We don’t template our relationships

Understanding goals requires two-way communication – not guessing. The thing that bothers me most about RFPs are the generalizations and assumptions that the agency is forced to make in its response. In a true new business meeting, the first thing we do after introducing ourselves is ask the client what problem(s) they are trying to solve by hiring an agency. What are their goals for this project? Who is their audience? Then we engage in real conversation. We ask questions and we listen. We learn about their pain before we tell them how we’re going to solve it.

A RFP, on the other hand, usually starts with a statement like this:

Now I’m a very happily married man, and I’m pretty sure my first date with my wife six years ago wouldn’t have started off too well if I had asked her to fill out a form including a request like this:

I am seeking an attractive and smart woman to serve as my wife. This wife must demonstrate an ability to cook a perfect ribeye steak, and express a thorough interest in watching 9 hours of NFL football every Sunday from September through January.

OK, so that might be a little extreme, but the point is that this is about relationships too. Do you really want to kick this off with an impersonal 15-page document that look like something out of a law school text book? Help your prospective agency truly understand your situation before they offer their solution. (And by the way, my beautiful wife does happen to be a huge NFL fan. Nice bonus!)

Marketing agencies have an area of expertise – it’s marketing

When you hire a plumber to fix your kitchen sink, do you brief him on how he should execute the job before you set him loose? What about when you bring your car in for a tune-up? The point is that a marketing firm has an area of expertise too. It should be hired not just to execute, but first to consult. If they’re any good at their job, marketers have learned from similar projects, and with your help in allowing them to understand the job at hand, they’ll have ideas and solutions you may not have considered. The brainpower and experience that a good marketing agency brings to the table is the most valuable thing they have to offer. A rigid RFP can really limit your ability to tap their expertise.

Personalities matter

As in any other relationship, personalities that don’t mesh are going to cause conflict. One of the first things that a client (and the agency) can learn from a conversation is whether or not they’re a good fit for each other personality-wise. An agency might be a great fit for one client, but terrible for another. A RFP response is unlikely to reveal such intangibles.

The work speaks for itself

Look at the websites of the agencies being considered. Read a few of their blog posts. Observe the design, the writing and the flow of the sites they have developed. Contact someone at their clients’ companies and ask if they were impressed with the work as well as the relationship with that agency. Then narrow your consideration set.

Our clients come first

The last reason why we won’t answer a website RFP is that we believe our time should be spent serving our clients. I know – that sounds cliche. But the truth is that they’re paying for our services and we intend to deliver results. Of course new business development is a big part of what we do as a company, but it has to be secondary. Answering a RFP requires a massive commitment of time and we can’t afford to let this cut into the time we spend executing for our clients.

So what do we recommend in place of a RFP?

The first thing we recommend is doing the homework. As previously mentioned, a lot can be learned from the way a an agency presents itself online. Even more can be learned by observing the work they’ve done and talking to past clients. So first weed out anyone who is less than exceptional. There are plenty of really good agencies out there, so don’t waste time with the mediocre ones.

Next, instead of sending out a traditional RFP, send out our Website Design RFP Template. We’ve put this little resource together to replace the traditional version. It’ll save everyone time and keep both parties focused on what really matters.

Finally, my business partner and lead copywriter at Gorilla 76, Jon Franko, wrote a great article recently on what to look for in a web marketing agency. It’s a quick read and highly recommended if you happen to be in the hunt for an agency.

Oh, and if you’re interested in sitting down and chatting about your project, lunch is on us.

Killer headline, killer tagline, killer idea.

I always thought monogrammed shirts were the most ridiculous concept. Now, I have to admit, I kind of want one.

One question though: Do you think they monogram flannel?

The problem is, they’re not really put on file…as a file would indicate an organizational mechanism used for reference at a later date. My resume file is neither organized nor ever referenced. My lack of interest isn’t due to one to0 few power words in the opening “objective”. Nor is it due to spelling errors or inconsistencies or crappy sentence structure.

My lack of enthusiasm to read a one-page bulleted-list power sell is bolstered by the fact that I find resumes to be useless. An 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper just seems to be a really poor synopsis of a person that I’m going to have to spend a lot of time with.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t write a resume, as it’s unfortunately still way too commonplace for them to be expected. But perhaps it would suit you well to focus on a few other channels that might help promote your personal brand.

Take time for Twitter

“I have an account, but I don’t really use it.”

Well, you should be using it if you’re trying to get a job in modern marketing. I can’t tell you how many students have come through our doors, seeking an intership/job, and they’ve fewer Tweets to their name than years of work experience.

If you’re reading this, you’re more than likely young. And if you’re young, you’re going to be expected to understand and use the social channels. Get familiar. And please, don’t protect your tweets. We understand that you’re going to misfire a message or two. We do it too. It’s okay. Just don’t keep others from seeing what you’re up to. After all, if it’s that private, you probably shouldn’t be tweeting it.

Learn to love LinkedIn

You’re correct. It’s not as much fun as Facebook or Twitter. But, it’s where WE are. The people who WANT to hire you. Therefore, you need to be there too. What’s the saying – fish where the fish are? Hmmmm…

Fill out a COMPLETE profile, sync your Twitter account (unless your Tweets are REALLY unprofessional) and make it a point weekly, to log in and interact with your connections, as well as add new ones. And while you’re at it, maybe write a recommendation or two. You’d be surprised the power of an unsolicited pat on the back.

Contrary to Twitter, your LinkedIn brand should be a little more buttoned up, as it’s a pretty professional place. Lots of suits and well-thought-out headshots.

What’s your wildcard?

In addition to LinkedIn and Twitter (and Facebook), there are many other social networks of which to take advantage. And the key is to not just think of them as exposure to your business sense, but windows to you as a person. What makes you tick? Likes? Dislike? Etc. Also, how can you better highlight your skill set? Say you’re a photographer – maybe Instagram of Flickr are a smart first step. Or, if you’re a writer, blogging would be a good fit. Or…long story short, use as many as you feel comfortable using that make sense for the personal brand you’re trying to build. And have fun with it.

When it’s okay to be traditional…

…when you write a thank you. Don’t send an email thanking someone for their time. Take the time to handwrite a note thanking your interviewee for their time. Stamp then snail mail. Guaranteed you’ll make an impression. I have several contacts (now clients) that to this day, still have the original thank you I wrote them hanging up in their office. It’s the least you can do for someone taking the time out of their day to meet with you.

Then, look them up on LinkedIn and connect.

Thanks for reading.

We started the job by heading over to the shop, exploring, talking extensively with the owner, Kevin, about the company’s history, customer base, challenges as a business owner and goals. Visual inspiration for the design came not only from all the shiny new mowers, but from peg boards on the walls, old school paper tags marking items for sale, uniforms, old signage, family photos and a finger on Kevin’s right hand that that seemed fitting for a guy who’s been repairing lawn mowers his whole life.

After the visit, we had a pretty solid idea for where we wanted to take the brand. It was about tradition and the local customer base that he and his family have built over the years on great service and relationships.

We explored several clean, retro-feeling typestyles and graphic ideas for the logo before finally landing on the colored one represented below.

The gear container for the type was meant to hint at the mechanics of what they do and the typeface was intended to bring out the classic, down-to-earth characteristics that really define their business. The final tagline: Family owned. Lawn trusted. Since 1959. hammered that tradition home as well.

Jumping into the website, we made use of the visual assets we collected at our visit to the shop for textures, background images, etc. We had access to Toro’s dealer library of images as well, which we made use of to represent some of their products. The copy was intended to be informative, but with some personality. We represented the types of products they sell, the maintenance services offered and the history of their shop. The primary calls to action hang down the right side of the layout regardless of the page you’re viewing.

It was a small project, but a lot of fun, and one that we’re proud to put our names on. Now we need some retro t-shirts with that logo on it.

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After executing so many search campaigns, I find it hard to imagine starting any place except keyword research. I suppose you could begin by tearing into a site revamp if you absolutely wanted to, but in pretty short order you will need a keyword strategy to start making educated, influential decisions. I HAVE consulted for brands and clients who, so it seems, can only move forward if they break it or their backs are against the wall. So if you are the type of person who refuses to read the directions, maybe you should consider abandoning this read and just start breaking things that appear in your website audit. Remember before you go, correlation is not causation. If you are looking for an overview of search engines’ functionally and why it works that way, I recommend this read, The SEO Guide for Beginners.

For those not ready to fly solo, let us begin.

I would like to dive right into the tactics, starting with keyword research. If you are just beginning, don’t be concerned with mastering the art and science of keyword research. So what should you be concerned with? Gaining two primary insights: the volume of relevant searches performed and the level of competition. You can achieve this through the completion of two simple tasks using two simple tools.

First understand that any and all keyword research is completed with the aid of Google’s data, specifically the external keyword research tool. This is the same data any search marketing company could, should, and does use.

The tool is about as difficult to operate as the search engine itself. Simply enter industry key terms or your website (domain or page) – and voila! Idea, volume, and competition are all there.

Before you start jumping up for joy, let’s debunk the info just a bit.

1. Local volume refers to searches performed in the United States, not your town or specific location.
2. The volume is not a fact, but an educated estimate (although sometimes I question this).
3. The competition is only correlated with the pay-per-click campaigns, not organic results.

Unless you have ” ” or [ ] wrapped around the term, you don’t necessarily have an accurate volume for the term. Instead, Google is giving you the volume of term or phrase query frequency. As an example, Google may show “shoe” searched hundreds of thousands times a month. Unless you include a filter (“” or [ ]) for the data, however, Google is displaying the overall, inclusive usage of the word shoe in a query. It could be referring to women’s shoe, kids shoe, shoe sale, or even shoe sales in St. Louis MO.

Now that the first action is complete, it’s time for the much easier step two: the underrated and underutilized Eye-Test. To me this is a common sense approach to SEO, quickly accomplished by visiting the search engines and asking yourself, “would my company and domain fit in with this list of ten domains or brands?” If you are a small Bed and Breakfast in Orlando, Florida and you search “hotel rooms, Orlando,” it only takes a quick glance to realize what a difficult climb that could be.

By no means is this a compilation of cutting edge Search tactics, but it is common sense discovery. In my opinion, the Eye Test is for motivation. Those who are new to Search need this incentive and sense of reality. Those two actions can help provide both. If you are not one that is shy on motivation, but do need affirmation, you will need to develop an acute sense of competitive balance. That takes time and effort. Sometimes a professional.

These exercises will provide you with a solid starting point for your SEO journey. Understanding the opportunity of organic search success for your business, should guide your investment, whether it is dollars or time. Compared to other marketing initiatives, SEO provides you with generous amounts of insight that allows you to strategically shape your digital plan. Forget expensive, hit-or-miss focus groups; Google’s keyword research tools yield reliable, valuable answers to the question: What are people searching for? The revealed lists of terms will direct you to tackle a myriad of on-site and off-site improvements, such as content creation (how much and which kind) and Paid Search campaign implementation.

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Newsjacking by David Meerman Scott

As things happen in the news, journalists look for information. To distinguish their story from those of their competitors, they need a hook, or details for the “second paragraph” of the story that might offer a fresh perspective. That’s where the opportunity lies – but only if you act RIGHT AWAY. Create commentary on what’s happening in the news via blog posts, tie it back to your business and you may find your commentary listed as a resource in Google searches for related keywords before other have the chance to own it. Then take it a step further by promoting your blog post in the social channels, emaling and/or Tweeting writers who might be looking for other information, and posting it on press release sources like Business Wire or PR Newswire.

Scott also spends a chapter identifying how you can find news to “jack”. Being active online and using the right tools plays a huge role here. Consistently monitoring relevant industry and non-industry news sources and blogs through a RSS reader like Google Reader, following relevant hash tags on Twitter and setting up Google Alerts for important key phrases are starting points.

As a small business owner, one of the strongest takeaways for me was the idea that you don’t need to be a corporate giant to successfully jack news. In fact, your chances might be better as a small or medium-sized business, or even as an individual. To quote chapter 7,

“Like a dinosaur’s tail that wants to twitch, requests to act must travel a long way up to the slow-moving corporate brain, then all the way back down before anything can happen.”

If your business is nimble, this isn’t the case.

Newsjacking is a quick, worthwhile read. Check it out here.

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You know how you have those out-of-town friends who you talk to about once every six or twelve months, and when you see their name pop up on your ringing cell phone you go, “Oh man, I can’t take this right now”? It’s not because you don’t want to talk with them – in fact they might be one of your best friends and you feel a little bit guilty for not answering. It’s because you know it’s gonna be an hour-long conversation to really catch up. And you don’t have an hour right now. Too much of a commitment, right?

Well, I have plenty of those friends too and I do the same thing. But when the guy I mentioned in the first paragraph calls, I always pick up. So I started thinking about why that’s the case. Here are the things that came to mind:

1. The conversations are almost always quick (usually 5-10 minutes long)
2. The topics of our conversations are about simple, timely things 90% of the time (football, something funny that happened, a quick question, etc.). In other words, we don’t begin by catching each other up for 20 minutes each on our lives because we already know what’s going on.
3. He’s an entertaining guy, and the call consistently ends in us laughing about something absurd

What’s really interesting to me is that when I compare the cumulative, quick and manageable conversations that I’ve had with this friend over the past year or so, I’m certain the minutes spent talking far surpasses the minutes spend talking to any of my hour-long-conversation buddies. And the relationship is stronger. Furthermore, when he or I might have something of greater importance to talk about, we both know the other will be reachable.

So why am I writing about this on a marketing blog?

It’s because I believe the exact same parallels can be drawn to the way a successful business-to-business brand in today’s marketing environment captures the attention and builds a relationship with their customer.

I love a reading a great business book, navigating a well-thought-out and engaging website or reading a well-crafted white paper that educates me on a topic of interest. But putting these big, time-consuming works together is a massive project for those who developed that content. Comparison: hour-long-conversation. It’s a commitment and not something that can be done every day or week. More like every few months or years.

The strongest and most engaging business-to-business brands on the other hand, embrace the idea that not every piece of content they produce for their audience has to be a masterpiece. They realize they don’t have to wait until the perfect time to release it. That’s why these brands write multiple blog posts a week, create infographics, produce raw viral videos, put on half-hour long lunchtime webinars, etc., etc.

Great brands develop and maintain a strong relationship with their audience through frequent and simple engagements. Though they might hang their hat on their bigger productions, they complement those with smaller pieces that keep their audience interested all the time. Compare the following to the bullet points listed previously in this post:

1. Their content is short and sweet (again – blog posts, infographics, etc.)
2. The topics of their content are timely and focused so they can be delivered quickly (not broad and all-encompasing)
3. Their content is engaging and/or entertaining and relates to their customer at a human level.

See the parallels? I think they exist because customers are real people. Business-to-business brands that actually think about how real people interact in their daily lives have much a better chance of capturing the interest of their customers and building a long-lasting relationship.

I’d love to hear your comments on this one below. Please feel free to contribute.

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And it looks like Jason Fried is buying in too (actually, I’m buying in to HIS thinking, but you get the gist). Or at least an article in the most recent issue of Inc. magazine indicates such. The only link I can find is this one  - I know, these kind of suck. But it serves the purpose just fine.

Here’s an excerpt…

“There’s a new story at your business every day. Maybe you dreamed up a great idea or shot down a bad one. Maybe a customer surprised you with the way he or she uses your product. Perhaps a client or an employee came to you with a suggestion for something you’ve never thought of before. There are hidden opportunities in these everyday moments. They make great stories – and in today’s business world, you’re missing an opportunity if you ignore a great story. That’s because great brands are the ones that tell the best stories. Sure, good products and service matter, but stories are what connect people with companies.”

So, to capture such moments, he’s hired a full-time film guy to document their every move. Their goal is to push out 25 videos in the next year.

Wow – what a great idea.

And not just for them. For you too. Think of all the stuff that happens in your given office in a given day. I know the interactions at Gorilla are many. And while they certainly might not all be film worthy, who knows what, when recorded and reviewed, they could lead to – ideas, new business ventures, refined products, humorous and serious blog content, social content, etc., etc. And while a full-time video guy might be tough to justify, think about how you could better document the stuff happening inside your own walls. This is actually a really important part of your brand’s marketing.

Remember, stories connect people to brands. Once again, our caps our off to Mr. Fried and his team up north. Love the thinking. Very anxious to see his video content in 2012.

If you’ve ever wondered what companies or organizations have been looking at your website, start here. This 4-minute video walks you through Google Analytics’ Network report, giving you at least some limited insight into who your website visitors are.

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