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Be a Non-traditional Marketer Smart Ways to Brand Build and Boost Sales
© 2010 ClearEdge Marketing
June 8, 2010
Presented by:Leslie Vickrey, President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing
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Our Agenda
Defining Non-Traditional Marketing
Enlisting Customers in Your Sales Process
Participating in Awards Submissions
Taking Advantage of Public Speaking Opportunities
Lessons to Learn
Lively Discussion!
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Poll Question 1
How would you describe your current marketing style?
Traditional: We mainly leverage very traditional marketing collateral tools (brochures, Web sites, etc.) and resources to reach prospects.
Mixed: We combine traditional marketing tools and resources with emerging tools and technologies.
Avant-Garde: We like to be on the cutting-edge of customer and prospect engagement and use the latest tools and trends in order to stay ahead of the competition.
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How Is It Done?
Make Your Customers Part of Your Sales Team.
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Show Up in Unexpected Places, Like
Industry Meetings and Events.
How Is It Done?
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Non-Traditional Marketing Defined
Catching Prospects Off Guard & Sharing Expertise
through Indirect Approaches.
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How Is It Done?
Impress Them with Expertise and Industry Acknowledgement.
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#1 Turn Customers into Raving Fans
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Happy Customers
A Secret Sales Weapon
Your clients are powerfulresources with broad networks of…
ColleaguesPeersFriends and family
They are the smartest, most direct pathway to new sales success.
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Do You Have Customers or Fans?
Do they refer their contacts to your company?
Do they participate in testimonials and case studies that demonstrate your company’s value and capabilities?
Do they speak positively of your brand and become an indirect yet highly effective component of your sales and marketing strategy?
QUESTIONS?
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The Goal: Raving Fans
A Client Fan Will…
Give your business great referralsSpread positive word of mouthProvide marketing legitimacy (back up your claims)
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3 Tips for Client-Fan Conversion
Tip 1: Engage Clients at Several Levels
Executive sponsorProject manager and team leaderPeers (developer-to-developer, tester-to-tester)
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Immediate Opportunity
Leadership Engagement Assessment
Review client roster to identify…o Which clients have or have not met with a
member of the senior leadership team?
Schedule leaders to meet with clients that have not had leadership attention to discuss:
o Progresso Needs o General concerns and desires
Make leadership engagement a continuous aspect of your sales process
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Poll Question 2
Do you conduct regular satisfaction surveys?
Yes
No
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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys
Tip 2: Conduct Satisfaction Surveys. They Will Tell You…If your clients are satisfiedWhat you can do to make them happierHow their needs are changingIf any accounts are in peril
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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys
Survey BenefitsEasy to implementMore cost effective than everProvides data for benchmarking your performance over time
Survey ToolsOnline surveys e.g. Survey Monkey, ZoomerangFeedback tools e.g. NetPromoter, Inavero
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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys
Keys to SuccessSurveys need to occur regularly
o Quarterlyo Biannuallyo Annually
Share resultso Staff and leadershipo Clients and prospectso Marketplace and press (when
appropriate)
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Tip 3: Balance Your Follow up
Balance Tech & Traditional Follow up
Tech-enabled follow up:o E-mailo Twittero Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Traditional follow upo Phone callso Office visitso Mailed cards
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The Result?
Raving Fans Who Refer Your Business
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#2 Become a Sought-after Expert
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Speak at Industry Events
Speaking OpportunitiesLocal business groupsLocal, regional and national business and industry associationsConferencesWebinars
BenefitsReach a diverse audienceGain industry validationIncrease brand credibility
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How to Get “On the Circuit”
Step 1: Identify potential speakersSMEs – Strong knowledge and experience in a field or toolGood communication and improv skills a must
Step 2: Build several abstractsInteresting summaries of potential topics speakers can addressLook at past events for topic inspiration
Step 3: Select opportunities for submissionAssociations you belong toIndustry groups with local or national events
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How to Succeed On the Circuit
Step 4: Dress rehearseWork with speakers and design team to build a top-notch presentationRehearse it with a test audience
Step 5: Invite feedbackOpt to get reviews of your presentationUse feedback to improve future presentations
Step 6: Provide moreFollow-up with attendees to provide more information (articles, case studies, support, etc.)
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Member in Action
Harvey Nasho Anna Frazzetto: VP of Technology
Solutionso Regular speaker at HDI Conferences
and local market events since 2006
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Member in Action
The Process & Resultso Identified best speaking opportunities
for Frazzetto (BPO, Offshoring, Outsourcing, Infrastructure Expert)
o Gathered all thought leadership and created 5-6 abstracts
o Submitted to HDI (speaker at annual conference and local market events since 2006)
o 600+ attendees during one of her three sessions this year
o Presentation promoted on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook
o Conference thank you from HDI to all attendees featured Anna’s follow-up conference blog
o Asked to participate as guest bloggero Asked to join HDI’s Strategic Advisory
Board
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#3 Compete for Industry Awards
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Poll Question 3
How many awards did your business apply to in the last year?
None
Less than five
More than five
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Industry Awards
Worth their Weight in GoldThe “cool” factor: “It’s a chance for everyone to rally around the company—which is great for morale—and the application process raises questions that opens the door for people to talk.”
- Jeff Miller, Founder and Managing Director of EdgeLink
Clients are flatteredNew visibility in the marketplaceThird-party validationStaff pride increases
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Industry Awards: Example 1
TalonBronze Tower AwardCorporate Identity 2010Business Marketing
Association
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Industry Awards: Example 2
Harvey NashGold Tower AwardBest Webinar Series 2010Business Marketing
Association
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Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: IdentifyLook for awards your company has the strongest chance of winning
o What does your company excel at in the marketplace?
Step 2: ResearchAll local, regional, national, client and partner award opportunities
o Check local, regional, national business and industry associationso Check what your competitors are winningo Consider all opportunities: Best places to work, business awards,
marketing awards, service awards, etc.
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A Few Examples: Local
Local/Regional Examples
Phoenix Business Journal’s Forty Under 40www.fortyunder40.org/
Crain’s New York Business Rising Stars 40 Under Fortyhttp://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/
Chicago’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work Forwww.101bestandbrightest.com/pages/chicago.cfm
Illinois Technology Association’s CityLIGHTS Awardswww.itacitylights.org/
Oregon Business Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon http://oregon100best.com/
Microsoft Central Region Partner Award Winnershttps://partner.microsoft.com/us/40013533
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A Few Examples: National
National ExamplesErnst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awardwww.ey.com/us/eoy
Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur Awardswww.entrepreneur.com/e2010/?cam=eoy2010&cid=eoyhpright
Inavero’s Best of Staffing List www.bestofstaffing.com/
IT Services Marketing Association www.itsma.com/News/mea/default.htm
Staffing Industry Analystswww.staffingindustry.com
Inc. 5000www.inc.com/inc5000apply/2010/index.html
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A Few Examples: For Clients
For Your ClientsCIO 100www.cio.com/cio-awards/index
Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaderswww.computerworld.com/s/article/344381/IT_s_top_tier_Strong_and_steady_leadership
Computerworld Best Places to Work in ITwww.computerworld.com/s/article/9044951/Best_Places_to_Work_in_IT
Networking World Best Practices www.snwusa.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=8242&tabid=5470&
InfoWeek 500www.informationweek.com/iw500/index.jhtml
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Awards Application Process
Step 3: CreateBuild spreadsheet outlining the award association’s name and URL, award name and description, possible categories, cost, general rules and application deadline
Step 4: DetermineAnalyze which awards you are most likely to win and choose to apply to those based on your chances and finances
Step 5: ScheduleTime the time needed to write, edit and complete the application and “romance your readers”
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Awards Application Process
Step 6: TrackTrack your responsesMark your calendar and keep an eye on the award association’s Web site for announcements
Step 7: Promote• Broadcast your win to clients, candidates and prospects…
o On your Web siteo Via press releaseo Through social mediao With e-newsletters
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Awards in Action
EdgeLinko Award: 100 Best Companies
to Work for in Oregono From: Oregon Business
Magazineo Broadcasting Channels:
NewsBoilerplateMarketing
About EdgeLinkEdgeLink is a Portland-based, technology staffing firm that recruits the area’s best mid-to-executive-level technology professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct-hire basis. EdgeLink’s client companies
include Digimarc, Sharp Laboratories, RuleSpace, Ensequence, Biamp Systems, RNA Networks. Since its inception in 2003, EdgeLink earned the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine three years in a row: 2009, 2008 and 2007.
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Awards in Action
About EdgeLinkEdgeLink is a boutique technology staffing firm with offices in Portland, Oregon, and Denver Colorado. EdgeLink recruits the industry’s best mid- to executive-level technology professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct-hire basis. Since the company’s inception in 2003, EdgeLink has earned
recognition as the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine four years in a row: 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007. This year, EdgeLink ranked 15th out of the Top 33 Companies. In addition,
EdgeLink was recently named to Inavero’s inaugural 2010 Best of Staffing List presented by CareerBuilder to recognize exceptional client service in the staffing industry.
EdgeLink also received the Inavero Platinum Service Excellence Award in 2009; and the Portland Business Journal named the company one of the Top 25 Technology providers in 2009, one of the Top 25 Staffing Firms in 2008, 2006 and 2005, and one of the Fastest Growing Private 100 in 2009 and 2007. To learn more, please visit www.edgelink.com.
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In Summary
Shake up your marketing with three proven non-traditional techniques:
Turn your customers into of your sales team
Become a known industry speaker
Apply for awards and take them seriously
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ClearEdge Sponsoring Women’s Luncheon at this Year’s ConferenceFriday, Oct. 8th from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Guest speakers and format to be announced soon! Registration is now open: www.techservealliance.orgEarly Bird ends July 16!
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Let’s Talk
Your Questions, Experiences & Thoughts. Let’s Share & Learn.
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Thank You!
For More Insights, Contact Me AnytimeLeslie Vickrey, President of ClearEdge Marketing
Tel: 312.731.3149
E-mail: [email protected]
www.twitter.com/clearedgemktgwww.facebook.com/clearedgemarketing