AEC firm leaders know that their website reflects the best of their business, becoming a major benefit to marketing success. Though its importance is clear, the steps to advising its creation and maintenance may not be. We have provided five best practices to focus on that will anchor your goals toward building and sustaining the ideal website.
Websites are the most encompassing piece of collateral any firm will produce. Because of their marketing potential and proven success, they should directly impact every company's strategic planning. In order to have the best results, the entire firm should have an "all-in mentality," ensuring that all planning and agendas meet the needs of everyone involved—most of all the audience.
As the Client Relations Director at Calder Richards Consulting Structural Engineers, there is much to learn from Nancy Wolthuis. She's worked in the AEC industry for 35 years, and has developed the skills and network to help firms grow through leading by example. She knows clients want to communicate with the people working on their projects, and she works hard to shape up her people and spaces to make sure every connection to clients is a strong one.
As a part of their job, Marketing Coordinators need to consider the many areas where they can assist and enhance their firm’s branded message—from photography to company vehicles. Their work to make sure clients form a brand connection is what makes the firm go 'round.
In order to quickly and accurately communicate your brand to others, you need to know it from inside and out. With Vision, Voice, Visuals, and Values, you'll be able to hit the four biggest facets to ensuring your brand is known. From there, you're already on the pathway to creating the brand guidelines that will make your company come together.
Technical Staff's role in branding is crucial and a key component to customer service. As they interact with customers, vendors, staff, and consultants every day, they should prioritize their skill usage, know their brand back to front, and always lead with a good impression.
Branding envelops every aspect of running a company, and it is essential to understand what it is and how to control it. In order to have a successful brand, you have to consider more than just aesthetics, so what is it? Where do you have to consider branding and when is it relevant?
Most of us in the AEC industry realize that a new name, icon, or logo will not create a new brand for our firm. Creating an “All In” mentality is crucial to forming the brand message necessary to make a lasting impression. The ultimate goal is for every person who interacts with anyone at your firm, in any capacity, to have a structured, consistent, and carefully orchestrated experience.
Marketing coordinators, you are critical to the public relations process. From researching the best tactics to creating a schedule of events and action items and finally implementing the tactics, you'll be involved every step of the way.
AEC technical professionals, your intimate familiarity with design, projects, processes, and the solutions provided is an untapped gold mine for public relations.
By prioritizing the direction of your public relations plan, you can ensure you are getting the return on investment (ROI) expected from your firm leaders. It may be hard to determine which efforts will be most rewarding for your firm. Pick the tactics that will work best with your marketing strategies, within your budget and timeframe.
Do you know what clients and potential clients think of your firm? Does it match what you believe is true about your firm? Because “perception is reality,” it’s important that you make the effort to understand the perception of your firm within your industry and market sectors.
Often misunderstood, PR is an influential tool – a way of turning cold calls into warm prospects. While some people think of PR strictly as press releases and advertising, we suggest you turn that notion on its head. PR is “Perception = Reality.” When used as a support tactic, it will help you win work.
For Myrna Wagner, Vice President of Business Development at Swinerton Management and Consulting, the most important step to marketing mentality was to create a culture of collaboration and accountability with the leadership team. Her approach is to provide them with tools to help and encourage their involvement with business development. MARKETLINK Principal Stephanie Craft asked some questions to find out more.
Professional friendships are built upon a number of valuable facets—reliability, availability, proactivity, and so forth. A good way to get closer to people no matter the setting is by asking questions. Tweak these however you like, but here are some conversation points to get the ball rolling with your clients – current or potential.
It’s all about relationships in our industry - we can’t maintain those relationships if we don’t know where people are. Whether you use an Excel spreadsheet or a CRM like Cosential or Deltek, invest the time needed to keep it current.
Whether your firm has a formal Client Care Program or not, one way to enhance your client relationships and further your career is by thinking of yourself as a Client Care Manager.
We have learned over the years there are 15 solid reasons clients leave firms they’ve built long-term working relationships with. Does your firm have a culture of client service to mitigate this?
Does your firm have customers or clients? Customers buy a service once; clients have established a long-term relationship. Your firm can be ALL IN for client relations.
MARKETLINK Principal Stephanie Craft caught up with Chuck Hack, a Lionakis principal and owner, to learn more about how he and Lionakis’s leadership have created and fostered a marketing mentality within the firm.
What are some ways a firm can get a well-regimented unit of employees with marketing skills? Follow along each week for ideas on how to advise, engage, lead, and execute to ensure everyone is ALL IN.
This holiday season we bring you the apps you never knew you needed. While our selection includes apps just for fun, most are downright helpful and will keep you organized. If you’re prone to keeping too many balls up in the air—we see you, AEC marketers—these apps will help you be a little less stressed.
Whether you’re new to the industry and just wondering how to get started or you’ve been creating proposals for years and you’re always trying to find “that one write-up you created for that one proposal,” it’s never a bad time to organize your marketing materials!
We’ve talked before about the necessity of generating, maintaining and following up on leads. It’s a marketing task that requires daily and ongoing activity to ensure your firm is well-positioned to secure new work. While the internet makes finding project and client leads easier, the amount of information a marketer can find in a manner of seconds can be overwhelming. IMS is a leader in advance notice public leads specifically for architects, engineers, and construction management professionals.
We got lost in marshmallow-y thoughts this week thinking of Rice Krispie Treats—September 18th is the national day to celebrate them, after all!
As we continue to adapt to the new paradigm, we must adjust to the limited ability to meet face to face, while remembering how important this activity is to creating a longstanding relationship. Here are six suggestions for pivoting and making the most of your business development efforts.
Google My Business or GMB, isn’t just nice, it’s essential for any growing business. A current, optimized, efficient, clean, original GMB listing can instantly build or improve your online reputation.
A 35-year AEC industry veteran, Nancy Wolthuis has regularly used podcast discussions of macroeconomic issues for market forecasting and planning. If you don’t like the study of economics before listening, she promises you will after.
Written by entrepreneur and performance psychology expert Joshua Medcalf, Chop Wood, Carry Water is a short and easy read with great lessons and examples. “For me, it was much more effective to read and learn from the boy’s experiences than to just read about the lesson and what needs to be done to improve,” explains Daryl. “I like seeing the application and learning the ‘why’ behind the principle.”
Now more than ever, knowing how to conduct online training is a must for marketing and management staff. In these times of uncertainty, firms must be nimble in the ways they pursue their long-term strategic planning goals. This means providing your professionals with the right tools to keep them on track to meet overall marketing and new business development goals and objectives. Most of these tools can be provided through training and coaching, so you'll want to be at the top of your game with for training online.
The MARKETLINK team has had the privilege of working from home for quite a few years. Our staff members have always worked remotely, and we have definitely tried everything in the book to figure out the best system. If this experience is new to you and your firm, here are some of our suggestions that might help you get—and stay—on track.
“Make Your Bed” shares ten principles, each illustrated through a story. The book stresses accomplishment, teamwork, leadership, kindness, and inspiration.
Whether you’re a marketing coordinator looking to build your knowledge base and enhance your skills or a firm principal looking to build connections that will lead to business opportunities, the hundreds of resources available at smps.org are at your fingertips.
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