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O P I N I O N
Basic marketing, busy AEC
D id you know that putting a little time and energy toward some basic marketing communication efforts could shine a professional spotlight on you? Expand the awareness of your organization to a wider audience? Further your career? Ideally, bring dollars to your business? A small investment of your time, energy, and creativity can yield a large return with your clients. Start gently and build your confidence.
Joan McQuaid
It’s true. The good news is that anyone – architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturer’s reps – can create some fundamental marketing communication pieces and garner positive results. Whether a seasoned professional or new to the AEC industry, you can write, give a presentation, or post on social media with topics that are informative for your clients to spur connections that could ultimately benefit your bottom line. If you’re new to marketing, choose an approach that is manageable for you, and at least somewhat close to your comfort zone – so you can begin marketing without becoming overwhelmed while doing it. ❚ ❚ Focus – it’s all about them. An easy, but often overlooked place to begin, is to put yourself in your
clients’ shoes. Take the time to consider the things that your clients think about. Where is their focus? What keeps them awake at night? What trends are happening in your clients’ worlds that could impact how they do their work? If you’re new to the AEC industry or aren’t familiar enough with the topics that interest your clients, how could you find out what those topics are? It’s not hard. Place yourself in your clients’ universe. Read the publications and view the websites that they read. Have conversations with them and ask about their concerns. For more in-depth under- standing, go to the local events where they gather. Attend a conference that your clients attend. You could even volunteer for a cause where your clients are also volunteering. Get to know them; simultane- ously you’ll learn what matters to them.
See JOAN MCQUAID, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER June 24, 2019, ISSUE 1302
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