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Biz Lessons 20 Years in the Making

Slowly…cautiously…step by step…I trudged along the side of road pushing a computer. The blizzard of 1996 dumped two feet of snow, yet I was opening my office for its first day – even if the nearest parking spot was a mile away.

This week Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) celebrates its 20th anniversary. Next to my family, it is the accomplishment I am most proud of.

In December, I mentioned Strategic’s 20th when speaking to a group of marketing students at the University of Maryland. After the initial (yet unspoken) “wow…you’re old” reaction, I was asked by one of the kids my thoughts on the three most important lessons from two decades.

I suspect my answer was a surprise.

1. You learn more on the way down than you do on the way up. Of course, the number one thing you learn is not to repeat the way down. Strategic rode the late 1990s/early 2000s dot com bubble and bust, resulting in multiple rounds of staff layoffs and cuts.

While my hairline never recovered from the stress, we emerged as a more disciplined, process-oriented and profitable business which has allowed us to weather market turns and shifts.

2. Get ahead of client needs, even if they are slow to evolve. Strategic has reinvented itself during the past six years, shifting from a public relations firm into a Web2Sales consultancy. This infographic explains more about Web2Sales.

This focus on innovation and working with marketers who simply want to “do better,” has kept us energized, creative and fresh.

3. Fulfillment from meaningful relationships is worth far more than a few bucks. I’ve been fortunate to work for and with an exceptional group of professionals. Yes…there are mornings when I would welcome another hour of sleep. Yet, I am thankful for every day I have at Strategic. That’s because of the people.

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Steer Clear of the “Ta Da” in Marketing Campaign Reporting

Bravo…you have done right by sales in the planning and execution of your latest integrated campaign.

You engaged with them early in the process to solicit guidance. You tapped into their market knowledge and intimacy with customers and prospects to create content. And you collaboratively developed a process to follow up and track leads.

Weeks have passed since the launch of the campaign and it is time to showcase the impressive results. You have achieved measurable outcomes. You have metrics. Get ready to bask in a celebration of a job well done.

So imagine the surprise when your presentation to the sales team is met with a curt coldness that cuts to the bone. What went wrong?

Erica Pierson, Strategic Communications Group

During an exclusive online chat I hosted last week my colleague Erica Pierson advised corporate marketers to steer clear of the “ta da” moment when reporting results to sales. Rather than a big reveal, Erica encouraged marketers to remain in consistent contact with the sales organization throughout the execution of a campaign.

This rhythm of internal communications will ensure alignment, set expectations and foster a closer working relationship.

Plus, the reporting function by marketers should be an ongoing source of strategic intelligence, rather than an artifact of past accomplishment.

It’s good advice from someone who has spent the better part of two decades in senior corporate marketing roles at innovative companies such as Monster, Hobsons and ICF International.

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Queasy Unease About Best Places to Work

One winner trumpets after hours roof top yoga. Another corrals staffers each month for an evening of board games. Still another whisks employees away on a cruise.

The just released list of 150 top workplaces by the Washington Post is an eclectic group of companies, associations and non-profits that have taken steps to make employee satisfaction a priority. I was thrilled to see a number of long-standing Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) clients included in the ranks.

Yet, as I read through the myriad of health, wellness, convenience and culture creation perks offered by those recognized an uncomfortable realization set in. The criteria used by the media like the Washington Post, Fortune and others to bestow this sort of recognition is both dated and misguided.

Nearly every benefit touted is designed to keep an employee in the office under the pretense of productivity, culture and collaboration.

While on-site dry cleaning, foosball fun and charity-inspired 10K runs can be attractive to some, for me – a parent of three sons under the age of 12 – it merely adds up to missed family time. I decided long ago at Strategic that was unacceptable.

I’m not the only one. Last year the CEO of a technology start-up called MongoDB that has raised more than $200M in venture capital resigned to spend more time with his family. The blog post he penned about his decision caused waves in a community defined by a hard charging mentality.

“The United States is arguably struggling to adjust to the realities of modern family life more than any other affluent country,” New York Times columnist Claire Cain Miller wrote at the time. “Many workers today – blue-collar and white-collar alike – believe they must choose between career and family.”

All of us at Strategic are passionate about Web2Sales, committed to innovation and absolutely focused on the success of our clients. Yet, the very DNA of our business celebrates family, and encourages personal growth and fulfillment.

I love what I do…just not as much as I love this crazy crew.

Hausman.Family.Fathers.Day.Photo.2015

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The Undeniable PR Agency Death March

This week I had the pleasure of visiting with a newly hired colleague at Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) who, like me, studied journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. Go Terps!

Eventually, our conversation shifted to a shared lament about the spiraling and continued down cycle that plagues careers in news reporting. The rise of the enlightened buyer coupled with the shift in influence to online communities and social networks has led to a mass shedding of jobs in media rooms.

At Strategic, this sustained trend has birthed an exciting new service capability we refer to as Web2Sales. Yet, the dwindling community of quality journalists poses a myriad of adverse consequences for our society.

Are advertising, marketing services and public relations firms now on a similar death march?

This article published by Advertising Age makes a credible argument that…yes…indeed they are. Penned by management consultant Michael Farmer, the business model failure of these services companies will be attributed to the loss of agency of record status and the frothy profits it produced.

Customer needs change. Markets mature and evolve. The cliché “innovate or die” holds true.

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