The April 2022 BD Round-Up

Welcome to the April 2022 BD Round-Up. It’s always good to be able to share some of the articles that have caught my attention over the previous month. Once again, the year so far has been affected by what is hopefully the end of the pandemic, but this and other global factors such as inflation and “The Great Resignation”, have had an impact on all business plans for professional services firms.

This disruption and an uncertain economic climate means that the need for firms to invest in good BD and marketing strategies has never been greater, and with the world opening up to more face-to-face events in most regions, now is a great time to revisit your relationship building plans.

That’s why I‘ve picked several different articles with different themes for the April 2022 BD Round-Up. Without any further introduction, let’s get into those insights from around the world.

The April 2022 BD Round-Up

The Five Stages Of Building A Digitally-Centered, Customer-Unified Company, Brian Solis, Forbes Contributor

There’s a lot to digest in this excellent article. What is clear is that over the last two years most companies have focused and invested a lot more than they have previously done in their digital efforts. However, with the world re-opening to a more face to face or hybrid environment, now is not the time to ditch this digital investment.

Instead, it will pay to invest in hybrid customer engagement models, and to provide a much more customer centric digital experience in-line with client’s revised expectations following the pandemic.

How to write a winning executive summary for tenders, bids & proposals, Amy Burton-Bradley, Julian Midwinter & Associates

As always in the world of bids and tenders, Amy Burton-Bradley is bang on point. A great executive summary is the key to any winning pitch.  So many responses I’ve seen over the years miss the mark with the all-important executive summary. As Amy puts it, “executive summaries are best thought of as a sales pitch or selling tool.” Before you write your next RFP response, I urge you to read this excellent article.

A 10-Step Guest Blogging Strategy to Improve SEO, Rowena Figueroa, Hinge Marketing

Many professional services firms produce a raft of content with little thought to SEO. While it is key to demonstrate your expertise and offer help to your audience, if no-one ever reads your article, that’s quite a time investment that’s been wasted. To make the most out of your content efforts follow these excellent top 10 tips that Rowena Figueroa has laid down.

10 Benefits of Blogging for Lawyers, Kevin Vermeulen Good2bSocial

Most professionals, by now, understand that blogging is a useful tool to inform, educate and generate leads from your target client audience. If you’re not convinced then these 10 benefits of blogging for lawyers (which apply to all those in every type of professional services), should be all you need to realize why it’s such an important part of the BD and marketing mix.

How to Grow Your LinkedIn Network and Presence, Stefanie Marrone Consulting

LinkedIn is the most important social media platform that all professional services practitioners should be utilizing. If you need convincing about this, then I’d urge you to watch short video clip featuring Rob Keating. The next step is to read and follow the practical advice Stefanie Marrone has provided, to help you grow your LinkedIn audience effectively.

Why Marketers Are Returning to Traditional Advertising by Christine Moorman, Megan Ryan, and Nader Tavassoli

The first subheading in this article “Breaking through the digital clutter,” sums up perfectly why this trend isn’t such a surprise. As touched upon in in the articles above, digital marketing will of course be hugely important in the future, however, traditional methods alongside this will help to produce a great cut-through.

How thought leadership drives brand reputation, by Ian Stephens, CEO and Founder, Principia

Providing authoritative and informative articles is a huge part of most firms content marketing strategies, getting it right is key. As Ian Stephens comments “‘Influential’ content is the ultimate level of thought leadership and the type that authentically deserves the label.” Read this excellent article to start positioning yourself into the thought leadership space.

Conclusion – The April 2022 BD Round-up

That’s a wrap for another month. There’s been quite a focus on content and digital marketing, which will be covered in further detail in our upcoming eBook. Yet, there’s also a tidy reminder not to forget the full BD and Marketing mix. Some of the traditional methods will perhaps reap greater rewards in the shorter term.

I hope you enjoyed the April 2022 BD Round-up and I look forward to handing the reigns over to Elizabeth Petersen for next month’s edition.