Archive for the ‘Client relations’ Category
Thursday, February 14th, 2013
I recently did a presentation for a group of Young Professionals that are part of a local Chamber of Commerce on how to create and deliver effective “elevator speeches.” Elevator speeches are those brief introductions that we’re all called upon to give from time to time, particularly in networking situations when we’re asked: “What do you do?”
For business owners, consultants and business leaders in any field, the opportunity to deliver an “elevator speech” is an opportunity to support your desired brand perception. We often fail to think of it that way, though–instead, we tend to think of it as simply a requirement to provide some general information about what it is we do.
Interestingly, as I worked on the presentation for this group it became very clear to me that just as when thinking about organizational brand impact, individually we have an opportunity to define and manage our personal brands. The steps are very similar to the steps I take when working with clients on branding-related issues. They are: (more…)
Tags: branding, Business development, career, careers, elevator speech, networking, personal brand, professional networking
Posted in Brand management, Business Development, Client relations, Customer communication, Marketing and Branding, Media relations/PR | No Comments »
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
For those in consultative roles, clients are everything. As consultants consider the launch of their businesses, obviously one of the first questions is: “where will my first client come from?” My answer, based on my own experience, as well as discussions with consultants in a variety of fields is: from those you know. Many consultants and freelancers have launched their businesses, initially, by reaching an agreement with a current employer to take on work on a contract basis and that can be a great starting point. If that isn’t possible, another channel to pursue
(more…)
Tags: Advertising, Business development, client relations, Marketing
Posted in Business development, Business Development, Client relations, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Thursday, January 17th, 2013
What have you posted on your social media sites lately? Anything substantial? Anything risky? Anything controversial or challenging that you thought might provoke a response–even a contrary response–from your audience?
A key to engaging with audiences online and encouraging interaction with them is provoking an emotion: making them care. In t he process you reveal something about who you are and what you believe in. Regardless of the business you’re in, the first thing that your potential customers do when seeking information on products or services they may be interested in is (more…)
Tags: career, facebook, internet, job, jobs, professional, reputation, Social Media, twitter, web
Posted in Client relations, Community relations, Customer communication, Internet marketing, PR and Media Relations, Social Media, Technology, Training | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
I love a new year. Although I realize that, technically, every day is the beginning of a new year, there’s something about the New Year that makes me both reflective and optimistic about what lies ahead. As a pretty goal-oriented person, I enjoy the process of looking back, learning, and looking forward. It’s the basis of strategic planning, after all, a personal passion of mine. Each year I spend time to commit my goals to writing and I track my progress throughout the year. I don’t achieve every goal, but I do belief that I’m more effective than I would be if I didn’t take the time to plan. I had some great successes in 2012 and a lot of very rewarding experiences–both personally and professionally. But there’s always room for improvement and, regardless of what I achieve, I always want to achieve more. So, in 2013, there are a number of things I’d like to do better: (more…)
Tags: Business development, client development, Customer Service, Marketing, marketing strategy, personal development, planning, professional development, resolutions, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Business development, Business Development, Client relations, Customer Service, Innovation, Sales, Strategic Communications, Strategic Planning, Strategy | No Comments »
Friday, July 6th, 2012
Anybody who has ever observed people–usually, but not always, teenagers–standing together, yet communicating via text messaging can recognize that sometimes technology is overused. Whether email, social media, texting or the use of mobile devices, the downfall of these practices is to minimize face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact which can be a definite drawback. In business settings, studies consistently indicate (more…)
Tags: communication tactics, Customer Service, Social Media
Posted in Client relations, Customer communication, Employee communication, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, May 4th, 2012
“They just don’t get it!”
“How many times have we told them this?”
“Why don’t they understand?”
These are common phrases in the world of business, whether applied to employee communication, marketing communication or customer communication. But there is something fundamentally wrong with each of these statements which contributes immensely to our failed communication efforts. (more…)
Tags: communication failure, Customer communication, effective communication, Employee communication, marketing communication
Posted in Client relations, Customer communication, Employee communication, Healthcare Communication and Marketing, Marketing communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
Webinars have become increasingly popular in recent years for conveying information to a range of virtual attendees in remote locations. While this form of media is great for distributing information to individuals and organizations that would not be able to attend a live presentation, it can be difficult to achieve the same level of engagement with a virtual audience. We were curious about what webinar attendees most valued in their webinar experiences, so we asked them. (more…)
Tags: e-learning, on-demand, Training, webinar
Posted in Advertising, Business development, Client relations, Training | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
In a recent post I talked about an “aha moment” I had. It’s one that has impacted how I think about my own business. When I started my business about two years ago, I was hoping to work with clients to help them develop strategic marketing communication plans to move their businesses forward. I’m a *HUGE* proponent of planning and think that effective planning can avoid unnecessary effort and expense–and increase results.
But, not everyone believes this. I found that, just as when I was in the “corporate world,” (more…)
Tags: marketing strategy, Strategy
Posted in Client relations, Marketing, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
I just finished a complicated, but very interesting, article for an information industry publication about security and identity issues for content owners. Once I was able to get past all of the confusing terminology and “IT-speak” (which took me several interviews and multiple reviews and re-reviews of my notes, not to mention “sleeping on it” for several nights…) some key themes began to emerge. Ultimately (I think…) I pulled together an article that effectively sums up both the challenges and opportunities facing content owners today. There are two “big questions” from the content owners’ perspective: (more…)
Tags: Marketing, Strategy, Technology
Posted in Client relations, Marketing, Strategy | 2 Comments »
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