{"id":110564,"date":"2023-04-28t11:54:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-28t15:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/?p=110564"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:48:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:48:47","slug":"what-your-marketing-program-can-and-cant-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2023\/04\/28\/what-your-marketing-program-can-and-cant-do\/","title":{"rendered":"what your marketing program can and can\u2019t do"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>all the marketing effort in the world will rarely produce a client. it can only produce a receptive prospect.<\/strong><\/p>\n by bruce marcus<\/i> editor\u2019s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert\u2019s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.<\/i><\/p>\n the tools of marketing are not a program \u2013 they are simply tools.<\/p>\n more: <\/b>have you planned how to service your new revenue?<\/a> | how to set marketing objectives<\/a> | how marketing in accounting has evolved<\/a> | accounting marketing 3.0: new rules<\/a> | nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm<\/a> a marketing program, then, is not simply a catalogue of tools. it\u2019s a plan \u2013 a strategy and a tactical plan. it\u2019s the sum total of all relevant activities, supporting one another, and not just random activities designed without objective nor relevance to the needs of the prospective client. by defining the target audience first, you can devise the strategy to address that audience, by \u2026<\/p>\n there is an important difference between telling a target audience what you want them to think (\u201cwe have great skills, so hire us\u201d) and leading that audience to that conclusion on its own (\u201cour real estate partners not only have three decades of experience, but \u2026\u201d). the first statement may gratify your ego, but it\u2019s self-serving and has no credibility. the second statement gives a reason to consider \u2013 and maybe trust \u2013 the firm, and says a lot about the firm itself.<\/p>\n the major strategy should be to market practice by practice, and service by service.<\/p>\n you can\u2019t say, \u201cwe have great skills, so hire us.\u201d that kind of statement doesn\u2019t distinguish you from your competitors, nor is it credible. you can\u2019t say, \u201cwe believe in client satisfaction\u201d for the same reasons. and that\u2019s why you can\u2019t expect any strategy to market your skills and ability to serve clients by marketing the entire firm. each practice, each skill set, should have its own marketing program.<\/p>\n positioning<\/strong><\/p>\n positioning is one of the most important aspects of a marketing program. it<\/p>\n the position thus defined becomes the thrust of your marketing program. it focuses your marketing program like a laser beam.<\/p>\n realities to consider<\/strong><\/p>\n in formulating marketing objectives, as in firm objectives, there are some basic realities to consider, such as \u2026<\/p>\n not facing these realities, and not understanding what\u2019s involved in moving into the marketing arena, can be wasteful and expensive.<\/p>\n and the major objective of the well designed marketing program?<\/p>\n to get the opportunity to meet the prospect face to face, in order to sell. the ultimate objective, and the only ultimate objective, is to get the client.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n when the marketing objectives are clear, then there can be a clear view of the program itself. only then can there be a valid assessment of the marketing mix \u2013 those several tools of marketing that, together, move the program forward, and the blueprint to accomplish it.<\/p>\n but professional services offer a different environment than does product marketing, defined both in the nature of the professional service and in the way that service is delivered. moreover, generations of tradition in the professions have shifted the focus from the customer \u2013 the client \u2013 to the professional, in large measure for artificial \u2013 if sustaining \u2013 reasons. rarely can a consumer of professional services be persuaded of the need for a professional until the need for a professional\u2019s services emerge. one is sued. an audit is demanded of a company by either the government or a source of finance. one needs a contract to seal an agreement.<\/p>\n and this, then, is the element that drives the singular nature of marketing professional services \u2013 the constantly changing relationship between the professional and the client. it is tempered not by a manufacturing process, but by changing personalities, changing circumstances, changing laws and regulations beyond the control of either professionals or clients, the infusion of new and different economic or social elements. it is further complicated by the fact that in today\u2019s dynamic economy, where all commerce is affected by new technology, new interplays, new relationships and new intercultural demands, the relationship between the client and the professional is rarely the same from one day to the next. nor are tomorrow\u2019s demands of the professional likely to be satisfied by yesterday\u2019s solutions.<\/p>\n the tools<\/strong><\/p>\n is advertising part of it? how will public relations fit in? what about publications \u2013 newsletters, brochures, etc. how will social media be used? what\u2019s the role of networking? and so on.<\/p>\n the tools of marketing \u2013 public relations, publications, social media, brochures and websites, networking \u2013 are finite. even as they change (the role of the internet and social media to diminish the hard-copy press, for example) they are available to everybody. which means that the better competitor is the one who uses the tools most imaginatively, most relevantly to the needs of his or her market, most effectively.<\/p>\n the skills of a competent marketer are multifarious. he or she must be a market planner, a writer in several media, a public relations expert, knowledgeable about advertising and social media, and in a larger firm, a good manager. in view of the relative newness of marketing for the professions, the competent marketer must have the skills to educate the firm and communicate internally as well as externally. the competent marketer must know how to hire not only staff, but outside suppliers, such as public relations firms, art directors and advertising agencies. above all, the professional marketer is imaginative in using the tools, without which the program is simple mechanics, and not competitive.<\/p>\n selling, of all parts of marketing, has always been an integral part of the process, but never until recently has the word or concept of selling been popular in the professional\u2019s lexicon. to most professionals, it has always been inimical to the loftiness of professional practice. \u201cif my mother wanted me to be a salesman she wouldn\u2019t have sent me to law or accounting school,\u201d was a commonly heard statement in the early days of marketing. but ultimately, it must be recognized that all the marketing effort in the world for professional services will rarely \u2013 rarely \u2013 produce a client. it can only produce a receptive prospect. the prospect buys only when a lawyer or accountant makes the sale, face to face. while this has always been the case, selling is only recently recognized as a part of marketing, albeit a separate skill. now known as practice development, the practice itself has been pioneered by such thoughtful and experienced marketers as silvia coulter and suzanne lowe, through both their excellent writing and well attended conferences and seminars.<\/p>\n practice development recognizes that the marketing program is the backdrop for actually producing a client. it goes beyond the marketing program, then beyond the standard selling techniques, by dwelling heavily on understanding complex client needs, listening carefully to client concerns, and relating appropriate firm services to prospective client needs. it\u2019s distinctive now because the concept of selling, in professional services, has for so long been anathema to the professions. it\u2019s acceptable now because it\u2019s rooted in relationship with need, and predicated on solving client problems, and goes well beyond merely hawking firm services.<\/p>\n the tools, then, must be managed. the public relations and direct mail and networking and other efforts must be put into play, in a proper framework, so that they are effective and relevant to the objectives.<\/p>\n this is marketing. it\u2019s how a practice is built and shaped, by both sole practitioners and multinational firms.<\/p>\n tactics<\/strong><\/p>\n tactics are the most difficult part of a professional firm marketing program, because so much of what must be done depends upon the scarce, non-billable time of partners and professional staff. if the firm management hasn\u2019t made clear that participation by every professional in the firm is an integral part of recognition and growth within the firm, you can scrap the marketing program. it could be helpful if the non-billable hour were renamed the investment hour, because if those hours are spent on marketing, investment hours are exactly what they are.<\/p>\n the marketing professional can do a great deal. he or she may be able to write an article or a brochure, but needs the input of the practitioner. the marketing professional may be able to design and run a seminar, or arrange for a speech, but the practitioner must supply the content. the marketing professional may be able to place the story in the media, but the practitioner must supply the story.<\/p>\n and all of these activities must be managed. they must be prioritized.<\/p>\n they must be made to happen, whether at the behest of a marketing professional or a partner in charge of marketing. they must be timed, and coordinated.<\/p>\n expectations<\/strong><\/p>\n delineating expectations, as part of defining objectives, serves another purpose, albeit one just as useful.<\/p>\n if the prospect doesn\u2019t have vast experience in marketing, or in any of its parts, it has no way of knowing what to expect from marketing efforts. why shouldn\u2019t anyone expect a rush of clients, for example, from a single ad \u2013 unless that person has been educated very specifically in what an ad can and can\u2019t do? why shouldn\u2019t a marketing campaign produce a rapid return of inquires from a well developed ad campaign?<\/p>\n there are too many cases of partners expecting that press releases will be printed verbatim, that interviews will be reported accurately, that a three-day sales training course will double the size of the clientele within weeks. this is why expectations must be precisely delineated, and why marketers must be educators.<\/p>\n what you should expect from an effective marketing campaign is \u2026<\/p>\n measuring marketing results is one of the discipline\u2019s thorniest problems.<\/p>\n there is simply no tangible measure that offers any valuable information that goes beyond the pragmatic or subjective.<\/p>\n the best that can be expected of it is to serve as a red carpet to develop a personal meeting. it does it by pre-selling; by educating; by whetting the appetite for a solution to a problem that you\u2019ve identified and understand. but don\u2019t expect anybody to call and say, \u201ci liked your letter (or ad, or blog). start monday.\u201d<\/p>\n in other words, the expectations are tempered by the quality of the way in which the medium is used. poor advertising, poor public relations, poor direct mail \u2013 all mean sharply diminished performance. to ask more than the medium is capable of producing, or that level of quality can deliver, is a vast self-deception.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nprofessional services marketing 3.0<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n
\nexclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\nit begins with a realistic understanding of the needs and opportunities of the markets you serve. it defines your abilities to meet those needs. it develops a strategy to persuade your market that you can serve its needs. and it formulates the tactics needed to make that strategy functional.<\/p>\n\n
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