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8 BIM software, it is essential to not lose focus on software that can help drive sales and new business to the firm, while also streamlining communications among internal teams.” Mike Wiercinski, president of A. MortonThomas & Associ- ates Inc. (Rockville, MD) – a 500-person civil engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, planning, construction inspection, and subsurface utility engineering firm – says that the firm uses Deltek Vision for its CRM. “We use it to maintain our clients and contacts for our prin- cipals and associates, but also to manage opportunities and campaigns,” he says. “When we have meetings with col- leagues, the software allows us to save notes about each meeting for future use. This is important, as it makes it easy to touch base with decision makers in our industry and with potential teaming partners and to track and manage those conversations.” Wiercinski adds that the AEC industry is built around re- lationships, and companies often work together to provide clients the largest breadth of services to cover their project needs. “Having a system to help keep those relationships fresh is invaluable,” he says. Tracy Mumford, principal and director of marketing and business development at Schemmer Associates Inc. (Oma- ha, NE), a 100-person architecture and engineering firm, says his firm also uses Deltek Vision. In addition to using it as a business development activities log, the business also uses it for accounting functions, time and expense reporting, opportunity management, project historical data, and as an employee resume database. CRM , from page 5

“It’s important for us to have a CRM database, so we have one central location where all accounting and marketing in- formation is stored and shared across multiple A/E disci- plines, markets, and geographic offices,” he says. IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES. Stephen Moore, a senior partner at BSB Design (West Des Moines, IA), an architectural and planning firm, says that the organization is a bit late to the game in using a CRM system. “We’re having a difficult time getting our business develop- ers to invest their time to learn the system,” he says. Currently, BSB also uses Deltek Vision for its accounting and job tracking, but leadership has found the system too cumbersome for their CRM needs. They shopped around for a new one that they thought would be more user-friendly and selected Prophet. “We were hoping that since Prophet functions through Out- look, we will have more luck getting buy-in,” Moore says. “We ordered 10 seats to start, and everyone went through the initial rounds of training. Everyone was impressed with the program’s capabilities, but, unfortunately, their initial enthusiasm faded and they kept using Outlook without go- ing through the Prophet portal.” He says that they still have 10 seats, but only three people are actively using the CRM system. “I think the greatest hurdle for us is taking the time to learn the software and continually train for maximum perfor- mance and benefit,” he says. “And, honestly, we just don’t see it as being that important right now. There are times I wonder how much better we would be, or at least how much more efficient our business developer leaders could be, if they adopted a CRM system, but we have had trouble push- ing the concept from the bottom up.” KNOW THY AUDIENCE. Knowing your audience is critical. This is one of the reasons editors and writers are so coveted. The content you crank out will never get traction if you don’t understand and properly address the audience’s needs. Start developing your plan by answering these questions: What are the most common questions our clients ask? What issues continue to surface on our projects? What are the most important factors our clients should con- sider before hiring a firm like ours? Where are our customers’ knowledge gaps before, during, and after the project? What type of support do our customers request once the project is completed? A/E firms must adopt content marketing to stay relevant. Carve out your niche, build a following, share your exper- tise, and become the trusted source for your audience, and you will remain not only relevant, but indispensable. Do this, and the free information you provide now will pro- duce countless billable hours later. BRIAN FRALEY is the founder, manager, and chief strategist for Fraley AEC Solutions LLC and the author of the e-book Designing an A/E Brand that Drives Selections . Contact him at bmfraley@fraleysolutions. com.

BRIAN FRALEY , from page 7

be based on where your audience’s eyeballs are gazing and how they consume information. Some possibilities include blogging, social media, email marketing, digital or print newsletters, public speaking, and contributing to industry publications. Make sure to address this part of your strat- egy before investing time in content creation. WHO CARES ABOUT STORMWATER BASINS? Identifying relevant con- tent is a stumbling block for A/E firms considering content marketing. Who cares about how a stormwater basin is de- signed, right? The possibilities, in reality, are endless. Start by defining your audience. Though it is true that there are people serving on selection committees that have never heard of a bridge parapet, much of your audience has a general understanding of your profession. Most A/E firms work for facility managers, contractors, and various government agencies. Content marketing is often rightfully compared to tradi- tional journalism. Proponents of content marketing, in fact, advocate for hiring editors and writers. While your firm doesn’t necessarily need to hire an editor, you should have a good writer producing content and even leading your content marketing efforts.

THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 14, 2015, ISSUE 1119

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