Steve Condon, Senior Client Manager at The Allied Group
scondon@thealliedgrp.com | 401.946.6100 x3239
Working in a sales capacity at Allied since 1994, I have always been passionate about keeping my clients’ projects well-organized and “making it happen.” The best marketing or fulfillment plan can only be as good as the process that executes the plan; the glamorous term “strategy” can only be successful if there is a competent plan in place to execute the strategy. Carrying out a client’s strategy requires creative input, cooperative teamwork, complete details, and, yes often times, lots of patience. But when all put together, it’s a great feeling to satisfy the client and answer their needs!
The Boston Globe this week showed their annual picture of a large truck driving all of the Boston Red Sox equipment down to spring training in Florida. This is a much anticipated photo for Boston sports fans, as it signals the end of winter and lets us dream about what our beloved Sox will do this summer. For me, it also strikes me as a reminder about the length of the baseball season.
Spring training gets going in February and the World Series does not end until late October - 8 months! Between now and then, you will probably shovel snow, cut the lawn many times, wish your Mom a happy Mothers' Day, maybe take a vacation, rake leaves, see the kids finish one school year and start another. For baseball players, this is one long season with many ups and downs.
Like a baseball season, your marketing season (which basically never ends) will have those peaks and valleys. A baseball season lasts 162 games and teams will have both winning and losing streaks, there will be injuries, there will be high times and low times. A marketing season will have at times an abundance of leads and opportunities to work on - and there will be be "slow" times. There will be marketing campaigns that work and some that don't. Either way, you will have to persevere through the entire season.
Like a baseball team, your marketing program will have strengths and weaknesses. A baseball team might have a great infield, good hitting but poor pitching. A marketing "team" might have strong creativity and proactive ideas but poor execution. Either way, your strengths need to compensate for the weaknesses so, as a team, you win at the end.
Like a baseball game, you will have many opportunities to score. A baseball game consists of nine innings and each inning allows three batters (at minimum) to make something happen. In a marketing game, you get many chances to make something happen. It will be up to your marketing team to be resourceful (like a good baseball team) to execute a plan for maximum "runs scored."
As your favorite baseball team relies on key areas such as hits, runs and good defense, your marketing team should focus on key areas like lead generation, data appending, promotional imprinted products, and mail order fulfillment services. As the baseball managers rely on statistics to manage and guide their team, a top direct marketing agency uses statistics like ROI, sales conversion, and profit margin to manage their team.
So as we see that infamous truck head to Florida with all the bats, gloves, and balls, it makes you remember the long season ahead for both baseball players and marketing people alike.
Play Ball!
Political Season... We are in the thick of it.For those who follow the political landscape, you are no doubt keeping your eyes on the debates that have recently been held with the Republican candidates. Pick your favorite guy and you will see them discussing and debating the subjects (one pundit called it "professional arguing"). The moderator offers a subject and the politicians have at it... many subjects are up for debate.
Your marketing and business development is NOT up for debate. Think of all the aspects of your business: operations, finance, IT, product development, research and development... all are key aspects for a successful business but none of that matters if your marketing and sales process is weak.
If you are not thinking like a top marketing communications company, it fairly certain that you might be missing the boat in some areas. The tip of the spear is lead generation - are you leveraging your website to maximize those leads? What marketing strategy services are you employing to increase your awareness in the marketplace? Once you get the leads, do you have a CRM system to manage the leads and opportunities? What marketing and sales support is available to help close these opportunities?
Has your company taken the time to answer these questions? Oftentimes these questions fall to the back-burner as we are constantly handling the daily activities. But think about the old adage "The customer is always right" - the customer is the start of the cycle in any business. Since clients spend the money and fund all of the other activities in a business, it makes sense to pay attention to the process of getting more of them.
The Allied Group works with clients to manage their marketing and sales functions. As a marketing communications company, we strive to assist clients on navigating their challenges. For those who don't even know their shortcomings, a good start is assessing your current situation and using an outside marketing company to determine your next steps.
So enjoy the political season and leave the debating out of your sales and marketing effort!
The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off a Tuscan Island the other week - no doubt a major story as lives were lost and the lives of over 4000 passengers were in jeopardy. However the offshoot of this story has been the behavior of the ship's captain Francesco Schettino. The captain has been accused of abandoning his ship while there were passengers still on-board. In addition to this being a major "no-no" in the maritime world (remember the captain always goes down with his ship), Schettino faces possible manslaughter charges, which could carry a sentence of 12 years in prison! Whatever news account you hear might be a different version but clearly the captain made a huge error in judgment when he abandoned his ship.
How does this relate to Marketing and Business Development Professional Services? It all relates wise decision making, good judgment and not abandoning your "marketing ship." Whatever role you play in your company's marketing effort, "abandoning ship" is not an option. If you are in a decision-making role, you are responsible for setting the right strategy; if you are not making the decisions, it is your role to follow the directives set forth my management. Either way, you have a role to fill!
As a strategic marketing consultancy, The Allied Group works with clients to help them understand what roles are and how people should fill them. When one person abandons their role, it does affect the whole marketing program (not unlike the behavior of Captain Schettino, who abandoned his role during a crucial time for the Costa Concordia).
Data Appending. Lead Generation. Redesigning Websites. Not everyone can be involved with all things but you owe it to yourself and the company to know what you have to do. As an example, on a personal level, it is not my job specifically to manage the CRM system; but I do have a role of maintaining my contacts and their information so our marketing team can adequately do their job.
Each of us has a job to do with Marketing; you don't need "Marketing" in your title to be aware of these efforts and act on them.
How will you stay aware and not "abandon ship" when it comes to your company's marketing efforts?
For those interested in pro football, you are at "peak season" for yourself - playoff time! For the next three weekends, the top teams in the NFL square off for the right to play in the Super Bowl first Sunday of February. This is the most intense time of the season for coaches, players, and, yes, the fans. Why the intensity? Because these games are all single elimination - you lose, your season is over - "One and Done" is a term often applied to these playoffs.Fortunately your marketing does not have to be One and Done. The Allied Group defines marketing as "The combination of strategic plans and specific tactical actions done intentionally and consistently to influence the perceptions of a target audience or individual buyer to create, maintain, or grow revenue."
In other words, you have to find the right mix of strategy and tactics for your own marketing program. There is no magic pill or secret potion that is the answer for everyone. Your mix of strategy and tactics will be dictated by some combination of your industry, your company's goals, and you company's internal resources. If the prospects in your business are buying one way, that might be completely different than the business next door. You need to assess your landscape yourself or hire a top direct marketing agency to assess the market and offer advice. Life Science Marketing will be different than Higher Education Marketing, which will be different from Healthcare Marketing.
Once you assess and determine the plan for you, now we are back to the One and Done concept - i.e., don't get caught up that it will be successful right out of the gate. Whereas NFL teams must win NOW or be done, marketing plans should be flexible and leave some room for changes "on the fly." If you are thinking you have one great idea that will answer all the marketing questions, you could be in for a disappointing year.
So, over the next three weekends,root on your favorite team, enjoy the NFL playoffs and all the intensity of the games . . . but leave the inflexible, rigid "One and Done" concept out of your 2012 marketing plans!
This week is a coveted week for many folks. The week between Christmas and New Years is a vacation week for many - in fact, for those who are working it is usually a bit slower since many of our colleagues are not around. For many it becomes a chance to "catch up" on piles of mail, email, or other paperwork that was not done "when it was supposed to."Looking ahead to next year (really, next week) is also a typical activity for this week. For those of us in business know that the "race for revenue" starts back up once the calendar changes to January. If your revenue for this past year hit your expectations, good for you! If your revenue was down from what you expected, maybe not so good. Either way, you will have little time to either celebrate or commiserate over your results. Don't look know but 2011 is leaving and here comes 2012!
Are you planning ahead for next year? Are you ready to surpass goals from 2011? What are the priorities for the next year?
Do you have enough "irons in the fire" to generate the sales revenue you want? Do you need one of the lead generation agencies to help you? Do you have enough business development professional services to keep your pipeline filled? What will you do to increase your sales presence next year?
Hand in hand with sales is your marketing . . . is your "homegrown" system to market your company in line with what you might get from a top direct marketing agency? Do you have enough promotional product ideas to keep your name in front of clients and prospects?
Then behind the scenes . . . how are the operations looking? Need any help with your supply chain management strategies? Is your shipping fulfillment plans ready for the next year?
Bottom line, the calendar might read this to be the last weak of 2011 but for many of us, this should be the "first" week of 2012!
What are you doing this week to plan for 2012?
Holiday season is busy time of year . . . very busy. Holiday parties. Buying Gifts. Year-end tasks at work. Seeing relatives. There are many things that happen at the end of the year that no doubt make this a stressful time. BUT despite all the stress, we love it!We love this time of year?? Yes, we do! I will concede the fact that now and then you run into a person who plays "Ebeneezer Scrooge" but overall people love the hustle and bustle of the season! What is it that makes us enjoy this stress? I say marketing!
This season is loaded with marketing to get us pumped up. Start with the traditional start of the holiday season: Black Friday. People used to plan shopping excursions the day after Thanksgiving; now they are planned on Thanksgiving. Check out your Sunday paper with all the advertisements; if you are strong enough to pick it up, you will see loads of ads for that "can't miss" offer at Store X. Drive by any shopping mall until December 24 at closing time and you will see plenty of evidence of the mania that is holiday season.
Does your business create a buzz even close to the holiday season? Are your marketing communications strategies gripping your clients for the entire month of December? Do you have an integrated marketing communications campaign that leaves clients waiting in your parking lot to buy more? Are your marketing and sales support personnel exhausted at the end of their workday because the sales activity was through the roof?
We might acknowledge that the buzz from holiday season is just temporary and will be over on December 26 . . .
BUT wouldn't we all like to have that excitement in our business now and then? What can your business do to help you look like your marketing was done by a top direct marketing agency?
American Airlines filed for bankruptcy this week! What! American Airlines?? Bankrupt??Not as bad as it sounds... The word "bankrupt" conjures up images of a destitute person, unable to pay bills, down on his luck, etc. Certainly there are some bankruptcy stories like that but American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, which is basically a reorganization of their business. So you might see a change in how the airline is structured or maybe fewer flights but for those with current reservations, you are safe. I see this as the company making a strategic move to "stop, explore their situation, and make appropriate changes for the future."
Ever think your business needs a Chapter 11 Reorganization? Sounds scary but maybe we don't call it "Chapter 11 Reorganization" - what if you just took the time to "stop and see what is going on?" For many of us, our daily to-do list leaves no time to look at the big picture; we are all so worried about today that tomorrow only gets looked at tomorrow. These recent challenging economic times have forced business to stop and re-engineer, similar to what American Airlines is doing.
I have personally seen The Allied Group stop and re-engineer. When I started with Allied almost 18 years ago, we sold business forms and maybe an envelope here and there. Through the years (mainly because of industry changes, technology, and client demand) we added promotional imprinted products, third party fulfillment, data to print, direct mail capabilities and various marketing services.
When will Allied stop adding products and services? My guess is never! The world changes faster than it did 18 years ago so our product offering needs to stay ahead of the curve so we maintain out ability to offer complete marketing and fulfillment services. If Allied kept the same plan as 18 years ago and stayed with the product offering of business forms and envelopes, the company would not be thriving, if not breathing at all...
What have you noticed in your industry the past 18 years?
Is it time for YOU to declare a "Chapter 11 Bankruptcy" and re-evaluate your situation?
My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving! Between the four-day weekend, not having to buy presents, and seeing old friends at the Turkey Classic Road Race in my hometown, Thanksgiving is WITHOUT A DOUBT the best weekend of the year! OK, who's kidding who . . . eating all the delicious food makes this a great weekend as well! "Pass the Turkey" - "How about some more cranberry?" - "Any of that stuffing left?" . . . building a dinner plate at the table on Thanksgiving Day brings a smile to anyone who like to eat (like me).Marketing is not much different that the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day: As turkey, stuffing and cranberry are all "pieces" of your dinner plate, you can use different pieces/tactics to help build your marketing plate.
As you sit down for dinner on Thanksgiving, you ask, "Hmmm, what am I in the mood for? Turkey? Stuffing?"
As you sit down for planning a marketing strategy, you ask, "Where does my business need help in the marketing area?"
Does your marketing appetite savor more leads? Then hire one of the local lead generation agencies out there. Maybe you have a favorite aunt who has a special apple pie recipe and you would not think of trying to do it yourself when she can bring it? Well, why would you try to generate more leads without an expert to help?
Does your marketing appetite need more promotional product ideas? Same thing - leave the apple pie to that favorite aunt and leave the creative choices for promotional products to someone who is expert at that field.
How good is your website? My guess is you are expert at your own business and maybe not so much at being the "webmaster" . . . that is OK, focus on what you are good at and outsource that task to a firm that can redesign websites.
By now, you are getting the idea . . . while we look forward to a great holiday weekend, remember just two things about marketing and Thanksgiving:
1. You have lots of choices to build the dinner plate/marketing plan that you/your business wants. Try a little of everything and go back for seconds on the food/tactics that work.
2. Let the experts do the things that are not your core business. Like that aunt with her fabulous apple pie, does it make sense to do it yourself when it can be done by the "apple pie expert"?
Happy Thanksgiving!
I have never served in any of the armed forces but I have the utmost respect for those who do. It is their courage and bravery that allows the rest of us to pursue a life of complete freedom: where to live, what to wear, what we can say and what we do for work. As we celebrate Veterans' Day, it is a chance to honor these folks and all qualities they represent.When I think of the qualities of a soldier (or the military in general), I think about the precise training and procedures that go into their operation. A strong chain of command. A high level of strategic planning. A deep understanding of how their "business" works.
Wouldn't you love to see your own marketing strategy be so coordinated? The Allied Group sees the marketing communication strategies of many companies and we see everything -- from those clients with a detailed plan to those who "wing it" and hope for the best! As a top direct marketing agency, it is our mission to get you in the first group.
Companies struggle with marketing - period! Whether it be an issue with marketing and sales support or full service fulfillment, many companies are good at what their product is. They understand their product, know all the idiosyncrasies, and how to use the product. The part they struggle is how to let everyone know!
Very few companies have a "military-type" plan for getting their message out. For many companies, a "strategy" or "plan" is not a well-designed set of tactics with a specific goal in mind; rather, it is a relaxed approach with various ideas tossed "into the ring" and one idea is decided without a specific goal in mind.
How comfortable would you feel at night if our military planned like the latter?
Last weekend the Northeast was hit with an unexpected snowstorm. There was a decent amount of snowfall, very high winds, and the snow was very heavy, creating some power lines to come down. Many folks lost their power and are still waiting days later for it to be restored. OK, those of us who live in New England should not be surprised by this weather, right? But in October? This definitely was an unexpected weather event for this time of the year and people had to act quickly and change their normal plans for what would normally be a beautiful Fall weekend in New England.
These unexpected events happen in the business world every day. Something happens and it forces a business to change their own plans and react to the change. Often times these are events our of your control (like unexpected weather) and you must handle the adversity . . . An economy starts to dip. A high-ranking executive leaves the company. A top client decides to end a relationship? Have any of these things happened to your firm?
Are you a college that has had an unexpected drop in enrollment? Maybe you need to revisit your student yield programs? Or tap into the knowledge of a higher education marketing firm?
Are you a business in need of sales leads? Maybe you need to hire one of the lead generation agencies? Or a strategic marketing consultancy to revamp your business plan?
Business today is full of unexpected events and those who can react survive; those who cannot will not have to worry about it. When that top client wants to end their relationship with your company, do you know what to do? How will you react? Is there a plan in place to retain this client? Often times the plan is that there is "no plan" and everyone scrambles . . . sometimes this works; most times it does not.
What is your company doing to expect "the unexpected"?
So who is trick or treating this upcoming Monday night? Wasn't Halloween one of your favorite days of the year as a kid, dressing up in your favorite costume and coming home with a bagful of candy! "Trick or treat" was our favorite expression in those fun younger years.Now, as business professionals, we are still playing Halloween . . . looking for as many treats and avoiding as many tricks as possible. Our days (and sometimes nights) are filled with challenges that can make your work week a bunch of peaks and valleys.
For those involved with supply chain fulfillment, there are many ways to get tricked as there are treats. This is a detailed business process that one little trick can change an entire process to satisfy your client.
For those involved with data to print programs, you look for treats as an updated address list or "clean" data.
For lead generation agencies, the tricks and treats are easily identified . . . find a good lead and you have a treat - find an unqualified lead and there is your trick.
Tricks and treats can make your workday both frustrating and challenging at the same time. They are the ups and downs that make business interesting. They are the reason we love to succeed. They are the reason we come to work each day. Obviously we don't love the tricks but we know that those tricks make the treats worthwhile.
How do you and your clients handle their tricks and treats?
For those of us lucky to live in New England, we experience all four seasons. Right now we are in Foliage Season - leaves change colors and signals the end of the Fall. In addition to locals doing long weekends and day trips up to Northern New England, our region is invaded by folks from all over the country visiting to "catch the foliage."
As the leaves change, it does remind me of the cycles that a marketing program takes. Business, like the foliage, have changes, some season to season and some week to week. With the current economy and the rapid evolution of technology, change comes fast and furious.
With this change often comes the constant need for evaluation. Do you regularly assess your current situation? Have you ever worked with a top direct marketing agency? When was the last time you reviewed your integrated marketing communications campaign? Can you even remember the last time you thought to buy promotional products?
Many companies do not ask these questions often enough. Not asking questions can be a devastating decision. You know your business better than anyone so you know better than anyone that you need to re-evaluate many times during the course of the year.
With foliage, we have the benefit of knowing that - without doing anything - the colors will come back every year. We don't get that same benefit in the business world.
What will your season of change bring for your business?
As the leaves change, it does remind me of the cycles that a marketing program takes. Business, like the foliage, have changes, some season to season and some week to week. With the current economy and the rapid evolution of technology, change comes fast and furious.
With this change often comes the constant need for evaluation. Do you regularly assess your current situation? Have you ever worked with a top direct marketing agency? When was the last time you reviewed your integrated marketing communications campaign? Can you even remember the last time you thought to buy promotional products?
Many companies do not ask these questions often enough. Not asking questions can be a devastating decision. You know your business better than anyone so you know better than anyone that you need to re-evaluate many times during the course of the year.
With foliage, we have the benefit of knowing that - without doing anything - the colors will come back every year. We don't get that same benefit in the business world.
What will your season of change bring for your business?
I do an annual trip with some guys to catch a New England Patriots away game - always an enjoyable way to catch up with each other and see one of our favorite teams play an away game!Last weekend we had the opportunity to watch the Patriots play the Oakland Raiders. As I watched the Pats, I was taken by how effective the marketing plan is for the "Black and Silver" of the Raiders.
The Raiders have always been the "bad boys" of the NFL. Their reputation for years has been the tough guys, very physical, sometimes bordering on dirty play; in fact, many fans across the country do not like the Raiders and what they stand for. That said, anyone with any eye for marketing/promotions must have an appreciation for the Raiders.
To start, their team owner is a rebellious-type person, constantly creating controversy with the league. Their team logo is sinister-looking and that logo is attached to a uniform with "mean-looking" colors black and silver. Their fans embrace this crazy attitude by dressing up when attending games -- plus their behavior in the stands would be considered inappropriate for some fans.
As a football fan, I see there is no question that the passion is there and the team does a great job promoting this image.
As a marketing fan, this is the stuff that The Allied Group loves to see: Organizations promoting their image and improving their marketing plans! Name a type of industry or organization - Medical Marketing Consultants. Life Science Marketing. Higher Education Marketing - companies need to promote the image and passion that the Raiders do with their team.
Again, as I sat in this stadium and was wowed with this team's marketing plans, I ask:
What does your organization or company's image promote?
Is it promoting what you want?
Worse than that, do you even know what you are promoting?
I recently had the opportunity to compete in the 13th Annual Reach the Beach Relay. This is a relay race where 12 people get together and run 200 miles as a team over 24 hours. The team was driving overnight in 2 vans following our teammates run from Cannon Mountain to Hampton Beach in beautiful New Hampshire. It may sound to crazy to the non-runners out there but I assure you it is an awesome event, with lots of camaraderie, teamwork and support. I was in awe that at any time there was always someone from our team running, helping the entire team "reach the beach" at Hampton!As I was running my legs throughout the 24-hour timeframe, I was seeing the comparison between a running relay and a business marketing plan: There is no downtime!
Whether you are marketing in medical devices, life science marketing or if you are a higher education marketing firm, it is an ongoing effort. Consumers today are inundated with information and it is a necessity to keep the marketing plan always moving. Similar to a relay team, a marketing effort requires a plan for constant action and there needs to be constant motion. Like a strong relay team, there needs to be a chain of activities to keep the momentum going.
There is web design branding; there is promotional imprinted products; there are lead generation agencies; there are many more other marketing tactics that can be used. Whatever you use, it is critical to maintain a plan of regular contact and communication with clients, prospects and "friends" of your company.
Unlike a relay race, there is no finish line in marketing your business!
The NFL season starts this weekend and people can’t wait! I do believe that Major League Baseball is still the national pastime, but football is right there as a close second. Being a football fan in
BUT the love affair with football is more than here in
Why the love affair with the NFL? One simple reason: Marketing! The NFL does it right – they schedule games in neat 3-hour packages so games start at 1:00, 4:15 and 8:00. This is not a coincidence that as the early game finishes, the 4:00 games starts; then they give you a break to have dinner before the 8:00 game. Of course, if you need some football in that “open slot” at 7:00, there are highlight shows to keep you going.
During the season, the stadiums are all set up for tailgating, a ritual to draw fans together before games. Then as playoffs approach, they move games to Saturday nights to capture prime time audiences. Playoffs end with the Super Bowl, which has basically become a national holiday.
Football has always been considered a “guys sport” but the NFL caters to the females and kids as well. Go to any sporting goods store and you will see apparel geared toward men, women and children. Plus, the NFL has clamped down on unruly fans, making a family day at an NFL game possible.
For us at The Allied Group, we can appreciate these moves by the NFL – game times, apparel, highlight shows, tailgating – all done in the name of marketing a brand. I know some people brush off football as a sport of “big guys hitting other big guys” but many businesses would do well to learn from the NFL and how they market. You can talk about creative design for team logos. You can talk about web design branding for the league. You can talk about mail order fulfillment services for their apparel. These are all parts of a marketing program and the NFL has found its way to “Marketing Paydirt.”
Good luck to your team this season!
As some of us folks here in the Northeast wait for Hurricane Irene, we are told to stock up on supplies, bunker down and wait out the storm. We don’t have a lot of experience dealing with hurricanes so more times than not we follow the direction of our local leaders and a common message is “Stay put until the storm blows over!”
This is fine for hurricanes but not for business!
We are in a challenging business climate so it is essential to “not wait” and keep fighting. When I started at The Allied Group 17 years ago, we were strictly a business forms printer; maybe we would look for an envelope order here and there but the main product was business forms. Then we worked in new areas such as print management as clients started looking for someone to manage their forms, not just print them. Then it was mail order fulfillment services . . . Then we got into promotional products since we had a number of clients ask us “Hey you print our logo on paper; can you print it on a coffee mug?” Then we jumped into commercial print and being able to redesign websites, helping us evolve into a strategic marketing consultancy.
By now you get the idea . . . These changes were all precipitated (and became necessary) by changes in the marketplace. Many printing companies who “stayed” just with the printing have suffered and many have not made it.
For us, the changes have been at times a struggle and we have experienced the "growing pains" that come with change. But someone very smart once said: "Would you rather have growing pains or shrinking pains?"
So I ask two questions:
1. Which pains are you getting right now?
2. What are you doing not to "wait out the storm"?
This summer I have been playing tennis one night a week. I have always enjoyed watching the professionals, maybe even watching some of the finals of
As I re-learn the few tennis “things” I might have learned as a kid, I have enjoyed playing the game as an adult. I like the competition and trying to play with my (minimal) strengths and take advantage of my opponent’s weaknesses (by the way, all of these guys would not consider themselves "tennis players" so there are abundant weaknesses all over the courts we play on). Having a group with varied talent levels play tennis together and you get a different tone for each game of the match.
Playing tennis is similar to managing and marketing your business. In tennis, a competitive match is made up of sets, which are made up of games, which are made up of individual points. Maybe that type of thinking is not as obvious in business but a successful business plan is made up of a strong marketing plan, which is made up of specific business operations, which is made up of reliable and capable workers executing the plan. Lots of other things go into this “tennis versus business” analogy but you get the idea.
Like tennis, business owners and marketing folks have to constantly be in “tennis mode.” Each day there are new “shots” coming across the net and you have to use your strengths to “return the shot.” The Allied Group is constantly on the lookout for new innovative ways to return these shots that we experience in the marketplace. Plus, we need to be creative in the ways we suggest our clients return their everyday shots.
Are you receiving any "tough shots" in mail order fulfillment services? How about lead generation? Web design branding? These are all areas that some of our clients are experiencing difficult situations and are asking us for help with their return shot.
Now with my beginner tennis story there is no one but me to return the ball; I will just have to practice and figure it out . . . BUT for those tough shots in the business world, don't be afraid to get that outside help and make the strong return shot!
Is your company ready to make the strong return shot?
As we turn the page on July and enter August, those with a yard probably start to get sick of the "yardwork thing." Back in the Spring it was fun to get the grass, flowers and mulch going and fixing up after a long winter. Now, after a couple months, it starts to get routine as you cut the grass, pick some stray weeds amd sweep the driveway to keep the yard looking good.The same story goes for a company and their efforts in Marketing and Fulfillment. We have all seen initiatives at our own companies get off the ground with all the best intentions, only to have the routine set in and see the intiative becomes "yesterday's news."
As a strategic marketing consultancy, Allied is constantly working with clients to gauge the success of their marketing efforts. As a company who offers mail order fulfillment service, Allied works with clients to make sure their processes in this area are running as best they can.
Our goal with clients is to make sure that their strategic plans are followed and carried out. If Marketing in Medical Devices is your plan, are you on track for your company goals? If Life Science Marketing is your future, how are you addressing that? Whatever is your future, are you constantly nurturing those initiatives, similar to the way you keep up the yard each summer?
Allied's mission for all clients is keeping your mission "on point" and keeping the routine out of your company.
Are your marketing intiatives becoming routine?
OK, I am someone always intrigued by the weather. Growing up in the Northeast, I have come to love the extreme weather that we have in our part of the country. With the weather in New England, we get the "good, bad and ugly." As an example, shovelling snow is not on my list of favorite things to do but I accept that it "comes with the territory." One area of weather I do NOT complain about is the heat. I realize I have the ability to go from an air conditioned home to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned office - not much to complain about there. But the heat is not a bother to me: going for a run, cutting the grass, walking the dog, outside watching my kids' sports - bring on the heat!
These days companies have other "heated" concerns: maintaining sales revenues, increasing profit margins, and continuing a strong presence in their market. For myself and my collegaues at The Allied Group, we see it from both sides: to make sure our own "house" is in order, but more important, to make sure that our clients have the right mix in their marketing and fulfillment programs.
When someone speaks about the right mix of marketing strategy services and full-service fulfillment, it can mean many things: exploring new lead generation methods, the desire to buy promotional products as a giveaway, or the need to redesign websites. For any of these, it is essential that you analyze these areas so you have the right mix.
Allied recently worked with a large department at a local university who is feeling the heat from the President's office to maintain their program's revenue. We were hired to help them assess their current marketing plan and there were a handful of areas that we suggested they need to improve. Will they act on all the suggestions? Probably not but they at least know what is the best route to a good mix.
Sometimes the issue is not that you don't fix a problem; rather the issue these days can be understanding that the "heat is on" and you better do something.
How are you beating the heat?
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