I just finished writing an article that will be published in the November 2005 issue of the AICPA's Journal of Accountancy entitled "Marketing a Business Valuation Niche" (business valuation is the profession my firm, Mercer Capital, is in). The article contained practical advice and information centered around making the phone ring with new business. I spoke with the editor yesterday and she told me that the article had been reviewed by three valuation practitioners and one professional marketer. According to the editor, the three practitioners loved it while the professional marketer said it sounded like I didn't know how to market. Ouch - I think ... I'm just glad it wasn't the other way around!
The comment of the professional marketer pushed a hot button with me.
That hot button is the promotion of theory and/or abstract thought over practical, on-the-ground tactics that work. The comment also demonstrated to me that this professional marketer, who I am certain is more than professionally competent, possibly does not understand the audience - CPAs who want to know what works to make the phone ring and how to do it - not other marketers.
Tom Peters, in a recent post entitled "A Pox on (Most of) Their Houses" comments on the scores of customer service books he is asked to review. "But I've reached the conclusion that I'll never endorse another customer service book unless ... it's focused on real people at the front line of ordinary businesses like the one next door."
While this quote doesn't address marketing professional services, Tom does address the underlying issue: there is too much wasted talk and theory and not enough practical, real-world information being shared by the people who actually make things happen. In this age of information overload, people crave what is actionable, tested, and real. Providing that information is the mission of this blog.
As I stated in an earlier post, I figured out a long time ago that my job as marketing professional was simple: to make the phone ring. All the activities I pursue to make the phone ring are just that - activities - they are not my job.
I could list all the accomplishments of both Mercer Capital (the company is 23 years old, I've been here for 22 of those years) and myself but that would be both defensive and a bit self-serving.
Suffice it to say that I know how to make the phone ring and that's what the three practitioner reviewers loved about the article. After all, if the phone isn't ringing, what's the point?
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