Be a Non-traditional Marketer Smart Ways to Brand Build and Boost Sales

© 2010 ClearEdge Marketing

June 8, 2010

Presented by:Leslie Vickrey, President & Founder

ClearEdge Marketing

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Our Agenda

Defining Non-Traditional Marketing

Enlisting Customers in Your Sales Process

Participating in Awards Submissions

Taking Advantage of Public Speaking Opportunities

Lessons to Learn

Lively Discussion!

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Poll Question 1

How would you describe your current marketing style?

Traditional: We mainly leverage very traditional marketing collateral tools (brochures, Web sites, etc.) and resources to reach prospects.

Mixed: We combine traditional marketing tools and resources with emerging tools and technologies.

Avant-Garde: We like to be on the cutting-edge of customer and prospect engagement and use the latest tools and trends in order to stay ahead of the competition.

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How Is It Done?

Make Your Customers Part of Your Sales Team.

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Show Up in Unexpected Places, Like

Industry Meetings and Events.

How Is It Done?

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Non-Traditional Marketing Defined

Catching Prospects Off Guard & Sharing Expertise

through Indirect Approaches.

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How Is It Done?

Impress Them with Expertise and Industry Acknowledgement.

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#1 Turn Customers into Raving Fans

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Happy Customers

A Secret Sales Weapon

Your clients are powerfulresources with broad networks of…

ColleaguesPeersFriends and family

They are the smartest, most direct pathway to new sales success.

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Do You Have Customers or Fans?

Do they refer their contacts to your company?

Do they participate in testimonials and case studies that demonstrate your company’s value and capabilities?

Do they speak positively of your brand and become an indirect yet highly effective component of your sales and marketing strategy?

QUESTIONS?

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The Goal: Raving Fans

A Client Fan Will…

Give your business great referralsSpread positive word of mouthProvide marketing legitimacy (back up your claims)

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3 Tips for Client-Fan Conversion

Tip 1: Engage Clients at Several Levels

Executive sponsorProject manager and team leaderPeers (developer-to-developer, tester-to-tester)

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Immediate Opportunity

Leadership Engagement Assessment

Review client roster to identify…o Which clients have or have not met with a

member of the senior leadership team?

Schedule leaders to meet with clients that have not had leadership attention to discuss:

o Progresso Needs o General concerns and desires

Make leadership engagement a continuous aspect of your sales process

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Poll Question 2

Do you conduct regular satisfaction surveys?

Yes

No

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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys

Tip 2: Conduct Satisfaction Surveys. They Will Tell You…If your clients are satisfiedWhat you can do to make them happierHow their needs are changingIf any accounts are in peril

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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys

Survey BenefitsEasy to implementMore cost effective than everProvides data for benchmarking your performance over time

Survey ToolsOnline surveys e.g. Survey Monkey, ZoomerangFeedback tools e.g. NetPromoter, Inavero

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Tip 2: Satisfaction Surveys

Keys to SuccessSurveys need to occur regularly

o Quarterlyo Biannuallyo Annually

Share resultso Staff and leadershipo Clients and prospectso Marketplace and press (when

appropriate)

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Tip 3: Balance Your Follow up

Balance Tech & Traditional Follow up

Tech-enabled follow up:o E-mailo Twittero Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Traditional follow upo Phone callso Office visitso Mailed cards

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The Result?

Raving Fans Who Refer Your Business

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#2 Become a Sought-after Expert

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Speak at Industry Events

Speaking OpportunitiesLocal business groupsLocal, regional and national business and industry associationsConferencesWebinars

BenefitsReach a diverse audienceGain industry validationIncrease brand credibility

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How to Get “On the Circuit”

Step 1: Identify potential speakersSMEs – Strong knowledge and experience in a field or toolGood communication and improv skills a must

Step 2: Build several abstractsInteresting summaries of potential topics speakers can addressLook at past events for topic inspiration

Step 3: Select opportunities for submissionAssociations you belong toIndustry groups with local or national events

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How to Succeed On the Circuit

Step 4: Dress rehearseWork with speakers and design team to build a top-notch presentationRehearse it with a test audience

Step 5: Invite feedbackOpt to get reviews of your presentationUse feedback to improve future presentations

Step 6: Provide moreFollow-up with attendees to provide more information (articles, case studies, support, etc.)

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Member in Action

Harvey Nasho Anna Frazzetto: VP of Technology

Solutionso Regular speaker at HDI Conferences

and local market events since 2006

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Member in Action

The Process & Resultso Identified best speaking opportunities

for Frazzetto (BPO, Offshoring, Outsourcing, Infrastructure Expert)

o Gathered all thought leadership and created 5-6 abstracts

o Submitted to HDI (speaker at annual conference and local market events since 2006)

o 600+ attendees during one of her three sessions this year

o Presentation promoted on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook

o Conference thank you from HDI to all attendees featured Anna’s follow-up conference blog

o Asked to participate as guest bloggero Asked to join HDI’s Strategic Advisory

Board

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#3 Compete for Industry Awards

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Poll Question 3

How many awards did your business apply to in the last year?

None

Less than five

More than five

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Industry Awards

Worth their Weight in GoldThe “cool” factor: “It’s a chance for everyone to rally around the company—which is great for morale—and the application process raises questions that opens the door for people to talk.”

- Jeff Miller, Founder and Managing Director of EdgeLink

Clients are flatteredNew visibility in the marketplaceThird-party validationStaff pride increases

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Industry Awards: Example 1

TalonBronze Tower AwardCorporate Identity 2010Business Marketing

Association

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Industry Awards: Example 2

Harvey NashGold Tower AwardBest Webinar Series 2010Business Marketing

Association

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Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: IdentifyLook for awards your company has the strongest chance of winning

o What does your company excel at in the marketplace?

Step 2: ResearchAll local, regional, national, client and partner award opportunities

o Check local, regional, national business and industry associationso Check what your competitors are winningo Consider all opportunities: Best places to work, business awards,

marketing awards, service awards, etc.

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A Few Examples: Local

Local/Regional Examples

Phoenix Business Journal’s Forty Under 40www.fortyunder40.org/

Crain’s New York Business Rising Stars 40 Under Fortyhttp://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/

Chicago’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work Forwww.101bestandbrightest.com/pages/chicago.cfm

Illinois Technology Association’s CityLIGHTS Awardswww.itacitylights.org/

Oregon Business Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon http://oregon100best.com/

Microsoft Central Region Partner Award Winnershttps://partner.microsoft.com/us/40013533

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A Few Examples: National

National ExamplesErnst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awardwww.ey.com/us/eoy

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur Awardswww.entrepreneur.com/e2010/?cam=eoy2010&cid=eoyhpright

Inavero’s Best of Staffing List www.bestofstaffing.com/

IT Services Marketing Association www.itsma.com/News/mea/default.htm

Staffing Industry Analystswww.staffingindustry.com

Inc. 5000www.inc.com/inc5000apply/2010/index.html

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A Few Examples: For Clients

For Your ClientsCIO 100www.cio.com/cio-awards/index

Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaderswww.computerworld.com/s/article/344381/IT_s_top_tier_Strong_and_steady_leadership

Computerworld Best Places to Work in ITwww.computerworld.com/s/article/9044951/Best_Places_to_Work_in_IT

Networking World Best Practices www.snwusa.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=8242&tabid=5470&

InfoWeek 500www.informationweek.com/iw500/index.jhtml

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Awards Application Process

Step 3: CreateBuild spreadsheet outlining the award association’s name and URL, award name and description, possible categories, cost, general rules and application deadline

Step 4: DetermineAnalyze which awards you are most likely to win and choose to apply to those based on your chances and finances

Step 5: ScheduleTime the time needed to write, edit and complete the application and “romance your readers”

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Awards Application Process

Step 6: TrackTrack your responsesMark your calendar and keep an eye on the award association’s Web site for announcements

Step 7: Promote• Broadcast your win to clients, candidates and prospects…

o On your Web siteo Via press releaseo Through social mediao With e-newsletters

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Awards in Action

EdgeLinko Award: 100 Best Companies

to Work for in Oregono From: Oregon Business

Magazineo Broadcasting Channels:

NewsBoilerplateMarketing

About EdgeLinkEdgeLink is a Portland-based, technology staffing firm that recruits the area’s best mid-to-executive-level technology professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct-hire basis. EdgeLink’s client companies

include Digimarc, Sharp Laboratories, RuleSpace, Ensequence, Biamp Systems, RNA Networks. Since its inception in 2003, EdgeLink earned the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine three years in a row: 2009, 2008 and 2007.

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Awards in Action

About EdgeLinkEdgeLink is a boutique technology staffing firm with offices in Portland, Oregon, and Denver Colorado. EdgeLink recruits the industry’s best mid- to executive-level technology professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct-hire basis. Since the company’s inception in 2003, EdgeLink has earned

recognition as the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine four years in a row: 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007. This year, EdgeLink ranked 15th out of the Top 33 Companies. In addition,

EdgeLink was recently named to Inavero’s inaugural 2010 Best of Staffing List presented by CareerBuilder to recognize exceptional client service in the staffing industry.

EdgeLink also received the Inavero Platinum Service Excellence Award in 2009; and the Portland Business Journal named the company one of the Top 25 Technology providers in 2009, one of the Top 25 Staffing Firms in 2008, 2006 and 2005, and one of the Fastest Growing Private 100 in 2009 and 2007. To learn more, please visit www.edgelink.com.

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In Summary

Shake up your marketing with three proven non-traditional techniques:

Turn your customers into of your sales team

Become a known industry speaker

Apply for awards and take them seriously

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ClearEdge Sponsoring Women’s Luncheon at this Year’s ConferenceFriday, Oct. 8th from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Guest speakers and format to be announced soon! Registration is now open: www.techservealliance.orgEarly Bird ends July 16!

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Let’s Talk

Your Questions, Experiences & Thoughts. Let’s Share & Learn.

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Thank You!

For More Insights, Contact Me AnytimeLeslie Vickrey, President of ClearEdge Marketing

Tel: 312.731.3149

E-mail: lvickrey@clearedgemarketing.comwww.clearedgemarketing.com

www.twitter.com/clearedgemktgwww.facebook.com/clearedgemarketing