Archive for November 2008
Just keep swimming
I’ve noticed a theme when I’m on the phone with current and (hopefully) future clients. They’re all saying that they’re not sure how things are going to pan out with the current economic snafu, and therefore they’re holding off on new marketing. To a certain extent this makes sense. We market when we have something new to say, a new product, new service, new location etc. Right now business expansion is pretty much kaput, so not much new going on. But this can also be counter productive. Right now your clients/customers are looking for ways to be more efficient and make their dollar go further. If they’re willing to change brand loyalties, how will they find you if you don’t market? Also, businesses that haven’t planned for the recession may not be around for much longer, which opens up the market to their old customers. How will they find you if you don’t market? There are several outstanding articles out there in the blogosphere on this…
Back from California
We’re back from the Riverside B&B, catching up on messages and email and getting things scheduled. If I owe you a phone call or email please be patient. Thanks.
Tuesday is Veteran’s Day
Buy a vet lunch, or a coffee, a beer, something like that.
A few worthwhile places that need help…
It’s the network stupid
Apologies to both Verizon Wireless and James Carville.
From time to time we get asked for something that’s outside our area of expertise. Of course it’s difficult to turn work away in any economy, but it’s important to make sure the client is always well served. We’ve spent a good deal of time and effort building an network of fellow professionals in a wide array of industries. From time to time we trader referrals and work hard to keep in touch with all of them regularly. I once heard a colleague describe a good referral as “sending someone you love to someone you trust. If you have a need that seems outside of how you normally think of us, give us a call anyway. It may be something we do all the time but have never done for you. If we can’t handle it, we probably already know someone who’s perfect for the task. And remember, it goes both ways, so let us know what you’re really good at and what you’re looking to do more of.
Seth Godin’s got a really good article on this subject here. If you’re into marketing and you’re not regularly reading his blog, start.
