How to Avoid Becoming a “Me Too” Professional Services Firm

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I want to share a great blog post written recently by Mark Sweeney called “Professional Services Firms: Me Too is not a Marketing Strategy.” Mark does a great job of breaking down the challenges of marketing professional services without falling into the rut of becoming like everyone else in your industry. It’s difficult to find a differentiator when you offer the same services, pricing and personalities as your competitors.

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Study Shows Small Businesses Embracing Social Media

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

While opinions differ on whether Twitter is a useful business tool, one thing is for certain: small businesses are embracing social media.

A recent study, The State of Small Business Report, by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business reports “social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12 percent to 24 percent in the last year.” While this statistic may seem surprising, it really makes sense.

The typical small business owner generally has a small marketing budget. Social media enables companies to extend their customer reach with minimal expense. Small businesses need to connect with their customers on a personal level — which social media provides. And with the widespread adoption of social media as a standard tool for communication, it’s very accessible and effective for business.

As with any technology, the report described both positive reactions and concerns about social media.

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How to Choose a Business Contacts Database

By Sylvia Montgomery

I recently spoke with a professional services firm executive who had this to say about maintaining his firm’s contact database:

“Every January we say the same thing … this year our firm will focus on routinely cleaning our contact database and not waiting until the end-of-year holiday card season. This year, our firm will implement a data hygiene program that everyone in the firm participates in. Of course, it never happens that way.“

Sound familiar?

As I explained in my last post, entering and validating contacts is tedious business, but the tangible benefits are well worth it. But what if you don’t have a formal database (also called a “house list”)? Or what if you aren’t happy with the tool you use now? Where do you start?

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Using Contests to Cultivate Fans (and Ultimately Customers)

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I am a sucker for contests, especially contests that require me to be at a certain place at a certain time. I will admit that I’m uber competitive, so beating out the next guy for a prize, no matter how small, is pretty gratifying.

Recently I’ve participated in several contests held on Facebook and Twitter, and they were really fun and exciting. They not only provided that competitive edge that I love, but also brought fans of a particular brand together. Let me give you a great example of why contests work as part of a social media campaign:

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Counterintuitive Strategy Drives High Growth Professional Services Firms

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Last week, we released our new study on High Growth professional services firms. The study identified a group of firms that grow 9 times faster and are 50% more profitable than their peers. Although the research showed that you can spend your way to growth, that’s not how these firms do it. They actually spend slightly less than average on marketing and sales. So how do they pull off this marketing magic trick?

It starts with a counterintuitive strategy: when most professional services firms zig, high growth firms zag.

Generalist or Specialist?
Most professional services firms find themselves expanding their expertise and offering an ever wider range of services to clients. In some ways, they are simply following demand — clients have a wide range of needs, so firms are merely trying to accomodate them. After all, isn’t diversification a good thing?

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Kickstart Your Online Marketing with Three Social Media Tips

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I’m a firm believer that planning is critical to the success of any small business marketing campaign. If you’ve already planned your social media campaign, kudos to you. If not, here are a few tips to help you satisfy that need to “do something” without derailing your forthcoming plan.

1. Plan the time to share and engage. It’s easy to set-up a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, but no one gets excited about old, stale posts. If you want to start the year by connecting with your fans you should, but plan resources for maintaining the stream. Set aside a few minutes each morning to converse with your fans or assign a team member to do it throughout the day. But, don’t start something that you can’t maintain.
2. Baby steps. It’s easy to be bedazzled by new exciting social media tools, but stick with what you know. If you have a lot of photos, consider starting a Flickr page. If you are already on Facebook with a personal profile, start a fan page for your business. Start with what you know and assess anything new when you create your campaign strategy. This will save you time and provide more effective engagement with your fans.

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