It’s all about connecting efforts to raise visibility with getting face-to-face.
Professional service providers share their knowledge and wisdom readily as they solve client problems. In day-to-day practice, they are committed to their craft. Complete focus in the nuances and details in their areas of expertise is a given. The marketplace expects consistent strong and relevant content, sage advice, and an assurance that clients’ issues can be resolved. But these days, especially with the increased emphasis on content marketing, social media and interactive websites, professionals need to up their game to connect marketing efforts more thoroughly with successful business development strategies. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/linkedin-are-we-forgetting-something-58549/
For most service providers, marketing is a backburner effort. We consistently hear there is never enough time to focus and deliver as much as they might wish. Successful business developers somehow figure out how to do it all by coordinating their marketing and business development time. And this is one of the issues that confuses some – understanding how to parse their time effectively between marketing and business development initiatives and tactics.
Marketing Vs. Business Development
In general terms, marketing is everything an individual, firm or company engages in to raise visibility. Effective marketing typically includes creating fresh content for clients, referral sources and potential clients, focused in a particular industry or market segment. Showcase your expertise on your firm’s website, push notifications, emails, and social media posts. Share success stories and case studies of interesting matters. These tactics can start new relationships and will enhance existing ones.
Inviting clients to events, sending them relevant information you have created or read, or notifying them of an important webinar are clear examples of marketing. Sending thank you gifts is an oldie but effective tactic as well. All these ideas come together to educate clients on what you do, and the how and why behind it.
On the other hand, business development is where the rubber hits the road. Put simply, it means getting “face-to-face” with clients, targets, and referral sources. Productive tactics might include inviting a client for a meal or to an event. But with Covid and the variants still looming, phone calls and short Zoom meetings can be effective alternatives for staying in touch and staying on top of clients’ issues and business goals. Interviewing a prospect or client on an industry specific topic can bring professionals closer to coveted individuals. And if the information is gathered from several different interviews and turned them into a social media post, blog or article and contacts are tagged, you create opportunities for multiple touch points to grow relationships.
The Bottom Line
Successfully growing a professional services practice requires a clear path and connection between marketing and business development. All of this ties into your ability to stay connected and share your knowledge with clients and your marketplace and finding time to personally connect.