North Carolina lawyer Melissa Brumback has posted a simple but core reminder for anyone interested in marketing at her Construction Law in North Carolina blog.?I hope she doesn’t mind me replaying it here in full:
I saw this sign outside the?Jacksonville, North Carolina regional airport.? For those of you who don?t know, Jacksonville is home to Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corp base.? Many of the passengers are coming from or going to the base.
Think a Marine on R&R might like a brewskie or two?? Probably so.? Thus the sign?Yes We have Beer.
Like it or not, we?re all in the marketing business.? Yes, you are a design professional, and went to school for years to be a licensed architect or a registered engineer.? But, you also need to keep the clients coming in, and cash flow flowing.? So today?s marketing tip:? remember your audience!
It?s a simple thing, but something that many folks forget.? Write the proposal or your brochure copy with the client in mind, not to impress the client with your?erudite?vocabulary? (Yes, I?m using the word erudite ? I saw the movie?Divergent?this weekend, so it can?t be helped!)
Of course, the “We have beer” sign isn’t elegant, nor sophisticated, nor did the business go to great thought about design, logos, graphics, or other “marketing things”. These didn’t matter. It knew what its customers might want right at that moment, and where they could see the message.
I agree that communicating with a soldier on R&R seeking a beer reflects an entirely different marketing challenge than convincing a general contractor to call on your sub-trade service, or for you to win a major architectural design commission. You’ll need to reflect and connect with your intended audience and your marketing will require some level of understanding and relationship-building. However, you won’t get there if your head is in the sand and you are focused on yourself rather than the client. Look out. And think of “We have beer here” when you are planning your next marketing initiative.
