June 27th, 2012
There’s an old saying that I really like… “That which is easy to do is also easy not to do!” Evidently, that sentiment applies to A-B testing in marketing, because almost no one does it.
June 21st, 2012
Do you do good work? Have some completed successful projects? Have you helped your clients find insights in new and unique ways?
No doubt, you have. But are you using those success stories to help build your brand and enhance your credibility? If not, you should be… through the use of Case Studies.
A Case Study is a fact-based, somewhat ‘clinical’ way to tell a success story. In fact, it’s a “proof source.” And it’s because of this approach that Case Studies have a high level of acceptance in our industry. Do great work… tell the facts of the project… improve the perception of your firm.
June 18th, 2012
One of the great business truisms of all time… “You can’t manage what you don’t measure!”
If you haven’t defined the most important marketing & sales KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for your firm and monitored them consistently, here are 3 simple steps for getting started.
June 14th, 2012
We all want the research firms that employ us to be the best they can be… to provide top-notch service, use the most current methodologies and deliver the deepest insights for our clients. So, how do we get there?
For many of us, we start with post-project client satisfaction surveys of some kind… for that immediate feedback on the work we just completed. And you should continue to do that. It’s good and valuable information – from clients who LIKE you.
Where you have an even bigger opportunity to learn is from those clients who DON’T like you… your ex-clients – those firms who used to bring their projects to you, but who, for whatever reason, no longer do business with you. These firms can be an amazing source of insight about your firm, its services and much more.
June 11th, 2012
Good morning class… Here’s an exercise that will help you more effectively communicate with prospective clients and why they should do business with your firm.
When we write (email or proposal) or deliver presentations, we’re all pretty good at espousing what we do – call it the features of our firm. For example:
June 7th, 2012
There are three primary parts to executing your marketing & sales initiative.
The first is planning… all of that research, thinking, strategy and the details.
Next comes the execution… actually doing all of the things you set out to do in the plan – on time and on budget.
Some firms (but not nearly enough) go through the planning process. Most firms handle the execution reasonably well. And almost no one does the third part – measurement.
June 4th, 2012
During my vacation on the East Coast last month, I made a call on the President of a research firm who had contacted me and wanted to meet. I was happy to do it… you can only take so many days of sun, fun, beach and cool, refreshing drinks!
As we chatted, I realized that this gentleman was an absolute expert in the area of advanced analytics for research. It came as a complete surprise to me because, until we chatted, I had no way of knowing that he had that level of knowledge. There was no mention of it on his firm’s website, he didn’t have a blog, no Twitter account… no outlet of any kind to showcase that expertise. Continue Reading…
June 1st, 2012
I’ve been out of town the past few days meeting with a couple of “good size” market research firms.
While the websites of both firms would suggest that they can (and do) conduct research in virtually all of the common vertical industries, the fact is that each of them DO have a specialty – on or two verticals that account for at least 50% of their business. Yet, they are reticent to promote themselves as specialists. Why? Continue Reading…
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