Pierpont Communications, Inc.

Staying in touch with people is a fundamental rule of business. People do business with people they know, professionally or personally. This does not just apply to garnering new business but retaining existing customers as well. You have to communicate with your clients regularly to maintain your relationship – and their business.

Keep existing business by planning out your touchpoints with people. I’m not talking about a set calendar of items you check off every week, but a strategy to remain at the forefront of your client’s mind. Some tactics are simple, but can easily be forgotten, so pay attention:

Hold weekly calls with the client. Make them an involved partner in all your activities. Keep them invested in your work. Another bonus: If you have questions and can’t get a hold of them during the week, this is the chance to get your answers.

Take them to an event. Does your office have an extra ticket or two to a game or to the theater? Invite them to attend the event with you to create a fun and favorable memory of you outside of work.

Remember holidays and birthdays. Think about how you feel when a company you have close ties with sends you something for the holidays or your birthday. How likely are you to cut them out of your budget?

Be a resource and teach them something. Show your clients that you are interested in more than what is defined in your scope of work. If you find articles or books you find interesting that a client could benefit from, send it over. Helping them learn more about what you know could lead to extra business.

Friend, follow and connect. If (and only if) you are comfortable connecting to a client through a social network, then by all means -- do it! Learn more about each other to keep the working relationship strong. BE WARNED: Even if you become good friends, your work may be subject to inappropriate or over revealing posts.

Don’t overdo it now. Getting lost in maintaining touchpoints at the cost of quality service will deteriorate any customer relationship. Carry out these tasks in moderation and you’ll always turn client contacts into true relationships.

I ran the Houston Half marathon on Sunday. It was a great race, with perfect weather and very supportive fans. It was my first half, and I finished in under 1:52, which I was pretty happy with, especially given a recent injury I was overcoming.

So what does my half marathon have to do with YOUR marketing campaign? A lot, actually. Like when you are training for a long distance run, there are a few important things to keep in mind when developing an effective marketing plan.

It’s not a sprint. A good marketing campaign takes time to plan and implement. It doesn’t happen overnight. Slow and steady, with a clear plan and strategy in place, is what wins the race.

Practice makes perfect. When you are training for a half marathon, you have to run – A LOT! One long run isn’t enough. The same applies to your marketing campaign. Hitting your target once with an email campaign or an advertisement won’t be effective. You have to connect with your audience multiple times, and on multiple levels, to make a difference.

Be flexible. I had a lot of personal obligations this past fall, as well as an Achilles injury, so I wasn’t able to train as planned for the half. And then, only a week before the race, I pulled my quad and gluteal muscles. Yep, not pretty. As a result of my busy schedule and injuries, I had to adjust my training plan leading up to the race. The same applies to your marketing campaign. A marketing plan can’t be set in stone – you need to adjust it depending on the results you’re getting and any unexpected situations that may appear.

It’s hard – but it’s worth it! At times, you may want to give up. “Creating this plan is so hard,” you may think, or “This is taking so long!” Trust us – we understand your frustration. Like running a race, an effective plan takes hard work. It requires extensive research and discussion, planning and strategy. But in the end, when the plan is implemented and your new customers begin rolling in, your hard work will be rewarded. 

Great to be back from our annual employee retreat in Galveston. It was a thrilling — albeit cold! — two and a half days at the historic Hotel Galvez on Seawall Blvd. This was my third retreat with Pierpont, and personally, it may be my favorite.
 
The old Ike-battered island looked fairly healthy on our approach down Broadway Blvd., and the Galvez shined like a classic limousine in concours condition.
 
My co-pilot for the drive from H-town was Brian Block, our social media whiz and kindred spirit. We were also roommates for the event, and thrilled to be staying in a bonafide haunted hotel. But all we heard that night was the occasional groan of passing semi trucks on Seawall Blvd. It was otherwise very quiet.
 
Conversely, the retreat was raucous good fun! The presentations were lively and animated. Our Marketing and Creative Services presentation was very well received. We introduced two new tools for the sales team — a PowerPoint Portfolio http://tinyurl.com/ydkwb3q and a Graphic Design Handbook with estimated investment costs and project descriptions. Also introduced were the new Creative Brief, Work Order and Production Schedule which will ensure all design projects are bid, scheduled and executed as accurately as possible.
 
The final point of our M&CS presentation was “Public Relations & Graphics… I think this is the beginning of a beautiful (and profitable!) friendship.” And a still from the finale of “Casablanca” capped it off.