MARKETING – WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAY?

If no one person or department is leading the way, does ‘marketing’ get pushed aside because the day job and billing take priority?  Many professional services firms find that marketing activities become disjointed and ad hoc and people think they are a hassle and a waste of time.  Without a clear strategy, this type of activity is of little or no benefit to your business. Often great ideas end up in the long grass and you never move forward, even though your competition probably is.

Who is responsible for marketing?

Marketing is not a role just for a marketing department; everyone in a business has an active and daily part to play.  Everyone should understand the firm’s message, brand and goals. Encouragement to become ‘brand ambassadors’ should come from the top down.  But how many managers allow their staff to get more involved and on a regular basis?  And if no one is leading marketing and business development, who do staff go to with new ideas or feedback?

How do you make marketing ‘easy’?

The most powerful and ready-made marketing tool in your business is your staff.  Encourage them to communicate with each other and with your clients to spread the word, on and off-line, about what you do and why you do it.  Share marketing resources internally so that they are easily accessible to all.  You could:

• Have an internal ambassador who can lead the way with a clear direction of objectives and goals.
• Distribute responsibility to individuals or teams to focus on areas like blogging, events, social media, website, customer service, networking or business development.
• Report back on progress to the whole firm through emails, presentations or meeting minutes.
• Create an internal newsletter or intranet website providing staffing updates, industry news, company objectives, project updates, wins and achievements.
• Outsource the heavy load – done correctly, marketing can be time consuming, particularly with the vast range of off line and digital channels now available. Firms are realising the benefits of outsourcing all, or part of their marketing activity. Find out more here.

Cal Partners is a marketing agency and business development consultancy for professional services firms.  We work very closely with clients to develop a tailor-made marketing package for their business needs.