What are your feelings on marketing?
What are your feelings on marketing?
(OP)
I've been working for the past 3 years working for two engineering clients (environmental and thermal engineering) as a marketing associate.
Fortunately, it's been a great match on both sides since they trusted me and we keep getting good results. It is very rewarding to work for small-medium firms and compete with bigger firms with more horsepower.
I can understand how frustrating it is when you hire someone and they just run away with your money. There's always a lot of risk hiring/contracting someone, even more so when something so "esoteric" as marketing is the role to fulfil.
However, the feedback that I get when talking to some staff on my clients' team and other firms is that marketing just doesn't work. Not that they got burned by some sketchy agency and vowed to never try again (although some have), but that it just doesn't work in the manufacturing / engineering market.
Since I know firsthand it can bring results, I'd like to know about your experiences and opinions when it comes to marketing your services, so I can better relate and serve my clients.
Fortunately, it's been a great match on both sides since they trusted me and we keep getting good results. It is very rewarding to work for small-medium firms and compete with bigger firms with more horsepower.
I can understand how frustrating it is when you hire someone and they just run away with your money. There's always a lot of risk hiring/contracting someone, even more so when something so "esoteric" as marketing is the role to fulfil.
However, the feedback that I get when talking to some staff on my clients' team and other firms is that marketing just doesn't work. Not that they got burned by some sketchy agency and vowed to never try again (although some have), but that it just doesn't work in the manufacturing / engineering market.
Since I know firsthand it can bring results, I'd like to know about your experiences and opinions when it comes to marketing your services, so I can better relate and serve my clients.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
We've never seen any value in it, and rely strictly on word of mouth, referrals, repeat clients, etc. And for that ... see Ron's post above.
In a previous life, the boss (who was not an engineer) wanted us to do cold calls or mailings and the like, if we weren't busy with paid project work. We were not marketing people. We (engineers) despised doing this, in large part because unless you miraculously land on someone who needs your particular service at the time that you call and doesn't already have someone lined up to do it, cold calls don't work ("Sorry, we're not interested / too busy / don't need that service"), and mailings go to the circular file. (All the mailings I get go there.) Emails, nowadays, just get deleted if they're not relevant.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
Ron hit the nail on the head, it all comes down to reputation, and of course, "Who do you know?"
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
Engineers are professionals. They don't "need" non-engineers "selling" their services. They need to perform, be ethical, and educate their clients to that effect.
I have started and run two engineering firms. NEVER would I consider hiring a "salesman" for our services. Currently (in business for 13 years), we do NO marketing. We rely on our satisfied clients telling others. We don't make cold calls. We don't send flyers. We don't advertise in technical journals....yet we keep busy with work we like and that we choose to do. Ideal? Yes. Will it last? Who knows....I've done it twice and it worked both times. I'll take those odds.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
your services.
Marketing will make you known to everyone else...
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
Both have CEOs that are brilliant engineers, not management guys that somehow got there.
Clearly, there's no amount of marketing nor tricks that will turn a bad reputation around or hide a poor performing company.
@BrianPetersen, which kind of restrictions are in your area?
For sure, cold calling, flyers and the usual cold emails don't work since they are too easy to send and we all regard them as spam.
@CWB1, I've seen that too, so we only send good professionals to any meeting. In fact, as you say, they tried in the past to send less experienced engineers due to time constraints and the results were way worse.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
"In a factual manner without exaggeration" ... the interpretation of this is that you can advertise that you exist, and that you offer a certain service, but you can not say anything that someone, including a competitor, could interpret as being "exaggeration". In other words, you can't say that you're better than anyone else, or better than any benchmark if you could figure out such a thing ... you can't make any claims about how good you are, etc. All the stuff that the marketing wizards dream up for marketing campaigns ... not allowed.
We of course have a company website. We exist. We offer certain services. Here is how to contact us. That's it.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
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If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
In product design and manufacturing its common to present to past, current, and potential future clients at least annually. It lets the customer keep current on expanding facilities/capabilities/products and ensures both sides know who the correct points of contact are for various depts.
JMO but I cant imagine running a business based solely on reputation and a website unless you were in either a tiny niche or your competition also refused to market themselves. In my industry everybody sells mainly through marketing and personally, most including myself are not approving a PO of any decent size unless the supplier has sat down with us and given the "warm fuzzy" to multiple folks.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?
agree it must have been implementation. agree that your best client is your current (happy) client. and a happy client requires that you do a good job and cater to them.
bullet 3 in my list is especially important for interfacing with your current or repeat clients.
but eventually your current client does not have any new projects, than what? you need to go out and find new ones (clients and projects). You cant do that without some advance work. that means identifying projects and clients a year or more out (if possible) and then doing the legwork to put yourself in a good position to get the work. The best way to find those projects is face to face with your potential future client.
RE: What are your feelings on marketing?