One of my clients recently asked about how to get better cooperation from the subject-matter experts (SMEs) who are the authors of the content. My work for this firm is mostly around ghosting content based on interviews, PowerPoints and other written materials, and it’s what’s now called “thought leadership content marketing ..read more

Many project descriptions are just-the-facts descriptions of what was done on a project. This format misses out on some huge opportunities to help sell the firm’s services. To do this, a project description needs to engage the reader, keep them reading, and by the end the reader has learned something useful ..read more

If your firm needs to reach senior-level executives – the C-suite – to present your services, it can be difficult to get a chance. Senior people are guarded by assistants, voice mail, a never-ending schedule of meetings, and frequent travel. They’re not likely to see your e-mails, take your calls, return your voice mails, or be at any networking events you can get into ..read more

Many of the business professionals I work with are deeply in love with their work. For example, I talked recently with an engineer in Montreal who is a firm believer that a chemical process called electrocoagulation (EC) is the next biggest thing in water purification ..read more

In the days of mainframe computing, there was a saying: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” The machines produced by Big Blue (as it was called) might be pricey, but they had a reputation for reliability. Their salesmen (and they were nearly always men) wore blue pin-striped suits that matched their company’s logo. The company’s reputation meant that any executive could defend the decision to choose IBM over its competition. IBM was the safe choice ..read more

Don Draper had it easy. The brilliant advertising executive of the 1960s-era series “Mad Men” would simply think about a client’s issue, scribble an idea on a table napkin, and his job was done ..read more

Many professional services firms today are tightening their marketing focus these days, often with a focus of developing and building relationships with certain specific target companies – the “key client” strategy. Marketers are under pressure to do their part in building and retaining their firm’s relationship with these clients ..read more

If you ask many professional firm marketers the purpose of their firm’s content marketing program, they may come back with vague ideas like “to position our firm’s members as thought leaders,” or “To build awareness.” That’s easy to say, but hard to do, and harder yet to verify whether or not it’s working ..read more

“But it takes so much of their time!” is a frequent complaint that many professional services marketers have about content marketing, followed by, “We can’t get our firm’s busy professionals to generate content.” Well, yes, it consumes some of their time. But it doesn’t have to take a lot, at least not in comparison to the benefits they receive ..read more

Does your firm see greener pastures in other markets? Other industries, maybe, or other parts of the world? Your thought leadership strategy can help make that happen ..read more