JamieS's blog

EverydayI talk to a handful of people about web development and marketing projects. For the most part, I get quite a few of the same questions and responses. This got me thinking about why I kept getting the same response to a particular question. When asked what our process was for taking on new clients, I always begin with discussing our strategy and planning process.

Technology moves at the speed of light. Cell phone widgets are added daily. You can outsource everything these days from virtual assistants, work, paying bills, making travel arrangements, running errands to in some cases your entire life. With the ability to do so much these days you would think that we would be able to find a better solution for something each and every one of us creates……Trash!

When I was a little girl, growing up in the 8o's, I was obsessed with having a different lunch box every day highlighting some of my favorite cartoon and toy icons! Strawberry Shortcake, My little pony, Cabbage Patch Kids, Dukes of Hazzard were just a few of the now collectors boxes that I own. Every morning my mom would ask me which one I wanted, would pack my metal lunch box and off to school I went!

Every morning when I login to my computer there are about 5 newsletters if not more that I see that I have subscribed too. They range from technology, special events, news, search engine marketing hot topics to daily words of wisdom. Each one of these newsletter I scan, jot something down from and then reorganize them so I can get through my daily emails.

Today I did something different!

Friday, Myself and 10 of my colleagues headed out to Austin to attend SXSW, one of the most intense, knowledge savvy conferences that anyone in the interactive, film and music industry would want to be a part of! Why you might ask? Only some of the brightest and most knowledgeable mind on the forefront of technology were there, thats why! From Microsoft to individuals that have made it big through ingeniousness( Tim Ferriss) the representation was astounding!:) One of my absolute favorite panels that I enjoyed was on Monday, the discussing was the Marketing of No Marketing, HUH???

When I first stated my career in sales, I prided myself on relationship building. My father, who is a consultant in the oil and gas industry would tell me all the time growing up that the most important part of selling is who you know. I use to ask him, "what if you don't know anyone that wants to buy what you have to sell?" He would look at me and smile and say," Well you better go make some friends, because its all about who you know, not what you know".

Every morning when you wake up there is a routine that you have become accustomed too. Alarm goes off, you hit the snooze, alarm goes off again, you hit the snooze a little harder this time, then again and harder the alarm clock gets hit till finally you grunt, groan and finally get out of bed and in to the shower..off to work, stop for coffee, wake up some more and then maybe muster up enough energy to start working on your emails or phone calls. ugggggghhhh.... well this may not be your personal routine but its what a lot of people do in one way or another to get their day started.

One of the absolute first things that I learned in building long term customer relationships is that keeping existing clients is far easier and more beneficial then having to find new ones. However, here comes the tricky part. Keeping them and keeping them happy is not always as easy as we would like for it to be. One of the key factors in keeping clients is to have a planned approach to provide excellent customer service, consistent communication, clear and concise goals that are addressed and thoughtfulness, showing them that you appreciate there business.

Every morning when I get up, I spend a little "me time" going over my To-Do list for the day and reading a few articles that I think will help me do a better job as well as inform my clients. Today I was amazed to read about a stealthing marketing initiative that took place by a major advertiser that is on the cusp of something out of Twilight Zone. A&E, is promoting a new show called Paranormal State where some speakers that looked like hypersonic sound beams, a device which uses your skull as a speaker that is, transmits soundwaves that resonate against whatever surface they hit.