Relentless marketing

Success comes from bold, consistent marketing efforts that push visibility, build trust, and attract high-quality clients.

I was talking about marketing the other day with someone who had recently started their own design business when I realized I had come up with a new term for the kind of marketing I was telling them to do and that I know works every time: “relentless marketing.”

When we speak of “relentless marketing,” I am talking about doing so many things that it would make most architects and engineers super uncomfortable to promote that hard. But so what? The few who heed my advice WILL succeed, and no one ever said success comes easily. Do the work – the real WORK of marketing – and watch the opportunities come pouring in.

Here are just some of the ways you, too, can practice relentless marketing:

1. Get your client and potential client list together and get it on everyone’s desk. Marketing always starts with identifying who your target customers are. What types of businesses, institutions, or government agencies within what geographic area are you trying to sell to? Who in those organizations will either make or influence the buying decision? Put them all in one database and get your people used to adding, deleting, and modifying it continuously throughout the day. Be relentless in insisting this database be maintained.
2. Send an email to everyone on your list every single day. That’s right – daily. I know this will make a lot of you cringe and you’ll tell me you opt out of companies that do this, but believe me, they do it because it works. For everyone who opts out or complains, 10 or 20 will respond IF your information is helpful and you aren’t just trying to sell services every time. Be relentless!
3. Send out a unique company newsletter for each market sector you serve every other week. Show that you work with clients like those you are targeting – that you have experience and understand their problems. The absolute worst design firm newsletters aim a shotgun at all of the markets they serve and subtly communicate to potential clients “we do everything for everybody.” They have been burned from companies who sell one way and deliver another and it’s not what they want to hear!
4. Start a podcast and put it on all major streaming platforms. Podcasts work. They give you a chance to communicate your unique insights and lessons learned. They also make it easy to stroke the egos of the people you are trying to work for by asking them to be on the podcast in the first place. There are many benefits. Whether you listen to these things or not yourself, lots of people do. If you don’t want to do the thing yourself, there are outside providers who can help you affordably. Be relentless and do the podcast every week or every two weeks.
5. Put out three or more posts a day on each social media platform you use – Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn or wherever. Show your work. Comment on things that impact your target clients. Interview your own people. Interview clients. Recycle content from your newsletters, emails, and podcasts. Post relentlessly seven days a week. It can all be scheduled in advance to make it easy.
6. Send out a press release every week. Build a press list of at least 500 editors, site managers, podcast hosts, etc. And then relentlessly send them stuff that is newsworthy. My experience is about one quarter of 1 percent of your releases will get picked up. That means if you sent out 2,166 a month (4.33 weeks in a month), you should get about five mentions online or in print a month. It’s free. Do it.
7. Call the client you want to work with every two to four weeks. Nothing wrong with it. Be relentless about showing your interest in working with them. Make friends. Don’t just try to sell. Volunteer to do the worst project they have. You will eventually wear them down.
8. Put the largest sign you can on every single project you do, and have all company vehicles wrapped or in a unique color with the company name clearly visible. Make up stickers with the company logo on them and give them away everywhere. You want to be seen all over the place so your firm is top of mind whenever the potential client has a need for what you do. Why be so reserved with your branding and signage? What are you afraid of?
9. Get matching long sleeve 100 percent cotton collared shirts for all employees in one color. Be different from your competitors who have golf shirts – not everyone likes them. I know I don’t. Ditto for T-shirts. But instead get your people some classy pure cotton dress shirts with your logo on them and watch the reaction. Better yet, have a laundry service that picks them up every week from the office and returns them clean, pressed, and starched. You will relentlessly outclass your competitors.
10. Get the largest trade show booth set up you can afford and schedule at least four trade shows per year per market sector you serve. Be there. Be seen. Do it right, though. A small barren booth may be worse than nothing at all. Spend a few bucks on the stuff that makes your booth worth visiting and creates a good impression.
11. Have a schedule of all activities and “to-dos” for marketing that covers the entire year. Publish it for all those inside your firm to see what you are going to do to keep them informed and to facilitate accountability. Then relentlessly implement everything on it!

I am completely confident that if you relentlessly market you will succeed. Just do the work and the results will come. The odds are in your favor.

Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.