Last week in my mastermind group, the question of “What does it take to be a great networker?” came up.  When the facilitator turned to me for my answer, without hesitation, I said: “Follow-through.”

So, now I’d like to elaborate on what I mean by follow-through.

Every week for the past 18 months on my podcast Positively West Virginia, I ask business leaders from around the state to give me their 30 second elevator pitch – in other words – I ask them what it is they tell people they do in their company. 

Sometimes, the answer is simple and clear.  My guests nail it. Other times, it’s a struggle for them to clearly articulate their message.   That’s understandable.  It’s hard sometimes for a business leader to describe to people what it is they do.

What I’ve found, is that the more simply and clear your brand or marketing message is, the better people will be able to understand and connect with your company.

Last week, in a meeting with a new client in Charleston, West Virginia, my team and I had a great on-boarding meeting with their team.  The new client is a very reputable 20-year company in the commercial construction space.  I had a few key take-aways from that meeting that I wanted to share with you.

The context of this meeting was the initial phase of our “Marketing Blueprint” that we use to discover the strategic audiences and key messaging to base our marketing plan on.

This was our team’s first official meeting with their team, and overall the session was very productive.  One of the many take-aways from my perspective, was our client’s comments about the significance and relevancy of the questions we asked to really uncover the story of the client.  “Your questions are spot-on!” He said several times that morning.  

So, in that spirit – I share with you the exact questions we developed for this project – as part of our company’s Marketing Blueprint and BrandStory process. 

In a recent conversation I had with a professional realtor from Michigan last week, the thought of always trying to be on top of the latest and greatest marketing tactics came up.  The person I was talking with remarked that every week it seems as though someone was trying to convince her and her team that the “new thing” will work better than the other “new thing” they’ve been using.

That got me thinking about the concept of “falling in love with boredom.” 

Think DIGITAL FIRST when it comes to your marketing plan.

When I refer to "digital-first," I’m talking about the internet and internet-related assets:

• Website
• Internet search engines
• Digital advertising
• Social media

Fifty years ago, the only ways to reach an audience was through print, television, radio or in person (door-to-door salesman). Obviously, the game has changed, and new technologies are offering ever-expanding opportunities to reach your target audiences.

I’ve been practicing the craft of advertising and marketing for thirty years now, and I still do believe traditional media channels have a significant role in marketing.

That said, there are several reasons why I recommend a digital-first strategy when it comes to marketing companies like yours.

The first may be the most obvious: It is where the people are.