What the Washington Redskins Can Teach You About Branding

By Sean McVey

The Washington Redskins are a broken franchise.  In the past twenty years, the Skins have won just three playoff games and won their division only once.  Once!  Since the Joe Gibbs era our large and dedicated fan base has become accustomed to mediocrity, and we are to a point where we expect to be let down.

What’s worse is that Redskins owner Dan Snyder gouges fans year in and year out with outrageous ticket pricing (including pre-season), parking fees, and $13 over-battered chicken fingers.  We literally pay $100 for tickets over and over again so that we can stand in the freezing rain and watch our team get trounced.

You would think that after years of disappointment I would stop watching the games and stop giving my money away.  Not the case.  In fact, ask most people around the D.C. area and you will hear the same thing: “We love the Skins.”  I love the Skins and always will.  All of my friends love the Redskins and always will.  So how can we all love something that is so broken?

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Cultivating a Powerful Differentiator

By Sylvia Montgomery

Last week I hosted a lunch program for the DC chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). The panel explored trends and interesting perspectives facing professionals in the A/E/C industry, as related to design-build, alternative energy and SITES (Sustainable Sites Initiative). The panelists also discussed how service providers were leveraging these techniques as part of their value proposition and differentiation efforts.

Peter Rigby, PE and Principal at Paciulli, Simmons & Associates, focused on design-build, post marketplace adoption. He explained how teaming partnerships in the industry had dramatically shifted from architect led to contractor led. His perspectives really brought home the importance of considering unanticipated strategic partners as a normal course of business.

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Is Your Growth Strategic?: 5 Questions Every Professional Services Firm Must Be Able to Answer

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Most firms believe that they have a strategy behind their plans for growth. Based on my direct experience and the research we have done on professional services firms, I would venture that that is largely wishful thinking. On some level, executives know that having a strategy for growth is a something they’re suppose to have, so they schedule a “strategic planning session.” This usually involves one day in a conference room, exchanging opinions and filling up flip charts.

The results of the exercise are dutifully recorded, then ignored until the next year. Sound vaguely familiar?

The predictable outcome is that most firms end up reacting to business opportunities and pressures as they arise. Their growth is unfocused and their valuation is average. Ho Hum.

There is an alternative. True strategic growth is built around a clear, easy-to understand strategy. It is perhaps the single most important element in building a firm that can command a premium valuation. That’s not just my opinion. It’s what our research on high value companies demonstrates.

So how do you make sure that you are pursuing strategic growth? Here are five key questions to ask yourself:

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Social Media + Business Analytics = Successful Weight Loss

By Rusty Luhring, Guest Author

A year and a half ago I set out on a quest to lose weight, motivated by my doctor’s threat to put me on statins to lower my cholesterol — and the desire to improve my appearance for the upcoming beach season.

I learned two key lessons:

1. Posting your weight every day on Facebook for 30 days is a powerful motivator.
2. Supplementing the motivation with knowledge gained through analytics allows you to make good food and exercise decisions every day.

 
For me, this combination allowed me to take control of my weight for the first time in my adult life.

I lost 30 pounds in six months, and have kept it off (and then some) for another year.

These same principles are applicable to running a successful business:  shining the spotlight on key drivers of profitability and cash flow help motivate the entire organization to drive those measures in the right direction.  You have to back this up with good record-keeping and solid analytics.

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What Netflix Can Teach Us About Professional Services Marketing

By Aaron Taylor

At Hinge, we’ve published a fair amount of professional services marketing research in the past few years, and just about every week I stumble across a news item or anecdote that perfectly illustrates some aspect of our findings. Often, these stories remind us that we can be doing things better. Today, I’d like to share just one example from a consumer-facing company that many of us know very well: Netflix, the DVD and streaming video service known for its red envelopes and video store killing market share.

Recently, I read an online post from Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer at Netflix. In response to a query about web interface testing on the question-and-answer site Quora, Hunt explains that Netflix tests almost every aspect of their website:

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5 Tips That Will Make Your 2011 Marketing Plan Better

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

So you’re busily putting together your 2011 plan to grow your professional services firm (just like we are). What do you put in there that can make a real difference in new business development? More networking events? Time to ramp up social media?

Well, I want to add my top five picks for a successful 2011. To make the list, each had to (A) be supported by data and (B) be an approach that has worked for us. So without further ado I give you my five favs.

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