Lesson 70 from The AEC Professional's Guide!

When it comes to marketing content, we take lessons from the best-selling novelists. Did you know that best sellers of any genre have 4.5 letters-per-word or fewer? Most were fewer than 4.3. In fact, the lower it was, the better the seller. Said another way, you should use short words if you want people to read what you write. 

However, as engineers and design professionals, you were trained to write using large words and industry jargon. Like writing at an eighth- to tenth-grade level, using smaller words helps your readers. When you use gigantic audacious words in long run on sentences that produce in the reader the necessity to have to decipher the sentence more than a few times before conquering its subject matter, you become unintelligible. Or, when you use big words in long sentences it causes the reader to work too hard.  

Why say ‘utilize’ when you can say ‘use?’ Instead of ‘perform,’ use ‘do.’ Rather than ‘inception,’ use ‘start.’ Say ‘move’ instead of ‘relocate.’  

​As Mark Twain once said, “Why should I write ‘metropolis’ when I get paid the same for ‘city’?”  

I've observed planning, strategy, proposal writing, promotions, and all things marketing at companies of every size. I've learned the following best practices remain consistent, no matter the size of the organization.

1. Superior Communication - Effective communication skills are priority number 1. This is true no matter where you fit into your organization and no matter the size of your company. Marketers should not only demonstrate superior communication skills, but also teach these skills to colleagues. 
2. Marketing Leadership - Marketing leadership is critical for all high-performing and profitable firms. Great marketing leadership is demonstrated by what is practiced, not always what is titled or recognized in the C-suite. The key to developing into a successful marketing leader is to learn and understand every part of the business, so you can impact the long-term vision. 
3. Marketing Strategy - Strategy naturally flows from excellent leadership. No matter the firm size, when your strategy drives your marketing decisions, you stand to create more profit opportunities and less staff burnout and turnover. Marketing strategy is about finding the right target audience - clients and projects - and conveying the right solutions to their pain points through marketing collateral and resources. 
4. Resource Allocation - Resource allocation may look different depending on the size of the firm, but the importance of making good decisions is critical. The best practice for all firms is to think critically and strategically about resource allocation. How can you get the most bang for your buck on labor costs and/or consulting fees?
5. Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - Technical professionals tend to be numbers people. Good marketers, therefor, must speak the language of numbers. Measure what you do. Every firm should track at a minimum KPIs for proposal hit rates, social media and website analytics, repeat and new client revenue, sales, pipeline, market sector and client measurable goals, business development activities, conference participation and results, and networking objectives. 
6. Go/No-Go System - The necessity for a strong go/no-go process is more important than ever. Good marketing at all AEC firms must include a consistent decision matrix regarding project pursuits. 

Communication, leadership, strategy, resources, metrics, and go/no-go are all essential gears in the AEC marketing engine. How these gears are sized may vary, but they all must be in place for your firm's long-term sustainable success.

This post was adapted from "Best Practices - Working With Varied Firm Sizes in A/E/C Marketing," Marketer, December 2021, pages 42-43

​Marketing is an art.
 
Ok, and a science, but it is mostly an art.
 
While the science of marketing is all about research and data, what you do with that information is what I consider art. If I just repeat data such as features, benefits, proofs that we are the best solution to a client’s problem, I believe it, but does the audience? “The very fact that you presented the proof makes it suspect,” according to marketing guru Seth Godin. Godin goes on to explain, “If a consumer figures something out or discovers it on her own, she’s a thousand times more likely to believe it than if it’s just something you claim.”
 
So the big question is, how do you craft marketing messages to spark discovery rather than making braggadocios claims?
 
I will answer through illustration. The best movies, best books, best experiences are those that tease. A tease is giving you bits of information without telling you everything. Think about your favorite teachers, favorite preachers, favorite authors. They all give you pieces, stories, colors, textures just enough to excite your interest and keep you engaged.
 
Great marketing is the art of using just enough data, story, and experience to create interest without delivering the climactic punch line. Who wants to hear a joke when the punch line is delivered too early without any setup?