Question

Topic: Strategy

Need Help With Developing A Marketing Strategy

Posted by Anonymous on 10/13/2011 at 10:18 PM ET 125 Points
I am with a consulting firm that provides management and planning consulting to fire department and other emergency service agencies. Its a national firm, long standing, that has thrived on word of mouth and repeat business for years. I have been assigned responsibility for marketing to grow the company and I have no marketing background.

We do trade shows, which are somewhat productive. We also monitor trade related news services and do various Google searches (which I need to learn more about to do effectively).

I'm looking for advice on how to develop a marketing plan and how to do a better job of getting the word out to those that may be interested in using our services..... and help welcomed.

Thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/14/2011 at 2:30 AM Accepted
    Hi there, can I just ask first of all where in the world are you.???
  • Posted on 10/14/2011 at 7:54 AM Author
    Sorry - United States. Based in the NW
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 10/14/2011 at 12:35 PM Accepted
    Sounds like you have 3 options:

    1) better reach the fire departments you are currently targeting. Are you currently working with a significant percentage of the departments out there? if not, then there is still room to grow within this market.

    2) expand to reach fire departments in other geographies you are not currently in. Are your services or products something that would help people in other countries?

    3) look into expanding into a new customer type, say providing your service for police departments. Can the services or products be be useful to other organizations (either as is, or with some changes)?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/15/2011 at 8:14 AM Accepted
    How do people find you when they need your services?
    Why do they start looking?
    How do you compare with your competition? What do you do that others' don't/can't?
    Do you offer free webinars on valuable information (i.e., not sales pitches) to prospective clients?
    How can you prove your worth to your clients?
  • Posted on 10/15/2011 at 12:44 PM Author
    Thanks for the responses. I will answer the questions asked below:

    How do people find you when they need your services?
    -A lot of ours is repeat business from satisfied clients and word of mouth. We have a good reputation.
    -Trade shows generate some business, I'm not sure of the cost-benefit ratio. Are they worth the time/expense?
    -Web searches - We come up on Google, with lots of others, May be able to improve exposure?
    -cold call emailing in response to news stories(monitor web based news sources)

    Why do they start looking?
    -Financial challenges. Looking for merger/consolidation help and efficiency studies
    -Desire to plan for the future more effectively
    -Topic-specific needs like fire station location studies, response/coverage planning

    How do you compare with your competition? What do you do that others' don't/can't?
    - We are quite competetive and have a strong reputation. Other firms do the same work but we are one of few that specifically focuses on emergency services where others are broad in scope - i.e. municipal services in general. We are more specialized.

    Do you offer free webinars on valuable information (i.e., not sales pitches) to prospective clients?
    -No, but we do offer speakers at conferences in exchange for trade show booth space and do well with that. We are not really set up to do webinars, though.

    How can you prove your worth to your clients?
    -We can show cost savings and cost avoidance that we have found for other clients
    -We can show examples of successful mergers/consolidations that have been good for others

    Basically, this is a company that has thrived for years on repeat business and word of mouth. These days we see more competition and need to increase our exposure. We are not marketing people, however, and tend to just try what we think might work - and need more ideas on what we may not be thinking of. We don't have anyone dedicated full time to marketing.

    All advice appreciated.


    Read more: https://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=37824#ixzz1aruCBe7...
  • Posted on 10/21/2011 at 8:18 AM Author
    Still hoping for some advice on this.

    Thanks
  • Posted by JESmith on 10/21/2011 at 2:16 PM Accepted
    Have you considered hiring a marketing consultant or agency to help you conduct some research so that they can build a sound marketing strategy and plan for you? If you have the budget, I would look for someone with experience in professional services marketing (since it sounds like you are a service business?) in the public sector.

    If you don't have the budget and need to do this yourself, I'd start by getting yourself some basic marketing training. One of the best (and shortest) introductions to marketing strategy is Harvard Business School's "Note on Marketing Strategy."

    You can read it here (PDF): https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/pl/6968552/6968576/809595685e46231b3fa5efa6c...

    Whether you do webinars, more trade shows, white papers, social media, direct mail, etc. should be driven by an analysis of your target audience. It sounds like you know what their business issues are and have a solution for them. One marketing strategy to consider would be to position yourself as the idea leader in that business issue area. How you achieve that positioning--in other words, what marketing mix you use, should be driven by conducting some qualitative and quantitative research of your target audience--both current, former, and prospective customers. If done correctly, this will help you understand why people buy from you, what are the most important business issues that you are solving for them, how they like to be "sold to," etc.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/21/2011 at 6:37 PM Accepted
    I agree with JESmith that your situation really does call for outside professional marketing help. (I know: When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.) The investment in an experienced consultant will payout for you almost immediately. And if you think you can't afford a consultant, then you probably can't afford to implement a solid marketing plan if/when one shows up on your doorstep.

    Actually your objective sounds like a plum assignment for a good consultant. It's exactly the kind of thing we know how to do -- generate awareness and qualified leads for you. And, strange as it may seem, your business situation is not as unusual/unique as you think. We've done similar projects for safety products, training, and ancillary services. Very similar issues.

    If you'd like to talk, I'd be happy to spend some time to discuss this approach. No cost; no obligation. Just send an email message with suggested timing. (Use email address in my profile, if you're interested.)
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