Do I need to market?

If you’re selling cures for cancer, and nobody else can do so, then marketing will not be your biggest “pain point”.

However, if you are in an extremely competitive market place, then you MUST HAVE AN ANGLE that others don’t have i.e.:

• bettter,
• faster,
• cheaper

…in order to compete and to get a good return.

If you don’t have that, then it’s a race to the bottom.

You can build a small angle by marketing. This is the raison d’etre of the big “expensive” drafting houses e.g. “Van per Meer [sic]”.

Marketing

What’s your marketing strategy? If you don’t have one, then that’s a bad strategy.

If your startegy is:

• paid advertising - then that is ephemeral: e.g. post cards, google ads etc. It is arguably expensive, because it is there one day, and gone the next.

Content Marketing

IMO a better form of marketing is a permanent one:

• giving valuable advice to your client base
• giving advice / training to staff

The benefits are immense:

• instead of paying people to come to you, they will come of their own accord, in proportion to the usefulness of your information,
• the same for staff: they will refer to the firm’s memos and other material as a source of information.

Moreover, it is “free” and permanent.

The benefits accrue over time, as your content grows in volume and quality.

It is a permanent “asset” rather than a temporary expense.

Incentives - What do solo detailers do?

Look at every single solo detailer in the industry: they market their wares without fail. Why?

Or to ask the reverse question: will a single one of them think that: “marketing is a waste of time?”

How long does it take them to “market” anyways? A simple screenshot + an explanation does wonders. They might do a few projects every now and again. We do hundreds. We have the scale! Yet they with meagre resources are whipping us on the marketing front. We are too big to win. However, we complete hundreds of projects, have have pittance to show for it.

When clients come to our website, I would wish they could see the depth of the projects we have done.

Here are some examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 3 is my favourite:

Our incentives

If we cannot incentivise our team to market, then we are not maximising our potential.

Incentives work!

Examples:

• Give them a bonus for bringing in a client via an affiliate link.
• Or any other incentive systems for driving behaviour that you see fit.

….and let the incentive drive the behaviour!

Generally speaking: incentives which drive direct outcomes, are better than those which do not.

For example, a sales commission is a better system of incentives than, for example, paying a salesperson to make phone calls (without results).

The Proof

I have seen the most illiterate and apathetic employee - ever - come up with a beautifully written blog post, written with almost perfect English. When I suggested a few changes - he promptly attended to it, and moreover, he did a million things which I did not ask for, perfectly. Instead of writing one post, he wrote two. And both complement each other. When I suggested that he market them on linked in - he somehow procured a login, and posted the links. When I suggested that the blurb be shorted: boom - he’s done it. You cannot build that type of ethic with a lucky dip. It must come from within.

And what was the key-driver? The ablity to build something FOR HIMSELF - not for the firm, but for himself.

Luck Dip Jackpot Does not work

Having a lucky dip jackpot?

Who is the client?

• You and I become the “client”. And the motivation will to do the marketing will be minimal: just enough to impress “us”, and marginally better than everyone else who attempts it. Whether it does any good for the client? Who knows.
• However, if the CLIENT is the focus, then they will be paid ONLY if they have perfect success: if a client walks in the door. Moreover, they will be super motivated to improve their marketing efforts to ensure all aspects of their strategy bring about that particular outcome. And if they fail in that regard - at least they will have proof that they know something - which may prove invaluable if they want to search for a job in the marketplace.

The Goal

Let Tek1 become a world-wide resource for knowledge on steel detailing:

• clients will come
• detailers will come
• and both, eventually will lead to better outcomes. You can get get the best staff, and the clients will get the best results.