The December BD Round-up

Here’s the round-up blog that closes out the year that was 2021, but really, it focuses on highlighting articles that will set you up for 2022. That’s the real reason why I collated the December BD Round-up.

And what a great selection I have for you to read this month. Our articles explore the future of B2B sales, the art of keeping clients happy, how to bring inclusion into your marketing efforts without being tokenistic, what you need to do if you’re refreshing your brand, how price hikes are happening, and finally, some practical LinkedIn tips.

So, without any further ado, 2021 was the year that was, and 2022 will be whatever you want it to be, if you get the right BD & marketing advice. Here is the December BD Round-up.

The December BD Round-up

B2B sales: Omnichannel everywhere, every time by Liz Harrison, Candace Lun Plotkin, Steve Reis, and Jennifer Stanley from McKinsey

This article and research provides some fantastic insights. It’s absolutely what you’d expect from the team at McKinsey. Without giving too much away here’s one key element that their research revealed, “Ninety-four percent of respondents view today’s B2B omnichannel reality—in which customers buy face-to-face, remotely, and online—as being as effective or more than before COVID-19.”

What their research means for those in professional services, is that if you haven’t adapted already, you’ll be best served having a mix of digital, and face-to-face (when possible) client interactions, if you’re wanting to grow your revenue or maintain client satisfaction levels.

What’s the key to keeping clients happy? by John Burfitt, JBMedia

While it’s fun attracting new clients it can be a costly experience. This means keeping your existing clients – whilst acquiring new ones, is the key to unlocking your growth potential. In this article John Burfitt provides 6 clear steps to help accountants (but it truly applies to all professional services) keep their clients happy. I really like the last one, let your clients do the talking.

How to Easily Achieve Success on LinkedIn by Stefanie Marrone

You can rely on Stefanie Marrone to give you advice that you can easily follow to boost your LinkedIn and personal branding efforts. Here’s a sample:

Tip 1: Post consistently and create your content pillars
Tip 2: Only post helpful content (no self-promotional posts)
Tip 3: Answer all comments to help your posts go “viral”

As for the other 7 tips….you’ll just have to read the article in full!

4 Elements of a Successful Brand Refresh by Ana Andjelic

If Gucci can do it then so can law firms, accountancy firms, engineering firms, architectural practices and in fact all professional services firms. Changing your logo won’t help your brand refresh succeed, instead, you have to recreate your brand story, and find a way to make it resonate with your clients. Gucci is a high-end, expensive product, much like professional services. So, if you’re thinking of refreshing your brand in 2022, follow the 4 steps in this excellent article which is featured in the HBR.  

How To Plan Your 2022 Inclusive Marketing Calendar by Sonia Thompson, Thompson Media Group

It’s great that many firms are now looking to be more diverse and inclusive. This means it is natural that they would want their marketing communications to reflect this, however, getting the balance right can be tricky. A key point to that is unlocking and truly understanding your “cultural intelligence” as Sonia Thompson explains. Before you plan your cultural celebrations for the year, I urge you to read this excellent article.

Passing Along Price Hikes ‘with Impunity’ by Craig Rowley, Nathan Blain, Korn Ferry

This research shows that globally, inflation is happening at a pretty rapid pace, and what’s really interesting is many companies are simply passing the extra cost directly on to consumers. Of course, there are many parts to inflation and whether wage increases will match these rises remains to be seen. An interesting piece of research.

The December BD Round-Up conclusion

Despite the seasonal distractions, December was once again a really good month for articles covering BD, sales and marketing. The above will certainly help you make a good start to 2022

Once again, many thanks for reading the December BD Round-up blog. Elizabeth Petersen will be up next month reviewing January’s articles and sharing the best of the month with you.