With many clients within the professional services sector, we were pleased to be invited to join the committee of the Yorkshire group of the PM Forum, the association for marketers in professional services.  The seminar I attended this week raised some familiar themes and I was interested to hear how some of the region’s leading legal and accountancy firms were handling them.

It’s not very often that you are able to question the managing partner of a leading regional professional services practice about his marketing strategy, let alone quiz four at the same time!  But this was the opportunity presented by the PM Forum event which took a Question Time style format.  The panel consisted of partners from four well-known organisations in Yorkshire with law firms represented by Paul Ayre of Gordons and Jonathan Oxley of Lee & Priestley; plus Kevin O’Connor of Baker Tilly and Richard Williams of Deloitte providing an accountancy perspective.

Ably chaired by James Buckley of Deloitte in the role of Dimbleby, it was a refreshingly honest session with the partners sharing some of the common challenges and frustrations of marketing within the professional services arena.  They gave an interesting insight into traits they look for when recruiting their marketing team.  Desirable characteristics include resilience; a ‘can-do’ attitude; creativity and enthusiasm.  They agreed that they need people who will champion marketing initiatives and are genuine team players, able to work across specialisms in the firm.  Whilst some of the partners stated that a background in the firm’s profession was very useful, others felt that a fresh approach with a marketer from a different sector could also give significant benefits.

There were a number of recurring themes, perhaps the most significant was the need for the entire organisation to ‘buy in’ to the importance of marketing and business development.  Whilst it might not always be a practical solution to make this element part of an employees’ performance review, one of the partners stressed the importance of a top-down approach saying that because he as managing partner had a weekly meeting with the marketing team, everyone in the firm was aware that business development activities were a priority. 

Making Marketing a Priority

There were comments from the audience that marketing was often seen as a secondary function to client work and also that it was sometimes difficult for marketers to challenge the opinion of partners who were senior to them, but perhaps had a limited understanding of marketing.  There was a consensus that it was the responsibility of the marketer to champion the best strategy for the firm and to find a way around any resistance.  It was also agreed that although every partner had to be a fee-earner, he also had a responsibility to market and promote the firm. 

The importance of cross-selling services within a firm and the role a marketer could play in this process was also stressed.  With the market still tough for winning new business, the opportunity to sell additional services to existing clients presented a much more attractive proposition.  However, with professionals sometimes ‘blinkered’ within their own department, a marketer with a broader perspective could prove invaluable.  It was also felt that those involved in business development must engage with clients.

Interestingly, all of the partners said that their marketing activities had not retracted during the recession with business development acknowledged as a crucial part of the management process.  In some cases, marketing activities had grown although resource had been re-focussed on sales generation.  As with marketing in any sector, the key is to ensure that every initiative has clear and measurable objectives.

Sharing centre stage with seasoned commentator Greg Wright, deputy business editor of the Yorkshire Post, proved an interesting experience.  He was able to provide all sorts of practical advice from the usual pleas not to send long-winded, technical or irrelevant news releases, to avoiding the least convenient times to ring him (not around 11am or 3pm when the news meetings are held) and the easiest way of irritating a journalist – clogging up his inbox with oversized photos (be warned – apparently, the press, like elephants, never forget…)

My role was to give an overview of the value of PR and social media to professional services firms, and to offer some insight into the way the media is changing.  A somewhat daunting task when addressing an audience of switched on marketers.

Thinking about the key changes in the media, there are, of course, new faces and publications, but the major development has to be the meteoric rise of social media.  I have been staggered by the proliferation of social media ‘experts’ over the past few months offering their often very expensive services and ‘must-have’ seminars (take a look at a cracking skit that is a viral hit on YouTube called The Social Media Guru -  very well observed, if a little rich in its language, I am certain these self styled ‘gurus’ are breeding rapidly in the serviced offices of the UK).  I do worry that professionals are being panicked into tweeting, linking in and blogging without really thinking it through.  As with all marketing, a clear strategy must be the starting point.

Marketers are under pressure to exploit social media and there is no doubt that it has a useful part to play, particularly in monitoring brands and engaging with customers.   What’s more, some networks such as LinkedIn are extremely useful for all sorts of tasks, from finding suppliers to identifying potential job candidates.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that whilst professional services firms need to embrace the world of social media, they must keep this tool in perspective and ensure that they use the proportionate resources to implement an SM strategy that suits their business. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong exponent of social media (we recently undertook a very successful campaign to launch a new bargain fashion website TheFashionPixie.com – it was immediately picked up by Google and filled the first page of listings on the day it launched which would not have happened without SM).  However, I am trying to issue a word of caution amidst the current SM hysteria.  As the latest panacea, I fear social media could become the new wild west of marketing in much the same way as web design was ten years ago when clients could be charged five grand for a ten page brochure site designed by a 19 year old student in a weekend!  Finding the right social media partner, and avoiding the ones that cloak the common sense of social media in jargon and hype, isn’t easy, but there are some out there. 

Judging by the reception my comments received and the discussions that followed, it was a bit of an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ moment.  Everyone (particularly in marketing) feels they should be fully conversant with this growing phenomenon , and they don’t want to admit if they can’t actually identify any mind-blowing benefits it would give to their own particular business.   My advice is to look beyond the smoke and mirrors and trust your judgement!

I had a quick lunch with a competitor Nathan Lane in Leeds last week, and was pleased to hear that he is as hacked off with the process of tendering as I am (as an agency we haven’t tendered for a couple of years).

My issue is simply that proper consultancy is a creative process that doesn’t suit the process of tendering.  Ask us to consult, to look at your organisation, the people involved and the business issues too and then we will propose the best activity to suit your business needs.

The fact is that some agencies like to tender. They have developed a framework that can be dropped in for any job that ticks boxes and wins work with little bespoke thinking or input.  They have junior staff rattling them off in a ‘numbers game’ approach.   

In-house marketers should appreciate that the tender process leads to duplication and lazy documents devoid of real creativity.  The most cost effective agencies don’t have the time to invest in bespoke tenders (as we don’t have fat margins) and most of the best ones don’t do ‘tick box’ proposals for any pitch because it is poor practice.

Why not have PR people invest their time into the solving of creative business issues, rather than ticking boxes?

A good example of the kind of irrelevant minutia that local government tender processes can involve could have a look at any council’s website.  Try this compelling detailed document from a recent Fenland District Council PR tender process, for crying out loud!

So, if you want to get the best consultants for your organisation follow these steps;

1)      Ask for credentials from between six to ten agencies

2)      Meet five or so and brief them face to face

3)      Ask for proposals from the most appropriate/impressive three

4)      Hire the agency that demonstrates a balance of best thinking and most cost effective proposal

I guarantee that if you run the process well and are open with the agencies you will have made a better appointment at the close than by implementing the dry and faceless tender process.  As a bonus your new PR partners will understand your issues better. 

Stick to tick box tendering, and you will keep hiring the people who are good at the tender process, not good at PR.

So what is LinkedIn all about and what can it do for you?  The best description I’ve come across is that it’s a social networking site for grownups.  Unlike MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, it has been specifically developed for business people; its user profile is professionals aged between 25 and 65.  The premiss of the site is that there is no stronger recommendation than word of mouth (if you think about it, this is also the basis of PR – people put their trust in companies they hear others talk about, whether in person or in the media). 

Everyone inadvertently creates a network of contacts through their work and personal lives, but more importantly, these contacts have their own bank of contacts, whom you might not otherwise be able to access.  The idea is that everyone can benefit from the power of personal recommendations.  The ‘connectivity’ that is generated by being part of a group, even through remote connections, is a great way to open doors.

Perhaps because of the more mature age profile of users, LinkedIn has taken a little longer to really catch on – we 40 somethings are not natural early adopters of technology!  However, the argument is that once hooked, this market is likely to remain more loyal than the fickle younger audience.  Some business people (particularly recruiters) are using LinkedIn as their main marketing tool; and there is no doubt that it can deliver significant benefits, especially for those in the B2B sector.  It can be used to find new customers, jobs, suppliers or employees; as well as building brand and reputation, picking up trends in the market place and sharing industry information. 

But how can you optimise LinkedIn for your particular business and personal goals?  Here are a few useful tips to get you started, many of which I picked up at an excellent seminar I recently attended about LinkedIn.

1.  As with traditional networking, the usual principles apply – openness, transparency and honesty are essential.  Users should remember ‘the golden triangle’ of giving, asking and thanking

2.  Like any marketing activity, the starting point is to develop a clear strategy:

• Why are you joining LinkedIn? (long term goal)
• What specifically do you want to gain? (medium term)
• Who can help you – what types of organisations/positions do you need to target; and how are you going to go about it? (short term)

3.  Once you have answered these questions, you need to devote some time to creating the best possible LinkedIn profile – it should reflect your ‘personal brand’; think about the image you will convey from the information you provide and the way it is presented

Creating a profile

• Be creative, passionate, humorous, explain what you can deliver
• Have a professional headline
• It’s important to include a business-like photo
• Give as much information as possible in your profile to increase your profile rating (aim for 100%); LinkedIn can really increase your Google rating
• If you see ‘LION’ after a name, it stands for Linked In Open Networker  ie someone who is open to anyone joining their network; opinion is mixed about whether or not this is a good thing, but it does make it easier to build a substantial network quickly
• The summary should explain what you can deliver eg enhanced media profile to increase sales
• Make copy concise; break up with bullet points; write in the first person (needs to feel personal)
• Specialities: think about what terms people may be searching for and include a number of titles eg PR consultant; PR professional; public relations consultant; media relations specialist etc
• It’s important to include interests to make the profile more personal, but make sure they do not conflict with the personal brand you are trying to convey
• Recommendations are very important – aim to receive up to 20 and make sure you also give some!

Once you’ve done all that (and it really isn’t as onerous as it sounds), go through your address book and link up with as many contacts as possible.  It’s worth investing some time if you really want to maximise the opportunities offered by LinkedIn – a well-presented, informative profile and a strong network of first connections is a good start.

Other tips

• Include links to your website and blog (put URL, including http://, on all your message replies to make it easy for people to link through; again it will really help your company’s Google ratings)
• Ask and answer questions; start discussions
• Don’t use the status bar very often (no more than once a week) and only when you have something important to say eg new event.   Do not use for trivia as you would Twitter as your LinkedIn messages will be sent to all of your network and too many can be irritating
• Join relevant groups eg old school/university.  This connectivity increases the likelihood of someone choosing to do business with you
• Look for groups that will link you with your target audience eg businesses in a particular region or sector

LinkedIn is only the first step to establishing a relationship; the idea isn’t to do a hard sell, but rather to share contacts and information for mutual benefit.  It has huge potential for any organisation – a head hunter I know has built up more than 2,500 first connections, giving her a third level network of over five million people!  Now that’s an audience that most businesses could benefit from in one way or another…

LinkedIn

Like many businesses our sales fell in the first half of this year, but we have increased our marketing spend, placed adverts with key media, networked through our client base, invested in training and new skills, revamped our website and added this blog, and they are paying off. 

We are back to pre recession levels of income thanks to wins for JCT600, Monument Investments, Ambitemp, Whittakers Chocolates and Purely Nutrition.  All good Yorkshire business with the confidence to look ahead, beyond the recession.

Even more promisingly our new business pipelines have never been better.

Somoene once told me that if you are looking behind cant move forward, but look far ahead and you can run fast.  That has always made sense to me, but never more so now. 

This is the time when businesses that are not crippled by the current markets should be looking to the future and planning for a time when the negative trends have stopped.  It is a time to look beyond the recession, invest in initiatives and take advantage of the opportunities thrown up by the turmoil.

Smart management of PR and marketing budgets this year could deliver more return than ever before as markets thin out and there is less competition for your messages.  Even maintaining a reduced marketing or PR spend could deliver significant increases in share of profile as the more short-sighted cut budgets and lose momentum. 

With firms reviewing almost every expense and renegotiating with suppliers, it’s vital that you give yourself the best chance to be considered for new work and make pitch lists.  Refresh your key messages; keep your name prominent in the media; smarten up your internet presence; network subtly through existing clients and in new circles.

Shrewd businesses are using the current situation to best advantage by differentiating themselves from the competition and making the most of the positives.  As much of the regional media has turned its attention to highlighting success and celebrating businesses that grow, and with fewer voices competing to be heard, despite the challenges, now is the time to invest in your profile.

It’s never been truer that cash is king but confidence is definitely next in line to the throne.

The recently improving Marketing Leeds are quick off the blocks with a campaign that – if its supported and successful – might, just might deliver a great deal of business benefit, tourism and profile for the region nine years from now. 

Their business to business shove for the ‘Back The Bid Leeds’ campaign has been a decent attempt at stitching together social media devices and online resources to spread support for the voting process for a Leeds bid to host games during the 2018 World Cup. 

The e-mail bulletin that we received from Marketing Leeds encouraging people to sign up as a supporter online and spread the word through the business community via e-mail footers and signatures isn’t too tired to be worth a go. 

The ability to tie in widgets for most of social media sites should really give the campaign the chance to spread virally through Facebook and LinkedIn as well as being shared on a number of blogs already too.

I doubt whether even something as enticing as being able to watch the world’s best teams playing in Yorkshire will encourage millions of people to get involved, but to my mind its far more worthwhile (and cheaper) way to spend two minutes than voting for ‘celebs’ on (lack of) reality TV shows. 

We are hopeful that Sheffield will get their bid support going too, we need some profile for Yorkshire globally and this possible opportunity is as good as it gets.

Leeds’ heritage as a European footballing city, and its die-hard supporters who are at Elland Road week in, week out regardless of their league status deserves to be recognised.  Long term thinking is what we need to really make a difference to the profile and fortunes of this city.

So, why not take two minutes, follow Big Boris’ lead and support the bid…in nine years time as you watch Gary Lineker managing England to defend the World Cup (OK, now I am getting carried away), you might be very pleased you did!

On Saturday night I played pool and had a few beers at Hotel Du Vin with a load of old friends I havent seen in ages.  Several of them talked a little about business, and the contrast between their fortunes is really stark. 

One is a manufacturer of large fire vehicles said they were turning work away and had a full order book for 2 years.  One senior marketer for a firm of accountants was slashing budgets and saw the market as very grim.  An online publisher I spoke with hasnt had a better month than June, and sees record profits every month. 

Another couple who live in the States and run a large number of bridal franchises there are looking at opening their first UK operation, and are confused by the mixed picture they are seeing.  On the one hand, they see the TV reports and hear people here grumbling about how hard everyone is being hit.  On the other, they havent seen so busy in years (they live here in Harrogate part time), and are amazed at how many new high end retailers have come to town.  Its about time we started to realise that recession impacts on everyone, but some businesses turn it to their advantage.

Recession is here, but its throwing up as many opportunities as it is problems, and how we view the market, and adapt to tackle new challenges is going to be what seperates those who survive, or those who thrive.

Despite losing a few really good accounts for financial or restructuring reasons over the past quarter, we have won a good many more.  We saw another three new business enquiries last week, and another client win too, and we’ve upped our game to try and keep this trend going. 

Sure, if you have specific finance issues, or your have had firms go bust on you its not going to be as easy to try and take advantage of things, but lets not all throw in the towel, there are some big wins out there for those still in good shape, and with creative approach to the new landscape.

Many clients we work for are doing a great deal of business too, and we have recently written a number of stories that prove that corporate banks are starting, just starting to lend money again.   But there is a phrase that’s a real no-no, like the mentioning the war at Faulty Towers, words that we just can’t use – green shoots of recovery. 

Its a cliche political soundbite that was coined by Norman Lamont, and worked in 1991, but that seems wrong in the post banking meltdown Noughties, and was prematurely revived by Baroness Vadera at the start of the year to much hoo haa, but we need to say something, because its good news that there is even a glimmer of hope, and hope becomes optimism and then confidence. 

In the first quarter a lawyer client I worked with said we were ‘bumping along the bottom’, that describes well the little ups and downs we have been seeing for some time, but what about something more positive now that we seem to have seen the worst of the fallout- something that sums up a little of the optimism and front foot business we are seeing in the past month or so? 

I heard another client last week say that we didn’t have green shoots yet, but ‘there were signs that the seed was germinating!’  Very descriptive, but a little too technical to ever be adopted as a new turn of phrase. 

I have been trying to sum it up for a few weeks, and ended up saying that it looks like people are ‘coming out from under their beds’ but this still doesnt capture the mood.  I think we need a new phrase, something we are allowed to say that sums up the positive glimmers we are seeing, and stops the rot on this 18 month period of media gloom…

Any suggestions?

Well, its often been said that PR people like the sound of their own voice and the look of their own copy.

I disagree, and we have, for many years been very happy being the anonymous people behind the copy, but the digital revolution has brought us out into the open, publishing our own words for once, on our own Appeal PR Blog.

Why Blog?  Well, like any Bloggers, we have passion.  Our passion is for (most of) our clients, our work, our friends, good inexpensive wine, our region and our industry.

We want to connect with our people we know (and want to know), share our views on things we come across in the course of our working and other lives. Some will be relevant to social media and PR, some will be just random views and observations. 

We are going to write about what we find interesting, useful or we care about.  Hopefully we will have fun writing these posts, and we will take some of the mystery out of the initially daunting world of social media and blogs - that’s what Appeal aims to do within the world of social media PR.  

There is certainly more opinion and obscure knowledge in our office than any other I have ever worked in, whether this ‘window’ the Appeal PR team is enlightening in any way remains to be seen…

Anyway, thanks for reading our first posts, lets see what happens now…