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OPINION
AEC firms that invest in marketing and business development enjoy higher profitability, attract aligned clients, and foster top talent. Boost success with marketing and BD
M arketing, business development, and sales aren’t usually the top priorities for an AEC firm. Most firms simply don’t have the expertise or know where to start. Many principals don’t even think they need to market themselves, because clients and prospects will just call for their exceptional design, right? In reality, this type of scenario is few and far between. Think about how many firms are out there to choose from – if you aren’t reaching out to prospects in multiple ways, someone else is!
Lindsay Young, MBA, FSMPS, CPSM
With the current market conditions, it’s difficult for people to understand why they need to invest in marketing and business development right now. They are so busy that they don’t think they need it. I often hear, “I’m so swamped right now, I can’t keep my head above water.” I understand their pain. But as a principal, you must have the foresight to realize the fire hydrant is going to close – and probably sooner than you think. By investing in marketing and business development now, you can select the clients you want to work with and the ones that align with your company’s core values. It gives you the ability to work with the clients you want, request higher fees, and design projects your team wants to work on. By the time the market does slow down, you have already set up your pipeline and your company for success. Principals are also challenged with knowing what
works and what doesn’t work as it pertains to marketing and business development, so as a result they do nothing. Putting together a marketing and business development plan helps firms see where and what is getting them results. By implementing a plan, they can see where their time and money is being spent. Once it’s determined where your investments are seeing results, then you can invest more in those things and eliminate the things that aren’t producing results. The plan doesn’t need to be 30 pages either. It can be a one page document to help you obtain and retain clients and projects. Success in marketing and business development is almost always due to a combination of things occurring over time. It’s sponsoring a chamber event,
See LINDSAY YOUNG, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER FEBRUARY 3, 2025, ISSUE 1571
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