Heavy lifting: Leading a firm toward new marketing strategies

I'm reminded almost daily about how hard it is for organizations to change, even when doing so means making people's lives better, and yet how important it is that they just START somewhere on the road toward competitive effectiveness.  I've written that even small steps can start professional service firms on a journey toward great gains. 

Many of my readers know that I publish a monthly newsletter The Marketplace Master, in which - for 2007 at least - I'm exploring what happens when one or a few individuals take professionally courageous steps to lead their firms toward marketplace gains.  I announced in January that I would focus on stories about people "doing things differently."

Of course, the risk I faced when I announced this idea  -- and directly related to the "it's hard to change" theme mentioned above -- is that I would have a hard time finding good examples.  Well it happened for my May newsletter issue, which is about how professional service firms are thinking astutely about social networking as a marketing strategy.   Or mostly not thinking astutely about this subject, as I learned in my search.  Here's the article. 

Let me know if you have found anyone who has made progress in leading his or her firm toward adopting a social networking strategy.      

Comments

[Becky Dowd]

Suzanne – this was a great article. I have been TRYING to get this firm to think in terms of Connections – really connecting with our clients and prospects. To give more than we get – which builds the relationship. That it is ok not to know all the answers but be ready to find them and to connect our clients with the resources that can help them. My connections term is really contributions!

This article re-energizes me to make it happen – I am on the right track!

THANK YOU for re-confirming my thought process!