Lasting Impressions

It’s a common practice for A/E/C firms — no matter the size — to describe the services you deliver instead of the what comes out of the services. Firms fall into the habit of rattling off a list of services they offer and then miss the important point of how those services really solve problems, or how those specific services impact the client. It’s a crutch. You’re unsure of the real reason you do what you do, so you resort to lists. And lists are not stories.

That’s a shame, because the body of work you are building could tell a phenomenal story if you look for it and plan it. There is true value hidden in the tangible results of the technical services you provide, and that value carries more meaning than a bullet list of services.

The success of your firm is directly related to your team of experts on staff and their ability to skillfully apply knowledge and experience to client projects. Solving problems, creating solutions, and finding efficiencies are all in a day’s work. But what do you do if most of your team’s work is inherently invisible to the rest of the world? How do you showcase the collected knowledge and know-how when your best work is buried under ground, behind sheetrock or calculated in support beams?

Sharing your team’s expertise through an industry-relevant thought leadership program can bridge that gap — from unseen to visible expert — and position your firm as experts who can solve your client’s most complex problems.

This question has been heard too frequently to not be addressed: “How should A/E/C firms engage marketing consultants?” Apparently, it’s a common question that isn’t addressed often enough — especially between the two parties who directly benefit the most from working together; your firm and the creative consultant. Fumbling the money conversation brings unnecessary baggage into a transactional business relationship before the project even starts. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Start the engagement off on the right foot. Minimize the conflict around the fee ahead of time and leave plenty of room for collaboration, exploration and significantly higher satisfaction.

Social anxiety drives many professional service firms to generate shallow content in search of clicks and “likes”. Equally influenced by the fear-of-missing-out and search engine optimization, the resulting content relies heavily on memes, trending hashtags and lists-based articles that carries the expectation of clicks and visits. I want to suggest that kind of content is fake and attracts fake followers — people who will never partner with your team, or hire your firm on a project.