more than a “cool” name and an average service that continues to help them come out on top. 

Not every name is going to be effective. As the concepts of Web 2.0 continue to produce improved solutions to organizations and individuals, it will be up to those Web 2.0 businesses to not only have an innovative name, but a strong business model too. A marketing strategy, a solid message and a differentiator within the service they are offering will go a long way in the world where 1000 different companies tout their expertise of online project management. 

At the same time, the world loves to laugh. Who knows, perhaps some of this silliness will harness your innovation and creativity.  

For More Laughs
Check out the Web 2.0 directory, www.Feedmyapp.com, to view some of the newest companies and applications. This site allows people to log new Web 2.0 applications and sites. Over the past year, they averaged 157 new Web 2.0 application listings per month ranging from solutions for pets to solutions for collaboration.

Nikki Leonardi
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

In a marketing agency, these types of questions come up frequently as organizations look to us to update or launch a new Web site project or online strategy.  While Web 2.0 is not a new term, it has definitely picked up momentum and is weaving itself into the mainstay of the entire business world.  The variety of Web sites, conferences and businesses lending their credence to Web 2.0 has increased immensely over the past few years, creating a buzz among organizations to learn more about this technology and how it works. Yet even with all this information, there remains confusion around what Web 2.0 really is. 

Surprising?  Not really.  This seemingly simple term can be quite complex, especially for those outside of the IT world.   And while some organizations have a much better understanding of what Web 2.0 entails, all too often the true value gets overlooked – the impact it can have on a business’s strategy and operations. 

So What Is It?
While the name might indicate a ‘new Web release’, in reality it’s not new technical specifications at all, just a way in how current technology is used.  According to Wikipedia this term is used to describe the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and how developers and end-users utilize the Web.  Most of us are not foreign to this concept at all and utilize this technology in some fashion every day. Social networking sites (Facebook, My Space), wikis, RSS (real simple syndication), even this blog—all are tools that support the inherent concepts of Web 2.0—enhanced creativity, information sharing and collaboration.

But How Is It Really Affecting Business?

The Good:
Obviously this technology is growing into more than just consumer tools and Internet pastimes.   Businesses have recognized the benefits and relevance of Web 2.0 technologies and are readily investing in this concept. In fact, studies done by Forrester Research found that one in three businesses across North America and Europe is planning to invest in Web 2.0 tools and technologies in 2008.  They also stated that enterprise spending on Web 2.0 technologies will grow strongly over the next five years, reaching $4.6 billion globally by 2013.

In fact, many organizations have already incorporated some level of Web 2.0 into their strategy, without even knowing this was part of the buzz.  Companies have learned that this technology is an inexpensive and easy way to interact with their users.  By fostering business communities, corporate blogs and Facebook pages, etc., companies can reach their customer base more quickly and enhance their products and services more regularly based on end-user feedback.  Even internally within an organization, Web 2.0 applications can increase information sharing through wikis and internal blogs as well as incremental releases—all greatly reducing time-to-resolution of key issues and problems in an organization.   In a TopCoder survey conducted for ComputerWorld, seven in 10 coders stated that traditional corporate development teams could benefit from Web 2.0 techniques, specifically the incremental feature releases, quick user feedback loops and quality assurance programs that include users. 

The Bad and The Ugly:
It’s apparent though that not all businesses are ready to open their doors and embrace Web 2.0.  While this technology acts as a catalyst for collaboration, it has also opened up a real vulnerability—greater access for hackers, more susceptibility to viruses,  risk of employees inadvertently (or purposefully) sharing proprietary information, negative information posted over user groups—that organizations have not had to focus on so intensely in the past.

There also remain a lot of questions and concerns regarding legalities and liability around public disclosure as well as ownership of intellectual property when utilizing these technologies.  While companies can (and should) incorporate more procedures and controls to protect themselves, there has been very little regulation as to what that looks like.  Just recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement addressing the need for greater guidance regarding many of these applications for businesses. 

So What’s Next for Businesses?
Web 2.0 is essentially a paradigm shift in the way we not only socialize and communicate, but also in the way business is conducted.  Clearly not all aspects of Web 2.0 are a match for every company and not every company is immediately ready to incorporate any of these processes or applications, but it is certainly gaining popularity across the masses and finding new ways to integrate into every day business.  Organizations do not really have a choice in IF they will utilize this concept, but rather HOW they will utilize it. So, what about your business; how is Web 2.0 affecting your strategy?

Nikki Leonardi
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Let me explain.

The Yin
Good PR people often counsel their clients against pursuing the one-off “big story.”  You know the “I-want-to-be-in-the-Wall-Street-Journal” story.  And the reason is simple, most clients are not very happy the first time their company is covered in the Wall Street Journal precisely because the reporter has done a good and fair job. 

I know this from experience.  In the 1990s, I was a PR director at a large IT services company and when we finally got the CEO quoted in the local business journal, all hell broke loose.  To say the CEO was angry was an understatement.  He was furious because the story was “fair” and it covered the market, not just us.  He knew the scope of the story going into the interview, but somewhere along the way, he thought that the story would make us look like angels and the others like the devil. 

In reality, the story was good, and we did come off well, but it wasn’t exactly as he would have worded it, more importantly many of our competitors came off well too. 

It’s important to understand when we undertake a proactive media campaign that the story will — NEVER, I repeat, NEVER — read exactly as we hoped it would. 

The Yang
With practice and realistic expectations, we can reverse this perspective and find ourselves very satisfied with a story EVEN when the reporter doesn’t include all our “best stuff.” 

The key to being satisfied, even happy, with an article is simple. 

Every interview deserves a planned, disciplined PR approach.  The PR person should vet the reporter and determine the nature of the story.  The PR person should talk with the spokesperson in advance to ensure that he/she has all of the information needed and a precise way of stating it.  The PR person can/should sit in on the interview (physically or by phone) and clarify or offer additional information as needed.  And post interview, the PR person can and should check in with the reporter to see if anything was missing or more detail is needed.

Preparing for a media interview is as important as preparing for a job interview.  You get one chance to make a good impression and simultaneously present relevant information.  It’s an opportunity and a challenge and should be viewed as such.

Laura Field
PR Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Fast forward to present day and I’m still amazed at how infrequently companies discuss their business goals. I know many companies spend months creating them, send out an e-mail about them at the beginning of the year and then don’t talk about them again until the end of year—when it’s time to tell their employees they didn’t achieve them. Employees don’t intuitively know what management has committed to achieving. You have to tell them. And tell them again. And again.

Given the multiple priorities of today’s employee, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger objective and get caught up in oiling the squeaky wheels. In most cases, your employees want to help the company succeed. Not only is there a personal sense of pride in having been a part of that success, there is also a strong motivation in the form of job security. It’s up to business leaders to ensure their employees know what they can do to meet the obligations that have been made to customers, the financial community, the board of directors and other important stakeholders.

In my communications and marketing roles, I’ve been able to make good on a personal commitment I made to myself back in my college days, “If I ever get the chance, I will make sure employees in the field don’t feel isolated.” What I’ve learned in practice is:

• Inject the company’s objectives into every relevant communication that goes out from senior management. You can use different language to make it feel fresh, but don’t assume that because it’s getting old and repetitive to you, that everyone shares that feeling. At the very least, employee turnover is enough of a reason to repeat the message.

• Consider the office that’s furthest from your company’s headquarters. They don’t have daily, weekly, monthly or in some cases yearly access to the company’s leadership team. The employees in that office want to know that you have them in mind when you talk about where the company is headed.

• In every communication effectiveness survey I’ve conducted, employees look to their managers first and foremost for information about the company, their role and how the two come together. Look to your managers to deliver on the expectation.

• Managers will filter the message. If you want the whole message delivered, you have to remind managers that employees aren’t “in the know.” It’s their job to connect the dots and to help employees understand the company’s goals and where employees fit into that picture.

As you approach the end of the first quarter of 2008, consider the effectiveness you’ve had in discussing where you want to be at the end of the year. Is everyone on the same page? If numbers are off, if customers are unhappy, if partnerships are strained, perhaps the lack of a shared focus is a symptom. If it is, the remedy isn’t all that hard to administer. 

Jessica Elliott
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

i.c.stars is an innovative technology mentoring program designed to foster the skills of driven young people (ages 18-27) who often lack formal education but are rich in ambition, ideas and smarts. An intensive four-month technology and business immersion, the program is producing skilled, inventive technology enthusiasts who are going on to jobs at leading IT firms across the Chicago community. You can read a profile of the program, its history and its success by Chicago Sun-Times writer and former news anchor Carol Marin here.  

i.c.stars high tea events are part of their leadership training program in which interns host an afternoon tea for a technology leader from the Chicago community. Their job is to interview the professionals they invite to tea in order to gain knowledge, learn from the experiences of an industry veteran and challenge norms. Let me tell you this: The toughest job interviewer you have faced is nothing compared to a table of 10 eager and intelligent i.c.stars interns ready to question, challenge, discuss, debate, laugh and learn.  

My high tea experience with i.c.stars was mind-blowing not only because of the rate at which these young people are learning and growing, but also because I was learning as quickly as they were. I had tea for an hour with the current crop of i.c.stars interns, and it was one of the most important hours in my technology career. They were sponges who, after introducing me to the entire table of interns, began an interview process during which I was put on the spot, challenged, asked serious questions and invited to question their ideas and assumptions. 

It was both exhilarating and exhausting, but most of all it was full of promise. I was able to see the potential of our IT industry in the eyes and ideas of these young interns. And, despite what economic reports may warn, our future is full of promise.  

The goal of i.c.stars is to help develop future IT leaders, which is an important objective for the entire IT industry. If we want a stronger IT industry tomorrow, we must commit to training and educating tomorrow’s leaders. i.c.stars offers today’s IT leaders a perfect opportunity to help strengthen the future of the technology industry while also giving back to the community. If you are like me, finding the time to “give back” in a meaningful way is not simple. However, attending high tea with i.c.stars is a simple (albeit challenging and provocative) way to share your knowledge and give to both the community and the industry.  

I would like to challenge IT executives and leaders from across the Illinois region to have a cup of tea or two with i.c.stars. Discover how i.c. stars can turn one hour into a week’s worth of learning and get a glimpse of how great our future technology leadership can be. If you are not in the Illinois region, then let me encourage you to consider a professional mentorship program in your own community. Giving back to future generations is not only rewarding, it is inspiring. What could be better for the soul or our technology future than pure inspiration?

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

The best prospect lists are made, not bought.
By this I don’t mean you cannot start with a purchased list. Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet or even appropriate publications and associations are great channels to gather potential sales targets. But you cannot stop there. These lists are fantastic until about 60 seconds after you purchase them. Without a good degree of validation from sales teams – meaning actively reaching out to each contact and verifying that they are still at the company and their contact information is still correct, they get stale very quickly. Once you have the right information in your system, you can use it as part of a Keep-in-Touch (KIT) Program or Target Account Program (TAP).  

Know your target.
The best way to identify the right target for your company is to know what you are looking for. Take a look at your current clients. Who are your best clients right now? Who are your ideal clients, those you wish you were doing business with? Are your best clients also your ideal clients? If not, why not? Questions like these will help you narrow down the type of prospects you would like to go after. It will also help you segment prospects into categories – “A list” are those prospects who fit your “ideal” criteria, “B list” may be prospects who would be good to have in your client base, but not as ideal as the “A list”, and so on. Moving clients from the “B list” to the “A list” are important too. Once you know who you want and their priority for your firm, your sales team has a much clearer plan of attack and can more productively spend their time getting the right business. 

Know your list.
Once you have a base list of prospects, your team should make sure that list is up-to-date and accurate. Nothing says “uninterested in my business” like a campaign targeted to the CIO who left 10 months prior. I remember a firm who developed a high-end, multi-week direct mail campaign to CIOs. The campaign theme was on target, the message compelling and the giveaways were interesting. Management asked the sales team for its “top tier” prospects to be included in the program. All was set and the campaign launched. Then, nothing. What happened? Come to find out when management “took a closer look” at the prospect lists their sales team swore by, they realized over 50% of the e-mails were incorrect, resulting in only half of the campaign reaching targeted prospects. Not to mention that many of the targets were no longer with those organizations. It’s no wonder the campaign ROI was low. It starts with knowing your list, knowing your targets.  

Grow and nurture your list.
Your prospect list should be a growing part of your business. As you interact with targets on your list, they will move up and down in priority as their needs and interests change. Some “B list” folks may move up to the “A list” and conversely some “A list” targets may be demoted to a “B list” prospect. But, regardless of where on the list your targets fall, they should never be ignored. The point of prioritizing your prospect list is to identify who gets your most immediate and fervent attention – not who gets attention, period. Keeping constant communication with your list is the only way to keep it current. Communication vehicles such as Keep-In-Touch (KIT) Programs or Target Account Programs (TAP) are great ways to do just that. 

Adding to your list.
The best way to grow your prospect list is what we call the “homegrown” approach. This isn’t an earth-shattering revelation. Basically, you add people with whom you’ve come in contact and had a chance to interact and evaluate. It may be someone from a conference, networking lunch or little league. It could be online leads, such as those from LinkedIn or Facebook.  

Don’t forget your current accounts.
If you haven’t captured 100% of your current clients’ business then they should be on your prospect list. Different departments, sister divisions, the list goes on. Use your loyal clients within these businesses to help you spread the word. Penetration programs targeting specific companies are a great way to give you an edge over outside competition. In any sales program, never forget to include your current clients and penetration leads. 

Quality over quantity.
Wouldn’t you rather invest time and resources into 100 solid prospects who will get you the type of business that will move your company forward than in 1,000 prospects who may end up wasting your time and resources?  

A little due diligence, some solid prioritizing and a program of constant communication can help you develop relationships with leads that will pay off well into the future.   

Document list activity.
One last step, crucial to the success of your prospect list, is documenting your activity in a Contact Management System (CMS). While it can be a hassle to keep up, the CMS helps you manage your prospects and keep track of who you called or reached out to, and when. Depending on the CMS your company uses, you can even track the success of your marketing campaigns. It also helps with metrics, so you know personally how much activity you require to meet your goals. When your prospect list is managed properly, at campaign time you can more easily pull your list of contacts and know you’ll see a greater return. And isn’t that the reason for your list in the first place?

Jessica Castaneda
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

• RGB – refers to the colors red, green and blue
• CMYK – stands for cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black
• PMS – stands for Pantone Matching System® 

The differences between RGB and CMYK

RGB is used in computer monitors, digital cameras, scanners and art designed for the Web. RGB is used for Web work, whereas CMYK and PMS are used for print work. For best results, your artwork should be created in PMS or CMYK from the start, not created in RGB and then converted later on.  

Why doesn’t the color on my monitor match the printout?

The colors that you see on your computer screen may not exactly match what is reproduced by a high quality offset printing press — or, for that matter, even your desktop printer. Your computer monitor is calibrated in RGB — due to the different color models and the wide variation in monitor technologies, the colors will be similar, but not exact. Because of these differences the colors from one monitor to another may be quite different; therefore, you can’t realistically judge or compare what you see on screen to a printed product. 

Another avenue you can’t use to “match” press colors is the desktop printer. If you print a sample on your inkjet or laser color printer, there may be instances of substantial variations from the high quality produced from an offset lithographic printing press. This is due to the widely-varying results from different output devices including inkjet, thermal, dye sublimation and color laser printers, papers, inks, materials and even printers. Bottom line: when placed side-by-side, it is unlikely that the printed product you get from your commercial printer will match the colors on your monitor or a printout from your desktop printer. If your color is critical, be sure to order a color approval proof to be printed on the same material as your final graphics. 

Offset Press Printing

Most high quality commercial printing is done on an offset press using a four-color process called CMYK. As I mentioned before, CMYK stands for cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black. These four colors are used to create the various shades of color on any given product. Offset printing can be 1-,
2-, 3- or 4-color. A separate film needs to be shot for each of the colors. Each time a color is added to the press, the press has to be washed down and the new ink added. Hence, the more colors used, the more expensive the printing costs. 

Spot Colors

Spot colors are used most frequently for one and two color jobs and when an exact color needs to be produced every time. Logos are perfect examples for spot colors. The Pantone® PMS color matching system is most frequently used for selection and printing of spot colors. For example, if your logo or brand is represented with a distinctive blue, be sure to let your commercial printer know this color needs to match a specific PMS. This number will then be matched on the press to deliver the exact result you need. If your logo wasn’t created in PMS colors then you will need to try and match your color using a Pantone Guide. 

Will my graphics match our Pantone® (PMS) solid ink colors?

To see how your PMS solid ink colors will reproduce in CMYK, it is suggested you review a Pantone® Color Bridge, or as it used to be known, a solid to process guide at Pantone’s Web site. The guide shows what happens when you reproduce Pantone Matching System® (PMS) colors in CMYK. Although many can be successfully simulated, a large majority cannot due to the limitations inherent in 4-color process (CMYK) printing. The fan guide displays Pantone® colors on stock alongside their closest 4-color process match. The CMYK screen values are provided for each process color. 

As you can tell, printing issues and lingo can be a lot to take in. But by understanding the printing process, and the obstacles that can come up during it, you ensure that there won’t be any surprises waiting for you the next time you visit the printer. Stay tuned for more design tips in blogs to come… 

Michelle LoGerfo
Graphic Designer
ClearEdge Marketing

Marking its 20th anniversary, the NACCB Annual Conference & Trade Show was a huge success with one of the highest turnouts ever. The event continues to be a great venue for senior executives in the IT services industry to share ideas with each other. From techniques on winning new clients to insights on the ever-changing world economy, everyone who attended the conference had something interesting to reveal–and to learn.

One of the most memorable lessons, for me (really a refresher course for us marketers to remind ourselves and our clients), came from Scott Ginsberg, speaker and author of Hello, My Name is Scott, The Power of Approachability, Make a Name for Yourself and How to be That Guy.

During his presentation, Scott asked conference goers ‘What are you known for?’ A question that some business owners know right away, many struggle to answer, but we all should ask ourselves. After all, if the owner of the business can’t sell someone on what makes their own company and services unique, then how can the sales team, or anyone on staff for that matter, be expected to do so? We discussed this crucial question during a marketing roundtable I had the opportunity to host, as well as two key thoughts Scott mentioned that are also imperative for a flourishing business, and more specifically, a brand that is impossible to forget.

Get noticed. Get remembered. Get business.
In the world of marketing, perhaps no project can accomplish these three things for your business more effectively than a combined Target Account Program (TAP) and Keep-in-Touch strategy. A TAP that includes a series of clever, informative drop-offs makes your prospective clients notice you, remember you, and if you follow through on it effectively, it encourages them to hire you. It’s one thing to have a list of potential clients. But it’s quite another to actively show them what your business is capable of while building a personal relationship with them, as a combined target account program and keep-in-touch strategy enables you to do.

Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.
A consistent message strategy is vital in engaging clients and keeping them for the long term. A fancy business card or a sharp tagline won’t get you far without a solid message and value proposition to back it up. A simple, unwavering message sets a foundation for your business to serve clients. It lets them know what they can expect to attain from working with you.

Before I go, I want to say I hope you gained as much from these ideas brought up at this year’s conference as I have. And the next time someone asks you what makes your business unique, I hope you have an unforgettable answer. Well, do you?

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

For example, I have recently had several clients relate stories of how key business contacts were lost and/or untraceable because the business development professional was using text messaging to communicate with a prospect. Because retrieving content from cell phones is a limited function, key interactions and records easily vanish when texting is the communications mode of choice. While not necessarily the norm today, this method of client interaction does seem to be increasing.

And while I can personally testify to the value of BlackBerry and PDA tools that allow for greater accessibility and mobility, I can also testify to the inefficiency they can bring to business communications. Professionals writing in transit or between meetings often reply so fast and with such little thought to wording that their messages are indecipherable and often come across as being curt. Some people go as far as putting disclaimers in their BlackBerry signature lines alerting recipients that the message was sent from a BlackBerry, as if it’s an excuse for typos and misunderstood messages. I once received the following reply to an e-mail request for a meeting:

“Good be can’t for noon. See then 5. Be great.”

As much as I love a good riddle, this is ridiculous. Communications that devolve to this level for the sake of efficiency are only breeding inefficiency. I had to e-mail again twice to get a coherent response, which meant three times the work necessary for both of us. And don’t get me wrong. As a business owner, I don’t leave home without my BlackBerry. I am often abusing BlackBerry etiquette in public places (restaurants, movie theatres, etc.) for the sake of communicating with a client. But, over time, I too have learned when to put the BlackBerry down and wait for my laptop back at the office.

In the article mentioned above, Gibbs argues that too much technology-enabled communication enables antisocial interactions. I see evidence of this in business communications every day. In attempts to work faster and more flexibly, we are losing our ability to communicate efficiently and with admirable professionalism.

For maintaining strong sales channel communications, we at ClearEdge always recommend regular documentation of client and prospect interactions (or what we in marketing call “touches”). Thanks to technology, outstanding and cost-effective tools for managing sales communications and progress are available. If a client or prospect is sent a text message invitation, meeting request or piece of information, that interaction needs to be centrally documented so that other team members can trace the communication path. That way if a sales person leaves or must take a leave of absence, other staff members can step in and pick up the process. The critical process is ensuring that prospect contacts and lead generation activities are being recorded centrally (where the business can access them) and regularly.

When it comes to making sure written communications (whether in phone calls, letters, e-mails or texts) uphold professional standards, businesses need to focus on training and mentoring. Too many businesses look at the younger generations of workers and say, “It’s just the way they’ve learned to use technology. They are redefining workplace communications.”

My response? Only if you let them. Workers of all ages are open to learning and skills enhancement, but when it comes to high-tech tools, many people tend to default to the younger generation as knowing the best way to use gadgets today. In terms of speed, maybe. In terms of using PDAs and mobile phones with professional grace, we can all use some help in refining our skills. In the coming months, writers and the communications specialist from our ClearEdge team will share their insights on how to combat falling standards of professionalism while in a gadget-happy, speed-addicted, extraordinarily mobile work world. We look forward to reading and hearing your thoughts on the subject.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

Consider this blogging blunder by a Microsoft employee, a story that was detailed in Al Sacco’s blog on CIO.com. It’s an interesting case because the blogger was writing on his own personal blog page, but he divulged proprietary company information and a Web link to internal company resources that he learned of while at his job at Microsoft. In this case, the employee was at fault, fault, fault and should have known by confidential agreements and common sense that such information can’t be made public unless the company has made it public.

In this age of online social networking and blogging, it’s important for businesses to remind employees that they cannot share proprietary company information with the public. Few employees are out to be malicious, they just forget or (as we all are guilty of at times) they are just not thinking.

Businesses need to be rigorous in creating and updating confidentiality agreements. We all need to be reminded of what you can and can’t say about business information in public forums. Reading and signing confidentiality agreements is an important way to help employees better manage the information they are given.

As for company blogs and blog entries, businesses need to make sure they are centrally reviewed before they are posted. Whether it’s communication teams or management teams doing the reviews, all entries going on company Web sites should be checked for accuracy, good grammar and to ensure that no proprietary or inappropriate information is being leaked.

Company blogs are a company product and should be in their very best form when they hit the Internet. No business strives to communicate and deliver mediocrity and blog entries should not become the place to start.

Sarah Schunk
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Many sales professionals will look at me like I have a second head if I ask, “How big is the current prospect list you are working from? Or, how many times a week are you contacting the individuals on your prospect list?”

In sales and marketing, you have to have a bit of a bounty hunter’s mindset. You must know who your “Most Wanted” targets are and go after them with strategic, creative assertiveness. Without a well-developed prospect list, a significant amount of your sales and marketing efforts go to waste on unqualified or uninterested parties. With a strong prospect list, you are continually sending valuable messages to potential clients that need, use and have the funds for the services your organization provides.

As the final sales quarter of 2007 gets underway for businesses, I want to provide sales professionals with a 10-point reminder of the numerous reasons why it’s so important to work from a qualified prospect list:

Why Prospect Lists Are a MUST

1. Focus. A qualified prospect list allows sales professionals to focus on the best business and revenue opportunities.

2. Time. Sales professionals reduce their workloads significantly by building and working from one list of prospects that is regularly updated rather than sending out new information to a constantly changing group of recipients. They also don’t waste time chasing the wrong prospects.

3. Effectiveness. Working from a list of qualified prospects will always be more effective than striking out on your own with each new sales and marketing program. The prospect lists allows you to concentrate on the best sales opportunities, which increases your likelihood of making sales. 

4. Profiling. Having a target prospect list helps sales and marketing professionals to define and know the profile (size, industry, challenges, etc.) of target companies. It makes the entire marketing and sales organization more focused and effective.

5. Greater Access. With a targeted prospect, sales people have time to better get to know, research and make contact with the company. They are more likely going to have the time and resources to get to reach and know key decision makers, a vital step in the sales process. 

6. Reduced Redundancy. When sales teams do not work from prospect lists, they run the risk of having multiple sales professionals contact the same company. The result is a business looks disorganized to the prospective client. When all sales teams work on qualified sales lists that are centrally vetted for redundancies, these types of awkward sales replications will not occur.

7. Measurement. When a prospect list is used it is much easier for a business to measure the effectiveness of sales and marketing programs. The organization gains important insight into why certain programs piqued the interest of prospects and why others failed to make an impact.

8. Increased Organization. A qualified list is a critical tool in organizing the busy, busy schedule of today’s sales professionals who must make calls, attend events, go to business and sales events, make business pitches and attend meetings. The list is another important tool that allows sales professionals to measure and keep track of their progress in reaching prospects.

9. Image & Brand Building. Focusing marketing and sales messages on key clients in a strategic, focused method is one of the best ways to build a strong, memorable brand with key businesses. The prospect list allows marketing teams and the sales professionals to customize and direct messages to the target, creating stronger, more resonant messages.

10. Timing. The prospect list is also an important tool for helping determine how much time you have invested with a prospect. If prospecting efforts with a qualified lead have gone on for numerous months with zero response, it may be time to move the prospect to a secondary list in order to add new, warmer prospects to the A list.

Stay tuned to the ClearEdge blog for more on how to organize and update prospect lists and how to keep prospect lists growing with proven lead generation techniques.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

But, before you stand outside their door screaming their name ala Marlon Brando in “A Street Car Named Desire,” you may want to put a plan together. That’s where a Target Account Program (TAP) can help. As the name suggests, a TAP is intended to help you target and get in front of your business’ level 1, gold-star, key prospects. It is a planned, scheduled and methodically executed multi-week program that uses a variety of marketing approaches – mail, in-person visits, calls, e-mail, etc. to help you stand out from the crowd. TAPs can vary depending on your target audience, but usually they involve in-person drop-offs of information about your services delivered in a clever and interesting manner often accompanied by a small giveaway that ties in with your message and theme.

Even the most cold-hearted prospect can’t ignore someone visiting week after week dropping off clever, funny or meaningful information – that is professional, interesting and always relevant to their business.

Choosing the “gold-star” prospects

In the book “Positioning: The Battle for your Mind” veteran marketing strategists Al Ries and Jack Trout write that an average person can rarely remember more than seven brands in any given product category. And that’s in a high-interest category. In low-interest categories, the average person is hard-pressed to remember more than one or two brands. Because of the clever and personal nature of TAP programs, they are a great way to get you a coveted spot in your prospects’ minds. But, because of their success, it’s natural to want to include as many prospects as possible in the TAP. Why not? If getting into the brains of 10 key prospects is good, 20 must be better, right? Not so fast.

The key to a successful TAP is planning, and the first step in planning a TAP is developing a pristine prospect list. Here are some critical things to consider:

Industry – Keep in mind that a key element in a TAP is the drop-offs. You’ll want to make sure you can actually get to your prospect or at least to the front desk at their company without running into obstacles such as security guards or key card access. Pharmaceutical companies and financial institutions are a couple of places with added security. And, unless you’re interested in a stint at Guantanamo, you’ll want to get approval prior to leaving drop-offs at government locations. A little due-diligence will go a long way to ensure you have drop-off friendly companies on your list.

Geography – It’s important to consider the geography of your prospects relative to your sales force. While you want to include your top 10 prospects in the first TAP you do, it may be more feasible to break up your prospect list by geography to ensure your sales force can effectively visit the locations within the schedule and not have to do a drive-by drop-and-run. It’s also important that your sales force has the opportunity to ask if the prospect is available and, if given the chance, the time to meet with them right then and there!

Another key point about geography is that what works in Mayberry doesn’t necessarily work in Manhattan. If your business covers several markets, you’ll need to consider whether the same TAP campaign will work across all areas, or if you’ll need to tailor your message for better impact.

Company Size & Organizational Chart – When developing your prospect list, think about the size of the company and the level within the company you are targeting. The goal is to aim as high as appropriate in the organization. A general rule of thumb is the smaller the company, the higher on the organizational chart you’ll target. While chances are slim you’ll get in front of the CEO of a Fortune 100 company (nor would you necessarily want to), you’ll most likely be able to present your company’s services to the CEO of a mid-sized organization. 

That said a common mistake made by sales folks is targeting too low a level within their prospects’ companies. I call this the “C-level syndrome.” Often sales people – especially those more junior – target middle-management because they are an easier pitch. The problem is they often aren’t the key decision maker – the person who can do the most for you – most quickly. For best results, you’ll want to do some digging and find out who the highest-level person is in the area you are targeting. If you aim at a mid-market CEO, they may tell you to talk with someone under them – but now you come armed with the boss’ recommendation. If you target a middle manager, more often than not, that’s where you’ll stay.

Politics – If you decide to go after new business within an existing client (penetrate untapped areas of the organization), it’s a good idea to let the people you’re already doing business with know about your efforts. If not, your great client in the Widget division might get peeved to see his counterpart from the Gizmo division wearing your polo on casual Friday. It sounds petty, but it happens … a lot. The last thing you want to do is spend your time (and money) dropping off gifts as peace offerings to people you’re already working with. The best way to mitigate this etiquette faux pas is to tell the people you know well in advance that you’re planning a drop-off campaign, and that you would appreciate them putting in a good word for you with your target. You have limited drop-offs and with their help, you can make a better impact. Chances are they will be more than happy to comply. This way no one feels left out and your TAP penetrates even deeper into your target organization. 

These are just a few points, but they can make a huge impact on the success of your TAP campaign and your effort to gain new prospects. Execute them correctly, and before you know it you’ll be sitting face-to-face with that frigid prospect who is no longer “away from their desk.”

Jessica Castaneda
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Effective marketing and communication strategies are inextricably linked to an organization’s existing (and ideally fully operational) business plan. They show a direct correlation between enterprise goals and marketing initiatives. As a real-life example, I recently spent two days facilitating a strategic planning session for an IT professional services company with significant growth objectives. By the end of the meeting, the firm had not only created a precise action plan and timetable for achieving its revenue and profit targets; it also identified specific marketing strategies designed to drive the achievement of these objectives.

Below is an example of how marketing tactics evolve directly from the strategic plan.

Strategic Goal: Obtain annual ROI of at least 18% in the next two years

Strategy:
-Facilitate the identification and opening of 20 new accounts

Tactical Approach:
-Targeted account program: Establish and implement a plan that incorporates at least five, multiple medium touch points (e-mail, direct mail, in-person and perhaps even a sponsored event) for each key prospect. ClearEdge Marketing’s research has shown that an effective TAP campaign can be 20-30% more effective than traditional direct mail programs.

-Keep in touch program: Launch a compelling, knowledge-based communication program that allows your company to get a foot in the key decision-maker’s door. Periodically provide — via e-mail, direct mail and/or in person — compelling information about industry issues and challenges that matter to them. Leverage newsletters, article series, case study campaigns and/or blogs as the communication vehicle for persistently reaching out to the clients you are trying to win.

Strategy:
-Increase revenue derived from existing accounts by 30 percent

Tactical Approach:
-Introductory letter: A custom letter that highlights your success within the organization and  includes internal testimonials and referral contact information.

-Sponsored company event: Schedule and conduct executive roundtables on hot industry topics at four major client locations. Design event for maximum interaction between your sales team and a cross-section of existing and prospective client managers to generate internal introduction and referrals.

The most important thing to remember on your way to becoming a strategic marketing organization is that, in the end, only results matter. Just as you do in your strategic planning efforts, institute a fail-safe method for tracking, measuring and communicating the impact of your marketing programs on the organization’s bottom line.

Stay tuned for more strategic marketing insights…

Kathy Dooley
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

In the U.S., more and more people are turning to their computers first when they need something—to get the weather, to get directions, to look for entertainment possibilities, to shop, to travel, to find medical information, to find love, to find friends. Businesses that can be reliable, creative, entertaining and honest providers of information through smart, regular blog content can build a readership (an audience) and eventually increase their consumer base.

One mistake many business blogs make today is that they are writing what they know, but they are not writing what potential consumers are interested in or hungry for. A successful, sticky blog requires careful content analysis. If you are looking to share valuable knowledge with consumers, make sure it’s knowledge they need right now. Does it speak to their current needs and challenges or are you speaking only to issues you/your business leaders find of greatest interest?

What is great about blogging is that success can be quickly analyzed. Readership numbers, whether they are growing or stagnating, will quickly tell you whether a blog is capturing an audience. Blog readers and Internet users are infamous for passing on information and article links when they find them of value. If your blog is striking chords, it will grow by reader-to-reader sharing and not just through your blog marketing efforts.

As a business works to develop its blogging capabilities, it’s important to pay attention to all the cues audience members send. If you are getting feedback from readers and the number of readers is growing, you are on to something. If you are writing into a void with little audience response, it’s time to analyze your content and what your audience wants.

Read some of today’s most successful business and marketplace blogs to gather ideas. To get you started here is a global ranking of the 50 Best Business Blogs from The Times. And be sure to take a lesson from successful blog entrepreneurs. Get to know your audience early and well. They will be your best gauge for how to write and develop blog content.

Sarah Schunk
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

I have had several staffing clients in the technology and finance and accounting sectors come to me in need of VMS advice. They want to know how to avoid slashing rates to the brink of profitability just to stay in the competition for new business. What I tell them is this: The VMS trend is here to stay so it’s time to decide. Do you want to remain a staffing vendor or are you ready to evolve into a valued solutions partner?

Many staffing businesses are finding success by simplifying their approach, eliminating consultative work and fulfilling talent requirements within the confines of VMS pipelines and procurement-style staffing. And why shouldn’t they? The contingent staffing market is strong, and it’s growing. Human Resource Executive Online recently profiled the rapid growth of the contingent workforce and cited a 2007 Staffing Industry Analysts study, which predicts that in just two years 10% of the U.S. workforce will be contingent talent.

The staffing industry has also rapidly evolved along with the growing contingent workforce. This past May, workforce expert Doug Berg shared with BusinessWeek how traditional staffing segments (clerical and technical) as well as new segments (such as medical and legal) are fueling contingent workforce expansion. As more highly skilled professionals join the ranks of contingent workers, many staffing firms have broadened their services to support more complex recruitment and workforce management needs. Some staffing firms are now both talent and service providers, offering services that can include project-based solutions, managed services, outsourcing, offshoring, training, human resource consulting and more.

The reality of VMS has created a crossroads for staffing firms who have evolved into combined service and talent providers. The rates and the standardized procurement-style fulfillment approach that VMS customers demand do not reflect the value-added service offerings these businesses provide. However, in the marketplace and to their own teams (recruiters and sales staff), they are often still seen as staffing providers who belong in the procurement supply chain rather than as solution providers that partner with senior-level decision makers and board-level executives.

For businesses that are determined to maintain their higher-end services and solutions, redefining their marketplace image from the inside out is critical to escaping the margin squeeze. If clients, partners and internal teams still see your business as a contingent talent provider, they will keep your business tethered to traditional staffing and today’s low-margin VMS opportunities. But if your business is able to communicate and demonstrate value to business leaders and decision makers, it will hurdle over and beyond the procurement role to remain a trusted consultant and value-added provider.

“Great,” some businesses might say. “We will update the Web site, create a new brochure and bam: we have a new image.” Unfortunately and at the same time fortunately, it’s not so easy. It’s unfortunate that retooling a business’ image is hard because it does require time and investment at a time when competition is stiff and businesses are already fighting tough margin pressure. However, it’s fortunate that not any business can just change some words and implement a new design to quickly become a high-value solution provider.

Building a new marketplace image requires significant business and marketing changes. Below I have created a general outline of the major steps that must be taken when redefining a staffing organization as a business solutions provider. In between these major milestones are numerous internal and external changes that must occur in order to successfully shed the staffing image and redefine a company.

Five Critical Stages of Staffing Image Transformation

1. The Business Assessment - Ensuring solutions are what you are providing and can provide.
Staffing is now different from solutions and the VMS model is making that a reality. You cannot become a solutions provider by creating a new name for staffing services. It’s important to begin an image change by taking an honest look at the services you provide today, what your business is capable of, what your business is best at and how you want to change. It is at this stage of top-to-bottom assessment of existing business operations and future-state goals that allows businesses to truly decide whether they belong in the staffing or solutions arena.

2. The Message Conversion - Retooling business messaging from the inside out.
To be seen as a solutions provider you must talk like one, which requires a comprehensive assessment and update of a business’ entire messaging platform—from internal messages (mission statements) to external messages (how you explain your strategy, services, and VALUE).

3. The Talent Evolution - Changing the way you sell and maybe who sells.
You don’t sell solutions to the same people you sell staffing to and you don’t take the same sales approach. Solutions sales start at higher entry points in organizations and require a different foundation of knowledge. For many businesses, becoming a solutions business requires the addition of new sales talent, and for all businesses it requires a serious approach to training, which is the subsequent stage discussed below.

4. The Compensation Upgrade – Manage the business and your sales team the way you want to be perceived.
You cannot run a solutions business but reward your sales team on headcount as a staffing firm would. A company must retool compensation plans to ensure they clearly line up with both business and vision goals. If sales teams aren’t rewarded for selling solutions, they will not sell solutions.

5. The Training Push – Training the whole gang.
It’s amazing how many businesses offer solutions, but their internal teams still talk like they work for staffing companies. Transitioning into solutions services requires strong training for staff members at all levels and areas of a business.

6. The Ongoing Campaign – Getting the solutions message out through various marketing and communications mediums.
Redefining an image requires a long, ongoing campaign leveraging both traditional marketing (advertising, Internet, sales literature, etc.) and proactive communications (speaking engagements, hosting events, publishing studies, writing articles and more).

I look forward to discussing and debating these stages of image transformation and the challenges of moving up the service provider value chain with you here on the ClearEdge Blog.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

Set regular times for media updates. Schedule press conferences and let your media contacts know that you’ll provide updates hourly, twice a day, daily or whatever the situation calls for. Make the schedule widely known so that others in the company or in the situation can tell reporters when they will receive an update. Post the schedule on the Web site.

Name in advance who your spokespeople will be. Have a minimum of four or five identified. Tightly coordinate activities between spokespeople and information gathers and fact checkers.

Apologize. My legal friends will call me out on this, but if the situation is in any way your company’s fault, APOLOGIZE, completely and sincerely. If the incident results in human harm, contact immediately the families and friends, and apologize face-to-face, offer all the help you can to mitigate their pain and loss. There are many documented cases of the affected parties forgiving companies that admit to mistakes and correct them, the Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol crisis for example. What the public will not tolerate is a company that refuses to acknowledge responsibility.

I’m sure that there are more tips for crisis situations but these were the ones that stood out to me. The most important advice that Flynn and I agree on is to BE PREPARED. It’s not just for the Boy Scouts. Companies that have a crisis communications plan will recover more quickly and more completely from a crisis than companies that haven’t planned ahead.

Laura Field
Public Relations Director
ClearEdge Marketing