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Management of Change Series: The Many Faces of Marketing in Managing Change

Posted by Evan Creech-Pritchett on January 18, 2024

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Marketing is like the Swiss Army knife of a company. Whether it's analyzing market trends, crafting messages that resonate with customers, or collaborating with top-tier decision-makers, marketers are the glue that holds these diverse aspects of a business together. By actively embracing change, they not only stay ahead of the curve but also contribute significantly to the company's adaptability and long-term success. Let's explore a bit about what marketing entails and how it is beneficial for companies to embrace change.  

The Many Faces of Marketing in Managing Change

The External Researcher

Marketing serves as the economic detective, constantly staying ahead of industry and economic developments. The role involves continuous research and analysis, with a particular focus on external factors that impact the business. Marketing often uncovers the initial clues to market change, making it an integral part of the change detection process.

This role involves monitoring competitor movements, tracking consumer behavior shifts, and anticipating economic trends. By interpreting these clues, marketers not only provide early warnings about potential disruptions but also position the company strategically to proactively respond to emerging opportunities. In essence, they act as the business's radar, navigating through the dynamic landscape to ensure it stays on course despite the change in economic currents.

The Positioner/Communicator

Once change is detected, marketing's role evolves into that of a positioner and communicator. The task is to internally convey the change to the executive team and then respond through market communications to customers, essentially defining the company's market positioning. Internally, marketing collaborates with the executive team to determine necessary business changes, constructing communications that help employees understand the impact of the change positively and accurately. In positioning, marketers look into the perspectives of customers, competitors, and industry analysts, communicating through various channels such as social media, articles, papers, and presentations. These external communications demonstrate the company's awareness and capability to navigate a changing environment while providing value to customers. The Executive Team Participant

Marketing teams function as analysts, consistently monitoring the industry landscape to anticipate future business trajectories and align the company accordingly. Serving as the middleman of both customer relations and the company's positioning, marketing assumes a pivotal role in internal transformations. Effective communication stands as a cornerstone, entailing the reinforcement of core messages through systematically delivered and timely directives. Leveraging a proactive communication approach across various channels ensures that our workforce is well-informed at every step of the way, fostering an environment valuing input and feedback.

The Technology Evolver

While marketing spearheads internal changes, it must also adapt its own processes, especially in terms of technology. Forbes.com refers to this as "Adaptive Marketing," emphasizing that marketers must embrace change rapidly and radically due to evolving technologies. Implementing process changes and calculating organizational impacts become differentiators, emphasizing that technology alone does not solve problems; it merely highlights them.

One such technology is AI. Marketers use AI to make engaging social media captions and blogs, leveraging algorithms that analyze user behavior for optimized language and style. Additionally, AI tools curate video content by identifying and cutting out snippets of interest, intelligently captioning them for social media sharing.

This integration not only expedites content creation but also helps to build personalized connections with the audience. Embracing AI is crucial for marketers navigating evolving technology, offering efficiency and a competitive edge. The integration of AI into marketing processes allows for a responsive approach, aligning campaigns with ever-changing audience preferences. In the era of adaptive marketing, AI serves as a powerful ally, adding to human creativity and driving impactful, data-driven initiatives.

The Influencer of the Company Culture

Having a good company culture is important. It's like the secret sauce that helps our team do their best work. At Full Sail Partners, our organizational culture revolves around collaboration and adaptability to change, and we prioritize creating an engaging and fun work environment.

This commitment is evident in the events our marketing team organizes, both internally and externally. These events also serve several purposes. Beyond providing a source of enjoyment, they are designed to strengthen team bonds, encourage idea sharing, and even attract new talent. Whether it's a casual gathering or a virtual meet-up, these marketing events play a pivotal role in maintaining connectivity and enhancing collaborative efforts within our team.

Furthermore, we emphasize open communication as a fundamental aspect of our work culture. Ensuring that every team member has a voice is of paramount importance to us. We value the contributions of each individual, fostering an atmosphere where everyone feels acknowledged and appreciated. In our recent company get-together, we had everyone share where they were and what the weather was like. It was a cool way to get everyone involved, and since our team is all over the place it was interesting to hear the range of weather. Marketing also created the "Virtual Water Cooler" on our Microsoft Teams where folks can post birthdays, life events, and other non-work things. This positive atmosphere contributes to the resilience and adaptability of our work culture, particularly in the face of dynamic changes in the marketing and technology landscape.

Marketing Roles Organically Manage Change

Adapting to change is a constant in the business world, and marketing teams play an organic and pivotal part in ensuring smooth transitions. Marketers continuously engage in market research, create internal communication strategies, and position businesses effectively to keep them ahead. Functioning as early detectors, they monitor external factors, providing crucial insights for strategic adjustments.

Moreover, once a change is on the horizon, marketers collaborate with leadership to ensure a positive and accurate message to the team. And, as with our own team, marketing excels at fostering a positive company culture through organized events, both in-person and online, strengthening team bonds and fortifying our work culture. In essence, the many faces of marketing naturally set the stage for managing the ongoing challenges of a dynamic business environment.

 

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Deltek Vantagepoint CRM Workflow Examples to Streamline Data Management

Posted by Lindsay Diven on December 14, 2023

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For marketing professionals and business developers in project-based firms, managing client relationships effectively is critical. Deltek Vantagepoint workflows provide powerful tools to automate and enhance your CRM processes, ensuring your team stays ahead in your competitive markets.

Below are five different CRM workflow examples that you can create in Vantagepoint to help speed up and automate your data management processes. Read to the end to get a bonus tip and some additional information about workflow actions and maintenance.

1. Automate Role Assignments for Efficiency

Consider the setup of a new potential project within your CRM system. The usual process may involve manually assigning a client manager or principal based on client relationships and organizational hierarchies—a task prone to human error and time-consuming cross-referencing. However, with Deltek Vantagepoint workflows, these assignments can be automated.

CRM Workflow Example: When you enter a new potential project into the system, the workflow can automatically assign the client manager and principal based on predefined rules related to the client and their organization. This not only reduces the potential for errors but also streamlines the process, freeing up your team to focus on strategy and client engagement.

2. Proactive Alerts for Immediate Action

Alerts are a critical component of staying proactive and responsive. In Deltek Vantagepoint, workflows can be set to trigger alerts—both emails and notifications—based on specific conditions within the CRM.

CRM Workflow Example: When a project’s stage is changed to “Won” or “Awarded,” an automated email can be sent to the project team, finance, and operations, prompting them to continue the project setup process. This seamless communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and ready to move forward without delay.

3. Uphold Data Quality with ‘Data Police’ Workflows

Data integrity is a non-negotiable aspect of CRM systems. Workflows in Deltek Vantagepoint can act as your 'data police', ensuring that data quality is maintained without the need to make every field mandatory.

CRM Workflow Example: If a new contact is added without crucial information such as their title or email, a workflow can display an error message, prompting the user to complete these fields before saving. This enforces data integrity rules while maintaining user-friendliness. Similarly, if a field critical for project execution is missing—such as a contact’s role or key project detail —a warning can prompt the responsible party to complete this information before proceeding.

4. Automated Reminders for Timely Follow-ups

Workflows can also be employed to keep your team on track with their responsibilities, from updating records to renewing licenses.

CRM Workflow Example: If a proposal’s due date passes without a change in its stage, a workflow can automatically send a reminder to the responsible team member. Similarly, reminders for license renewals or contract expirations can be set, ensuring compliance and uninterrupted service.

5. Dynamic Field Requirements Across Pursuit Stages

Tailoring the amount of information required at different stages of a project pursuit can greatly enhance CRM efficiency, a strategy highlighted by Stacey Ho from Otak. In Deltek Vantagepoint, workflows can be set up to adjust field requirements as a project moves from an early pursuit stage to a contracted project.

CRM Workflow Example: At the “proposal submitted” stage, the workflow might prompt users for comprehensive data including estimated fee, project manager name, etc., while at the “lead” stage, it focuses on basic project information like client name and project name. This ensures relevant and timely data collection without overwhelming the user.

Implementing Stacey Ho’s approach in your Deltek Vantagepoint workflows means your data collection is as dynamic as your pursuits, ensuring you have the right information at the right time to make informed decisions.

Bonus Tip! Proactively Audit Your CRM Data with Scheduled Reports

Regular data audits are crucial for maintaining the accuracy and relevancy of your CRM system. While not technically a workflow, you can leverage the power of monthly scheduled reports to keep your data in check. Instead of overwhelming annual audits such as when you’re preparing your firm’s holiday cards, monthly reports break down the data review process into manageable segments. This allows for more frequent and focused evaluations of your CRM data, ensuring its ongoing accuracy and usefulness.

And a bonus to routine data auditing is that you can see who is creating the records and use these monthly reports as an opportunity to do continuous CRM training!

Example: Set up a monthly report in Deltek Vantagepoint to track new and modified firm and/or contact records. This report can highlight changes in contact details, the addition of new firms, or updates to existing records. You can also create these reports to show you who created the record. By regularly reviewing this report, your team can quickly identify and rectify discrepancies, update obsolete information, and confirm the integrity of new data entries.

These reports enable your team to proactively address data discrepancies and maintain a high standard of data quality. Regular monitoring ensures that your CRM database is not just up to date, but also a reliable foundation for your marketing and business development activities. Diverse Workflow Types to Enhance Your CRM Approach with Deltek Vantagepoint In the realm of CRM management using Deltek Vantagepoint, it's vital to recognize the different types of workflows available to optimize your processes.

User-Initiated vs. Scheduled Workflows

User-Initiated Workflows: These are activated by direct interaction—when a team member makes a change to a record and meets certain criteria, the workflow jumps into action. This hands-on approach ensures that workflows are triggered by deliberate updates, making sure that every client interaction is captured and acted upon.

CRM Workflow Example: A director of marketing updates the status of a marketing campaign. Upon saving, a user-initiated workflow can trigger a sequence of follow-up tasks for the team to execute, ensuring that no opportunity for client engagement slips through the cracks.

Scheduled Workflows: This workflow type functions autonomously, running at predetermined times regardless of user activity. It’s the silent engine in the background, keeping the CRM machine well-oiled and functional without the need for constant user intervention.

CRM Workflow Example: Imagine a scheduled workflow that evaluates project stages every Friday at 5 PM. If a project in an “In Pursuit” stage step has been idle for a certain period (more than 60 days, for example), the workflow can prompt a notification to the assigned business developer to take action.

Workflow Actions: The Muscle Behind Automation

Workflow actions are the actual mechanisms by which automation is applied within your CRM. While these may vary across different systems, Deltek Vantagepoint offers a robust selection of actions:

  • Errors or Warnings: These are crucial for maintaining data accuracy. If a field is incomplete or incorrect, the system can flag this with an error or warning—either as a simple notification or by preventing the user from proceeding until the issue is rectified.
  • Email Alerts: Tailored emails can be dispatched to specific individuals or groups based on their role or involvement with a record, such as notifying a Project Manager when a project is awarded.
  • Alert Notifications: Similar to email alerts, you can send a notification to a selected person or group when the conditions that you specify for the workflow are met, ensuring visibility and prompt attention.
  • Field Updates: Changes in one part of the record can trigger updates in another, keeping the data congruent and up-to-date without manual entry.
  • Activity Creation: A core function in Deltek systems, this action can, for instance, automatically schedule a debriefing meeting when a project is marked as lost.

Advanced users may also employ more complex actions such as executing stored procedures or SQL scripts, providing a level of customization and control suited to unique business requirements.

Incorporating these varied workflows into your CRM strategy with Deltek Vantagepoint not only increases efficiency but also provides a structured, error-minimized approach to client relationship management. Understanding and utilizing the full spectrum of workflow actions available in Deltek Vantagepoint is key to harnessing the full potential of your CRM system, turning routine data management into strategic asset management.

Regular CRM Workflow Maintenance

Maintaining the efficiency and accuracy of your workflows is as crucial as setting them up. Julie Huval from Beck Technology shares a proactive approach to ensure that your Deltek Vantagepoint workflows continue to function optimally.

Biannual Workflow Checkups: To keep workflows running smoothly, it’s important to conduct regular maintenance. Beck Technology implements a biannual cleaning routine, which involves revisiting and updating their workflows to ensure they align with current business processes and data requirements.

Example: Julie maintains a running list on their Kanban card of items to be reviewed and cleaned every six months. This list serves as a living document, constantly updated with new items identified by the team. When the scheduled cleaning quarter arrives, a new Kanban card is created from this master list to guide the cleaning process, ensuring nothing is overlooked.

Adopting a similar maintenance strategy for your Deltek Vantagepoint workflows, as practiced by Julie Huval and her team at Beck Technology, can significantly enhance the longevity and effectiveness of your CRM system. Regular maintenance not only keeps your workflows aligned with your current business needs but also paves the way for continuous improvement and efficiency in your data management practices.

Leverage Deltek Vantagepoint CRM Workflows for Competitive Advantage

By embedding Deltek Vantagepoint workflows into your CRM strategy, you can enhance the productivity of your marketing and business development teams. The automation of mundane tasks, timely alerts, strict data governance, and the setup of automated reminders can transform the pace and precision of your client management operations, ultimately contributing to a streamlined, efficient, and more profitable business practice.

As we've explored the various ways Deltek Vantagepoint can revolutionize your CRM strategy, remember that these insights are just the beginning. To truly harness the full potential of these dynamic workflows, firsthand experience and guidance are invaluable. We invite you to watch our webinar, where we'll dive deeper into the practicalities of setting up and optimizing various CRM workflows in Deltek Vantagepoint. Click the image below to access the webinar.

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Dos and Don'ts When Implementing Your CRM

Posted by Amanda Roussel on March 09, 2023

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It’s no shock that technology is constantly changing. While some firms are accustomed to decentralized pursuit and marketing data, others are recognizing the need to consolidate platforms and streamline processes. In doing so, teams are discovering that a shared resource offers more transparency and accountability if executed smoothly. What are you waiting for? 

My years as a proposal specialist, marketing coordinator, marketing director, and now a CRM consultant have shown me that not all firms, or systems, are the same. There are often similarities regarding firm priorities, but people and processes can vary greatly. Let’s look at some pointers from the success stories and perhaps some lessons learned from others.  

Approach as a Team 

DO: Approach a CRM implementation with a TEAM mindset. 

The more successful implementations not only have executive support throughout the process, but they have executive engagement and involvement. This takes a commitment of time and effort from the leadership team as well as other stakeholders. Stakeholders may include members of the leadership team, marketing, and business development, seller/doers, proposal coordinators, and more.  

In Deltek Vantagepoint, everyone is using the same system and the same data, but for multiple purposes. This is certainly a team project, whether you would like to admit it or not. This concept is likely a change from previous processes.  

DON’T: Expect the marketing team to implement and roll out to the entire firm. 

There’s more to Deltek Vantagepoint CRM than marketing. It’s true! A strong CRM can guide how your firm identifies, pursues, and wins work. By capturing the right data, results can be analyzed and strategies adjusted.  

Engage Stakeholders 

DO: Think about business processes as a whole.  

It can take a large team of people in various roles to win work. Everyone has a part in the process, and representatives from those roles should be included in the implementation team. In Deltek Vantagepoint, many roles touch even just one project record. Business developers, proposal coordinators, project managers, finance teams, and project accountants all have a vested interest in recording data. The process needs to be seamless and support business processes. 

Ask questions, and then ask more! A few to get you started include:  

  • Where do groups track efforts?  
  • What reports are modified outside of Vantagepoint?
  • What information do you want to know but have no way of knowing?
  • How many emails are sent to find out who talked to John Doe recently? 
  • What are the pain points in the process of winning work?

DON’T: Assume an individual or small group has all the answers to the above questions.  

Each role has an interest in different parts of the process. Use this opportunity to address as many as possible while implementing CRM in Deltek Vantagepoint.  

Manage Expectations 

DO: Identify firm priorities to focus on.   

What are the primary goals? And what is the timeline to accomplish these? Priorities usually identify themselves after stakeholders converse and discuss wish list items. Here are more questions to prioritize:  

  • Does the firm want to have a clean pipeline?
  • Does the firm want to utilize project forecasting?
  • Does the firm want to know what is being spent on the pursuit of work? 
  • What is the return on effort for marketing initiatives?
  • How easily can a contact list be created for a holiday mailer? 

Secondary priorities can come into the fold after the primary priorities are rolled out. For firms new to CRM, there are recommended stepping stones to build upon and each of those takes some time. After all, a CRM implementation is usually rolled into a potentially busy workload. Identifying priorities and creating realistic timelines helps team members understand what’s important now and what to look forward to in the future.    

DON’T: Expect to successfully roll out a complete CRM in a few months. 

On the surface, that’s potentially an achievable goal. However, it may be more transactional than impactful. Do it right and go for impact!  

Make Decisions 

DO: Identify needs, discuss solutions, and make decisions.  

Making decisions allows for configurations to be made and tested. Once tested and confirmed that the process and system meet user needs, then document and execute it. Most CRM configurations can be modified and adjusted as needed. You must start somewhere though.  

DON’T: Delay decisions.  

I see implementations lose steam when decisions take too long. Sometimes this is due to not having the right team members around the table. Teams must include decision-makers and doers.   

Educate  

DO: Socialize the concept of CRM with employees.  

Introduce bite-size pieces of visuals, data, or processes in company meetings. By nature, some employees may become CRM champions or power users. Give them access and let them promote CRM with the implementation team. It’s always great to identify those cheerleaders within the firm that naturally promote a CRM because they believe in the process and trust the data.  

DON’T: Shock your users and give them a manual. 

People don’t typically like surprises. CRM implementation is no different. Helping others recognize what’s in it for them can go a long way. Even without the presence of a formal CRM platform, some employees are likely tracking CRM-like information. Perhaps it’s in a spreadsheet, email platform, another CRM tool, a notebook, or even their heads! Introduce them to a new tool to increase efficiency. 

Be Open to Adaptation  

DO: Recognize that this is a fluid and ongoing effort.  

Your business is constantly changing, which means your CRM system will need to adapt to those changes. A well-implemented CRM has an accompanying maintenance plan and onboarding steps.  

DON’T: Think you’re done after your go-live date.  

Tweaks will be made along the way, and workflows may change your life!  

Everyone Should be Involved When Implementing CRM 

There are many best practices to learn from and take advantage of here. While CRM is a tool that was historically used by marketing teams, Deltek Vantagepoint offers so much more than that. A theme that should be promoted throughout an implementation is “our system.” A CRM implementation is a group effort and everyone throughout the firm should be considered and involved throughout the process. 

 

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Leveraging the Client Engagement Lifecycle to Drive Results

Posted by Lindsay Diven on January 26, 2023

01-27-23_ClientEngagement_BannerEngaging clients is essential to any business, but it can be difficult to know where to start. However, by understanding the client engagement lifecycle, businesses can develop a process for engaging clients that leads to long-term relationships. 

What is the Client Engagement Lifecycle 

In every sales transaction, buyers (or clients) go on a journey that begins the moment they decide they need services and continues to when the contract is eventually signed. This is called the client engagement lifecycle. And you can imagine this as a funnel with the following phases: 

  • Attract 
  • Nurture 
  • Convert 
  • Grow 

A prospect is initially attracted to your firm and starts at the top of the funnel and goes through each phase until eventually you are providing services for them.  

Client Engagement Lifecycle Stages 

Now let’s go through each client engagement lifecycle stage in a little more detail.  

Attract

The client engagement lifecycle begins when you bring in new prospects. You can think of this as the top of the funnel. During this stage, it’s important to identify your target markets and personas such as project managers, facility managers, and/or directors that will be interested in your services.  

To do this, you’ll want to create marketing content and promotions that resonate with these key personas. The goal is to attract them to your firm using your expertise and/or answering their questions.  

The marketing content can be varied. It could range from written blogs to videos, webinars and podcasts. You just want to make sure the content is relevant to your target markets and personas and helps them solve common obstacles within their industry. 

Sales and technical staff will usually have little-to-no engagement in this stage of the lifecycle.  

Nurture

Once prospects have been attracted to your firm with your attract-type content, it’s important to maintain the prospects’ interests so they stay in the funnel. This is typically done through digital efforts like email marketing and offline efforts through phone calls and networking events.  

Knowing what content has sparked and sustained this interest is important so you can produce new content to continue to drive awareness. Additionally, the original content that brought them into the funnel should leave them with unanswered questions. 

During this stage, familiarity with the content which first attracted the prospects will help you determine questions they might now have. Your new content should be more specific to answer these questions with fact-based information that also communicates your expertise. Email campaigns provide a great avenue to share this fresh content. 

Your sales managers or technical team members may also follow up with the prospects to ask further questions and make introductions to your firm and its services. 

Convert

As your prospects move from the attract and through the nurture phases, it’s now time to get those prospects to make a conscious decision to move further. This is not to say they were not interested in your services before, but rather the content that you have been sharing has made them recognize you are a trusted authority and a subject matter expert. 

This stage is when specific, offline conversations need to begin, and you should convert these prospects into advocates. For professional services firms, this means that your technical staff may be meeting with the prospects over the phone or in meetings to talk about a specific project. The conversations are turning to either a request for proposal and/or proposing specific services.  

The content produced in this phase supports proposals, presentations, and other sales-related documents to close the sale!  

Grow

Congratulations, you now have new clients in your funnel. This is the stage where you will foster the ability to provide additional services to your clients. 

The tricky thing here is creating content that will be important to your clients in the future. For some clients, this is a few months down the road, and for others, a year or more. A great tool to use is a monthly or quarterly newsletter for sharing your newly created content to create new opportunities. 

Using the Client Engagement Lifecycle to Your Advantage 

Understanding the client engagement lifecycle for your specific firm and targeted markets works as an advantage for your marketing and business development efforts. When you identify your client engagement lifecycle for a specific market or persona such as a facilities director for a University Campus.  

You can then begin to create marketing content that specifically appeals to that facilities director. This specific content strategy will work to attract the right type of prospects and generate leads for your firm.  

The client engagement lifecycle is a valuable tool for businesses to use when developing their client engagement strategy. 

Wrapping it All Up 

The client engagement lifecycle is a process that businesses use to manage and improve their relationships with clients. It typically includes stages such as attract, nurture, convert, and grow. By understanding and leveraging each stage of the client engagement lifecycle, businesses can drive results by identifying opportunities for improvement and developing strategies to increase client satisfaction and loyalty. This can lead to increased revenue, repeat business, and improved overall performance. 

To learn more about content marketing strategies for each stage of the client engagement lifecycle, click the image below for our series. 

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Driving Growth with Digital Marketing: How to Optimize Digital Marketing Performance

Posted by Lindsay Diven on October 05, 2022

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Throughout the Driving Revenue Growth with Digital Marketing Series, marketers have created and implemented the marketing campaigns and collected results. Now it’s time to analyze and optimize the marketing campaign and strategy to achieve even more efficiency towards the marketing SMART goals 

This article shares just a few of the items to review to optimize digital marketing performance. Areas to optimize include the website, conversions, content promotion and email marketing. And this article just scratches the surface but will offer some ideas to begin.  

Improving the Website 

The firm’s website is the starting place for any digital or online marketing program. It’s the key piece of online real estate that marketers have complete control of and have access to the background statistics. Some of these key statistics to track will be based on the marketing campaign goals. Others will be general performance statistics to gauge the overall site performance such as overall website traffic, time on page, etc.  

Some areas to focus on to optimize performance when it comes to the firm’s website include: 

  • Highest traffic volume pages – Look at the specific site pages that are getting the most traffic. Identify what, if any, SEO elements are on the page including specific keywords. Look at where the traffic is coming from to that page. Also, check to make sure there is a call to action (CTA) on that page to either capture that visitor’s information or move them to another page to continue the visitor's journey.  
  • Most read blog posts – Similarly to the site pages, look at the most read blog posts. Which articles or topics are getting the most views? Marketers can assume that this is the type of content or topic that their audience is interested in. Work to create either more content around this topic or repurpose those specific blog topics into other content formats.  

Increasing Conversions  

A conversion can be any action a person takes that the marketer wants them to do. For example, if there is a form on a webpage, the call to action (CTA) for that page would be to fill out the form. Each time that CTA is completed, it’s a conversion. Conversions don’t always have to be filling out a form; it can be watching a video or requesting a meeting. The idea is that the person took an action, and that action is the conversion.  

Once marketers set up their CTAs and start collecting data, it’s time to see how to increase the number of conversions. Some ways to do this are: 

  • Use CTAs – This may seem obvious, but so many AEC websites do not have any CTAs anywhere on their websites or there’s just one – “Subscribe to ACME Engineering’s Newsletter.” The easiest way to increase conversions is to start using CTAs and inserting them throughout the entire website.  
  • Make CTAs relevant to the page – Even though we just said to use CTAs, don’t just put them on every webpage and think it is done. Marketers will want to use different CTAs that are relevant to the topic of that blog or page. For example, an architecture firm has a checklist called “10 Ways to Derail an Elementary School Renovation” that they want people to download. A good place to put that CTA is on project profile pages of elementary school renovations, not their healthcare project pages.  

Using Specific Landing Pages 

Most website management systems like WordPress or HubSpot are easy to set up and update. But sometimes it’s often difficult jumping through internal hoops to get new web pages or new navigations approved internally. So, that’s where landing pages are a great alternative, especially since they are easy to create with software like HubSpot or Leadpages.  

A landing page is just that – one page where marketers can direct specific traffic too. Some ways to optimize landing pages are: 

  • Minimize the design – Remove any design elements, navigation, or CTAs, that would distract the viewer from taking the one action you want them to take. For example, remove the navigation/menu bar, remove the firm’s social media links, etc.  
  • Write a strong heading – Continuing with minimizing the design is to have a strong headline. This headline should draw the viewer in and make them want to read more. It should either describe a pain point they are looking to solve or some kind of aspiration they are trying to get to.  
  • Describe the benefits – The landing page should be promoting the goal of the marketing campaign. And that marketing campaign should be benefiting the potential client. Under the headline, describe what the item is and the benefits the potential client will receive. Be clear, concise and to the point. Less is more here.  
  • Place the form above the fold – Most of the time, landing pages have some type of form for the viewer to complete to get something (a PDF download, checklist, case study, etc.). Make sure the viewer doesn’t have to scroll down to see and fill out the form. Seconds count, and if it takes even just a second longer to realize there’s a form, you might lose them.  
  • Determine the right questions – There’s a balancing act between asking for enough information and too much information on the landing page forms. Firms often want all the information they could get about a lead, but the lead will balk at having to fill out too many fields on a form. Marketers should determine the right questions to have on their forms to qualify and segment leads, and not one more. This is usually done by testing and then optimizing. 

In online marketing circles, the conversion rates of landing pages are somewhere between 5-15%. But marketers should be tracking their own conversion rates and then use these strategies above to make changes and see if that rate increases.  

Promote Even More 

A previous article discusses how important it is to promote the content and ways to do that. Once marketers begin promoting, they can use that information to make the promotion even better. Some ways to do this include: 

  • Determine the best channel – Once marketers start getting data, they can see which channels are bringing in the most visitors and highest conversions. Once they know that, they can lean into that channel even more. 
  • Consider each social media channel – If the firm promotes content on different social media channels like LinkedIn or YouTube, how can the content be re-formatted into different media types or different language used that corresponds to that specific channel?  
  • Going back to the basics – Marketers should make sure that the graphics and media are appropriately sized and formatted for each social media channel.  
  • Test frequency to find the sweet spot – Each channel is going to dictate just how often the firm posts content. Once marketers start getting results, they have a baseline and then can start testing posting more or less to see how that affects results.  

Don’t Forget About Email Marketing 

Part of every online marketing program should include an email marketing component. AEC firms have hundreds, if not thousands, of contacts in their databases and should be communicating with those contacts (with proper permission) on a regular cadence. This is even more important for a specific marketing campaign, like the one they are trying to optimize.  

Here are just a few email marketing tips to get great performance: 

  • Make sure the marketing emails are coming from a person, not a generic email address like “Info@company.com” 
  • Write clear and clickable subject lines. Take time to develop the subject lines. Don’t wait to just write something to get the email sent. Use this tool to test each subject line. 
  • Limit CTAs to only one per email campaign, especially if it’s part of a specific marketing campaign. Make sure every link in the email goes to that specific landing page or CTA.  
  • Segment and personalize as much as possible. 
  • Optimize for mobile.   

Watch this replay where an email marketing expert shared even more email marketing advice. 

Always be Adjusting and Refining 

Once you begin your digital marketing program, start to analyze results and then optimize, it doesn't end there! Marketing is ever evolving with new interests, new content formats and new preferences in which our targeted audiences like to consume our content. So as marketers we constantly need to be keeping up with trends, especially out of our industry, looking at our metrics, and adjusting our marketing efforts. The good news is that this is fun and creative, and our job demand will remain high.  

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Driving Growth with Digital Marketing - Marketing Content Promotion for AEC Firms

Posted by Lindsay Diven on June 22, 2022

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So far in the “Driving Revenue Growth with Digital Marketing Series,” firms have developed their content plan and created content. However, creating great content simply is not enough. AEC marketers need a promotional plan that strategically shares content with the people that benefit the most from it. This article shares some common and uncommon promotional tactics.  

Search Engine Optimization 

Search engine optimization or SEO is a series of techniques firms can deploy for their content and on their website to rank higher for certain keywords on search engines like Google. Click here for a basic introduction to SEO. 

SEO should be the first strategy to be used as part of the promotional plan and should be considered when the content is being created, especially if that content is a blog article. Marketers should optimize the piece of content for the specific topics or keywords it wants to be found for. Another way to look at it is to think about the person that marketers want to read or consume that piece of content. What types of phrases or questions would that person be typing into a search engine as that person searches for answers? Make sure that marketing content has those phrases and key words included naturally throughout the content piece.  

Email Marketing 

This is the most overlooked and underutilized promotional tactic in the AEC industry. As a Premier Partner for Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint CRM, Full Sail Partners works with hundreds of AEC firms across the country specifically advising them on CRM and marketing strategies. So many of these firms have databases full of thousands of contacts but fail to have a consistent email marketing strategy.  

By using email marketing, there is a real opportunity for AEC firms to easily, affordably, and routinely get in front of clients and prospects with the content that is often difficult and time consuming to create. With tools like the Blackbox Connector for Mailchimp or Constant Contact that connect Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint to those email marketing services seamlessly, AEC marketers can get a leg up on their competitors just by using email marketing.  

Social Media 

This is probably the most popular and utilized promotional tactic. AEC firms often promote blog articles, white papers and case studies through their social media channels including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Each social media channel has its own pros and cons in terms of reach and engagement as well as best practices when it comes to getting in front of the preferred audiences.  

Finding out the social media channels where the ideal clients and personas spend the majority of their time is key for AEC marketers to develop the content, and they should focus their time on that channel first. Once that channel or channels are identified, marketers can research hashtags to utilize and optimize the visual content plus write engaging captions that keep both the tone of the social media channel and the brand voice.  

Live Events 

With a digital marketing campaign, often the content that is created is online. This includes blog articles, videos, case studies or white papers, for example. So, it isn’t a surprise that promoting this type of content is often forgotten when attending or presenting at live events. If the firm has technical experts or subject matter experts (SMEs) who present or speak at industry events, it’s a great opportunity to also promote the online content.  

Most recently, presenters have been including a slide at the end of a presentation with a QR code. The audience can snap a photo of that QR code, and it takes them to either a specific piece of content or to a webpage/landing page that has links to several pieces of content. Below is an example of a slide with a QR code from a recent conference. 

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It’s not just for in-person conferences or events either. If the firm’s SMEs are guests on podcasts or webinars, those can be other great opportunities to promote marketing content. AEC marketers should help SMEs prepare for these appearances, including identifying what marketing content to promote.  

Creating Great Marketing Content Simply Isn’t Enough 

Thinking about the content promotion while developing it is a great way to make sure that content performs well and meets the digital marketing goals. The content promotion plan should list the ways in which the content will be promoted including SEO, social media, email marketing, and live events.  

This article is part of the Driving Growth with Digital Marketing and will walk through how to gather and analyze the results for the digital marketing campaigns.  

 

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Driving Growth with Digital Marketing - How to Analyze Digital Marketing Campaign Results

Posted by Lindsay Diven on May 25, 2022

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If the results from the digital marketing campaign efforts are not tracked, how will the marketers know if it’s working or not? It seems simplistic when written like this, but for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms, collecting and analyzing the results of digital marketing efforts is often the hardest part. And, because the results are often not collected, not analyzed, or not presented to the firm’s leaders, it’s hard for marketing professionals get buy-in for additional digital marketing resources.  

This article is part of the Driving Growth with Digital Marketing and will walk through how to gather and analyze the results for the digital marketing campaigns.  

Select the Metrics During the Planning Phase 

At this point, the digital marketing campaign is created and has been promoted. At this point it’s time to analyze the results and compare them against the original goals to determine the performance of the campaign. 

The hardest part about selling digital marketing strategies to firm leadership is showing the results. And choosing what to measure and how to measure the results is where AEC marketers often get stuck.  

The best time to select the metrics to be used in analyzing the marketing campaign results, is in the planning stages. Thinking through this while in planning, allows the tracking software or infrastructure to be put into place to gather the correct results.  

Using the original campaign goals along with thinking through how those goals can be measured, is the best place to begin.  

For example, if the original goal was to increase brand awareness in the Texas market by increasing web traffic in Texas by 25% in the first 2 quarters of 2022. The marketing department will want to make sure that they can track web traffic, including geography, and have a baseline number for the web traffic from Texas before the campaign begins. 

If the marketing department doesn’t have that ability or information before they begin the campaign, it's going to be very difficult to gather and analyze the results.  

That's why having very SMART goals outlined and agreed upon by leadership is critical to be able to track, analyze, and progress to achieving goals.

Understand that AEC Metrics May be Different 

AEC is different than other industries when it comes to marketing. It isn’t e-commerce. The AEC industry doesn’t provide online stores. AEC firm clients typically don't buy their services through their websites. So, this means that typical marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) like Cost per Acquisition, Customer Attrition, or even marketing-originated customers really aren't relevant.  

That’s why it so important to get the marketing campaigns SMART Goals determined. When those goals are clear, written down, and agreed upon by firm leadership, the metrics to determine that campaign’s performance become more clear. 

Possible AEC Marketing Campaign Metrics   

So, what should AEC marketers measure? How should they measure the results of their digital marketing campaigns? 

Marketers should identify quantifiable metrics that aligns with the goals of the organization and the SMART goals as mentioned above. These metrics should be either new leads (new to the firm’s funnel) or more interaction with current contacts to “nurture” the relationship until that content needs the firm’s services.  

And because each AEC firm’s goals are all going to be different, this article cannot simply provide a list of 10 example metrics. However, listed below are some potential metrics (KPIs) that could be considered. They are listed to help AEC marketers brainstorm metrics that are relevant to their specific digital marketing campaigns and firm goals.  

Possible AEC Marketing Campaign Metrics: 

  • Website traffic 
  • Search traffic/keyword rankings 
  • Backlinks 
  • Click-through rate 
  • Conversion rate 
  • Email sign-up rate 
  • Delivery, open, click rate 
  • Engagement/interaction rate 
  • Follower growth rate 
  • Brand mentions 

Marketers can then take those metrics and compare the marketing performance to a previous time such as: 

  • To the previous month, 
  • A 3-month average, or 
  • Specific goal(s). 

Metrics That Shouldn’t be Measured 

The things or results that the AEC marketer can’t impact should not be measured. If the marketer or firm can’t change it, there’s no point in tracking it or making it a KPI.  

Vanity metrics should also not be tracked, or at least, have too much weight or emphasis placed on them. Marketers are sometimes tempted to track vanity metrics like the Facebook page likes or Twitter followers, but if the marketing department is not currently implementing a social media campaign with the goal of getting more likes or followers, why track it? It’s not an effective KPI. 

Best Practices for Collecting and Analyzing Digital Marketing Campaign Results 

The following are some best practices that marketers should keep in mind as they plan for, implement, and analyze the results of their digital marketing campaigns.  

  • Use the campaign goal as the basis for analyzing the results. Marketers should tie what the goal of the campaign is to what metrics they collect and analyze.  
  • Connect marketing platforms. By starting with the goals, marketers can list what metrics they need to collect. But, this is also the time to evaluate what systems can be connected and automatically share information. A great example of this is the Blackbox Connector for Mailchimp or Constant Contact. These connect the email marketing statistics to the Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint CRM systems. A marketer can easily pull in the statistics for one email campaign or an email campaign series into the Deltek Marketing Campaign.  
  • Limit KPIs to only those that are needed. Marketers might be tempted to collect more data or statistics than necessary to see how the campaign is performing. Especially when first getting started, limit to collecting and analyzing only those metrics or KPIs that are needed to see how the performance is measuring to the goal.  
  • Tailor the KPIs to the audience. If the marketing campaign performance needs to be presented to firm leadership, make sure to tailor what is shown to that audience to just what they need to see how it’s performing to goal. For example, the marketing manager may be tracking email newsletter opt-in rates and email bounce rates. However, if that’s not a goal of the specific marketing campaign, don’t report those metrics in a presentation to the firm principals.  

How to Use the Digital Marketing Campaign Results to Improve Performance  

Collecting and analyzing the performance of the marketing campaigns is only half the battle! The next step is optimizing the campaign’s performance to get even better results. And the next article in this series share a few different areas to optimize when it comes to the firm’s digital marketing efforts. Subscribe to the series below to get the next article.  

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Full Sail Partners is Celebrating its Silver Anniversary

Posted by Sarah Gonnella on May 11, 2022

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For the last decade, Full Sail Partners has been a recognized project-based technology leader in the Deltek professional services ecosystem. We have much to celebrate and we attribute that success to our company culture -- fun, fast-paced, flexible and collaborative. Our team members comment every day how they feel privileged to call many of their co-workers true friends and even family.  

Since our inception, the number of employees has expanded 131%, and over our 10-year history, revenue has increased 145% while completing over 4000+ projects. The firm launched its Blackbox Connector product in 2015 increasing the team’s integration capabilities by being able to connect clients to outside solutions. Deltek and other industry leaders have recognized our firm with 15 awards over its history because of our relentless commitment to cultivating strong customer loyalty and focusing on the customer experience. We accomplished this and more all while being 100% remote, before it became popular.  

We plan to recognize this huge milestone with our clients at Deltek’s Annual Conference, ProjectCon, in November in Nashville, TN. Additionally, as part of our continuing 10-year anniversary celebration, Full Sail Partners will be selling a cookbook filled with recipes from its employees. Each employee that submits a recipe will be nominating a charity of his/her choice. Any funds raised will be then given to the charity that is voted upon by Full Sail Partners’ clients.  

While viewing our accomplishments, you can truly experience the fun side of our culture. We would love to hear from you, our clients, about any experience that stands out over the years in the comments or on social media. Thank you to everyone that has been a part of our journey. We are excited to continue this celebration and enjoy the moment while looking forward to our next milestone accomplishment. Cheers! 

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Review our recent press release to learn more about our firm and our accomplishments over the past decade. 

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The Power of Content Repurposing for A/E/C Firms

Posted by Lindsay Diven on February 09, 2022

Consistent content that appeals to the ideal client is a cornerstone of a successful digital marketing program. Often, it’s a challenge for A/E/C firms to constantly be creating new high-quality content. There just isn’t enough time or resources. In this next installment of the “Driving Growth with Digital Marketing series, readers will learn how to extend the life of an existing piece of content.

Driving Growth with Digital Marketing for A/E/C Firms

Introducing Content Repurposing

Content repurposing is a magical way to use content already created and revitalize it, so it works harder for your inbound marketing and SEO efforts. Repurposing takes previously published content and reimagines that content into different formats, refreshes the information based on industry updates, and allows the content to reach audiences that might have missed it the first time around.

Repurposing saves time because marketers don’t need to write new content from scratch. It is not just publishing the same blog article link with the same caption on the firm’s LinkedIn page once per month. It is transforming content into a new focus of interest.

How to Select Content to Repurpose

A great way to determine what content to repurpose is to audit the content you’ve already published. Look for content that still resonates with the ideal client and that is evergreen. If the content is too outdated or highly seasonable, it might be too much effort to repurpose it. Choose the content pieces that can be easily refreshed and still attract the targeted audience.

Then, take a look at your firm’s website analytics to find the high-performing content. Find the content that ranks the highest when it comes to page views, average time on page, etc. The content that meets all these criteria should be what you begin with.

Content Repurposing Case Study

A great example of a content repurposing strategy is this series, “Driving Growth with Digital Marketing.” As a new marketing manager for our Blackbox Connector products, I wanted to target other marketing managers who use Deltek Vision/Vantagepoint and who already have a digital marketing program or want to create one. So, I developed this year-long content series to attract new leads.

This campaign began in 2021 with a 10-part blog series. Potential clients could subscribe to the series to get notified when new articles would be published. And, using our HubSpot Connector, new submissions would be added to the Full Sail Partners’ Deltek Vision CRM to monitor and evaluate.

This blog series was then turned into a presentation abstract that was submitted to several marketing-related conferences. It was selected to be presented at three conferences where there was a high number of the targeted audience.

Eventually, Full Sail Partners will present this as a webinar and possibly publish it as a guide accessible by a form on the website. Between now and then, different steps will be shared as infographics and other resources to post on social media.

This one content topic has been transformed into over a dozen different content types and formats.

Other Repurposing Ideas

When planning for new content, brainstorm ways in which that piece of content can be repurposed. Some ideas include:

  • Convert long blog posts into an eBook or listicle social media series.
  • Turn conference presentations into blog articles, webinars, etc.
  • Build an infographic from a presentation or blog article.
  • Refresh and republish old blog posts with new, relevant information or data.
  • Create a podcast or video series from a previous conference presentation.
  • Create a frequently asked questions area on your website from previously published blog articles.
  • Create a checklist freebie based on the firm’s project management process.
  • Pitch existing articles to guest blogs on other websites.
  • Record existing content such as previously written blog articles or conference presentations. Post those recordings on YouTube or use them in a podcast.
  • Visualize existing content such as articles. Turn them into short video snippets, pull quote graphics, or carousel-type posts.
  • Group existing content to create content pillars or resource hubs. Full Sail Partners has done this with our resource pages. Check out the marketer’s page here.
  • Promote similar content previously published via an email series. Deliver each piece of content in one email spread throughout an entire campaign.
  • Package similar content topics into an eBook or guide. Gather as many similar topics already created and add an introduction or point of view to make it more of a book. These are often titled, “The Ultimate Guide to…” or “The Only Guide to…”

Making Marketing More Efficient

Making the best use of the marketing resources and the subject matter experts’ time ensures marketing investments are more efficient. Content repurposing is one of the best ways to effectively use previously created content and allows for more time to spend on other marketing efforts. Keep a lookout for the next article in this series that introduces search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to help A/E/C firms get found online.

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Building a Content Strategy for A/E/C Firms

Posted by Lindsay Diven on December 15, 2021

The initial steps in putting together an online marketing program include defining personas and setting goals. Once those are set, it’s time to begin creating content. But what types of content need to be created? How does an A/E/C firm come up with content ideas that attract potential clients?

In this article, we will walk through the answers to these questions and go over the process of building a content strategy. And it’s the next step in the Full Sail Partners’ Driving Growth with Digital Marketing series.

Driving Growth with Digital Marketing for A/E/C Firms

First let’s define what a content strategy is. A content strategy is a plan in which firms use content to achieve business and marketing goals. A successful content strategy will attract ideal clients and decision makers at different stages of their buying decisions. Below are the steps to help A/E/C firms to develop a content strategy.

Step 1: Formulate the Decision-Making Funnel

In every sales transaction, buyers go on a journey that begins the moment they decide they need services to when the contract is eventually signed. This is also referred to as the funnel. Marketers often group the funnel into the following phases as shown in the graphic below.

Content Marketing Funnel

The funnel stages are described below along with the content intent for each. A/E/C firms should formulate their own decision-making funnel for their clients and potential clients.

  • Awareness – Is the uppermost part of the funnel. Potential clients are drawn into the funnel through marketing campaigns that include content, events, advertising, trade shows/conferences, social media, and more. In this stage, content is developed to capture new leads and to pull those leads into a CRM system for nurturing further through the funnel.
  • Interest – Once leads are collected, they are then moved into the interest stage. Content for this stage should be more about the firm, its services, and case studies and best practices. This is typically shared through email newsletters and performs best when it can be more targeted to the leads around their industries, markets, or locations.
  • Consideration – In this stage, the lead has become more qualified to become a prospective client. For A/E/C firms, this may mean that the potential client has a project in the future or obtained funding such as a bond. Content developed in this phase is even more specific to that potential upcoming project or service offering. The content should also highlight the firm’s differentiation and value proposition. It might also be sent directly by project managers or business developers.
  • Evaluation – Decision makers move into this stage when there is a procurement event taking place. This will range from a client issuing an RFP or invitation to bid to just a meeting to negotiate. Typically, at this point marketing is working with a project manager or business developer to develop content to convince the client to select their firm.
  • Purchase Decision – The ultimate goal is to get the win! To have the client select your A/E/C firm. The prospect is now a client.

A content strategy should be a mix of content for all phases of the decision-making funnel. And, it’s possible to have different funnels for different personas identified for the firm because the decision making might be different.

Step 2: Run a Content Audit

Knowing what content is already available is a great place to start. Once you know what content is already created, the new content that needs to be created is just filling in the gaps. Take the time to gather all the available content, look through everything and tag it with the stage of the funnel it could work for.

Places to look for content:

  • Blog articles on firm’s website
  • Blog articles written by subject matter experts (SMEs) for other websites
  • Published articles written by SMEs
  • Presentations given at conferences, webinars, etc.
  • Proposals
  • Shortlist presentations
  • Project award submittals
  • Firm award submittals
  • Press releases
  • Brochures
  • Statements of Qualifications (SOQ)

When firms run a content audit, they are often amazed at just how much content they already have created. Often, content developed for a specific pursuit can also be used in various stages of the funnel after a few edits.

After reviewing a firm’s own content, take it one step further by doing a competitive analysis. Review your competitor’s own website and social media content. This will help when creating content that is differentiated.

Step 3: Fill the Content Gaps

Once the decision-making funnel is formulated and the existing content is gathered, the gaps should be clear. Now, it’s time to develop the new content to fill in those gaps. Review each stage of the decision-making funnel and make sure there are content ideas for each stage. Some ways to formulate content ideas are:

  • Ask project managers and business developers what they get questioned the most about by clients and potential clients
  • Conduct keyword research. Keyword research is an essential foundation for a content strategy because it gives valuable topic ideas. Using keyword research tools like HubSpot, Ahrefs, and Semrush will uncover search topics and questions asked by prospective clients.
  • Use the above two actions to brainstorm new content topics. Brainstorm ways to approach old topics, combine two different ideas into one, give a unique perspective on an industry outlook, etc.

Putting it All Together

At this point, the firm should have a defined decision-making funnel or funnels depending on the firm’s different markets. The firm should also have a list of content already created and identified what stage of the funnel it can be used for. The content gaps have been identified and a list of new content to create has been written.

In the ongoing articles in this series, we’ll walk through how to develop new content, how to maximize it by repurposing, and the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). Sign up below to be notified when a new resource in the series becomes available.

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