Lessons I learned in 2006

Here's what I learned (or had re-validated) in 2006 about expertise-based marketing.

• Your credentials may get you in the door, but after that, it's how you behave that contributes to the growth of your business. James Brown, "the hardest working man in show business," had rock 'n' roll credentials that attracted generations of new fans.  He never forgot, though, that his and his band's expertise didn't really grow their reputation, but the way they behaved once they were in their "clients'" presence.   
• Don't be afraid to insist on your own duly-deserved recognition. How many of you saw the movie Happy Feet in the last several weeks?  How many of you knew that Mumbles' dances were choreographed and performed by tap-dancing legend Savion Glover?  Not many, according to John Rockwell's December 28 2006 New York Times article.  This situation puts into focus the very basis of "expertise marketing."  Why isn't Glover as big a brand name as Robin Williams or Nicole Kidman, whose names are prominently attached to this movie, even though his work is more than critical to its main theme?  Rockwell says, in essence, because Glover didn't require being more prominently featured.  Rockwell reminds all of us who are experts in our fields:  "To win respect, you have to do more than be the best there is. You have to fight, meaning negotiate, for the recognition you deserve." 
• Measuring client satisfaction can be a dead-end road.  Still, too few professional services firms are curious enough about why clients buy or re-buy.  I was impressed enough by Fred Reichheld's book The Ultimate Question to feature it in this blog and my Marketplace Master monthly newsletter.  It's the only book I've seen to simultaneously make a strong case for assessing client satisfaction while criticizing traditional modes of measuring it.  Reichheld suggests thoughtful, practical and meaningful ways to better understand clients' motivations.
• Telling clients the truth may be hard, but it's better than the alternative.  I hesitated to tell my clients why I had to be less-than-normally accessible during November and December.  (It's forbidden to use cell phones in hospital ICUs and heart-monitor telemetry floors).  My consulting friends urged me to tell my clients about our family's health care challenges.  I'm glad I was honest. I was in no mental shape to do a good job anyway, and pretending to be a fully functioning guru would have only hurt my good reputation eventually. 
• Telling the truth can be done well or horribly.  Those who do it well are most trustworthy.  I was impressed by how well the experts (in this case my daughter's surgeons) told us news that we found very hard to hear.  They told the truth with objectivity (telling us the facts but never insisting that their news was the final word).  They deferred to the experience of their colleagues, who they said could provide deeper illumination on a complex issue. They used examples to illustrate difficult concepts.  When they had to use professional jargon, they explained their terms.  Most importantly, they told the truth with empathy and tact.