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This article was prepared for the January 23, 2002 edition of U.S.
1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Where Did All the Customers Go?
Once upon a time David Barry did virtually no
marketing for his company, David Barry Consulting, a marketing
communications
firm that works with customers in high tech industries. Now, Barry,
who moved his business from California to William Livingston Court
in Princeton several years ago, spends 20 to 25 percent of his time
marketing.
The downturn in high tech has affected Barry’s company — whose
longtime clients include Cisco, Intel, and Apple — as it has
nearly
every business that caters to high tech firms. On Thursday, January
31, at 4 p.m. Barry speaks on “Where Did All the Customers
Go?”
at an event sponsored by the New Jersey Technology Council, and taking
place at the Sarnoff Corporation. Cost: $40. Call 856-787-9700.
Barry, who grew up in Westfield, returned to New Jersey because he
and his wife, Susan Barry, an art therapist at the Carrier Clinic,
and also a New Jersey native, wanted to move back east. Barry, a
graduate
of Syracuse University (Class of 1976), went to California after
graduation
and worked as a freelance writer for a number of publications,
including
the San Jose Mercury News, before taking a job with PR firm Regis
McKenna. There he worked with high tech clients, and found he enjoyed
“helping them deliver a message,” a process which, he says
wryly, “can take some doing.”
With skills and contacts under his belt, Barry went out on his own,
writing white papers, presentations, websites, brochures, and annual
reports for clients whose businesses are not always easy for the
layman
to understand. Largely from word of mouth, he built a client roster
that kept him busy for a number of years. But by the time he moved
back east, tech was in trouble, and keeping an even flow of work
became
a somewhat greater challenge.
Barry had to work at keeping projects flowing in, and found these
techniques valuable in doing so:
Develop a niche. A theme Barry returns to again, andagain,this is his most important piece of advice. “Pick a segment,”he says. And really get to know it. That way, when you call apotentialclient, “they know you are familiar with their issues, you speaktheir language.” Clients can feel that “right away,” hesays. There’s no faking an intimate knowledge of medical equipmentor semiconductors. You know the players and the issues, or you don’t.Do consistently excellent work. Nothing substitutes forword of mouth. Strive to make every project fit a client’s needsexactly,and the word will get around. Working with a client is”iterative,”Barry says. As work progresses, he asks: “Is this what you’retrying to say?” It’s a matter of honing the work until it isperfectfor the client’s purposes. “You’re trying to get down to whatthey want,” says Barry.He has seen that many writers write what they want, not realizingthat they have to listen to the client every step of the way.Use warm E-mail. There is no better way to stay in touchwith potential clients than by sending E-mail, but no better way tomake enemies than by sending cold E-mail. Everyone’s in-box isoverflowing,and few people have any interest in opening mail from people theydon’t know. Warm up E-mail by keeping a list of E-contacts, andsendingthem notes about matters of mutual interest. Barry has found thisan excellent way to keep his business fresh in the minds of clientsand potential clients.Be a joiner. Pick a small number of professional orindustrygroups to join, and then participate enthusiastically. This is a fineway to make contacts and build business.Speak. Groups of all kinds are constantly searching forgood speakers. Think of interesting, helpful subjects, prepareentertainingpresentations, then contact Chambers of Commerce, trade groups,professionalgroups, or niche groups (Latino women entrepreneurs, for example)and offer your services. You will meet potential clients, and gaincredibility.Don’t give away the store. Barry thinks hard beforeaddressingthe issue of dropping prices in a down economy. “It’s anissue,”he admits, but he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Where a client isexerting pressure, he says it’s better to come up with an idea thatwill preserve rates, while still saving the client money. Sometimes,Barry says, he will suggest that a client’s in-house writer come upwith a draft that he will then polish.Smart marketing is now a necessity for consulting businessesthat serve high tech companies. Someday — maybe soon — therewill again be too much work, and marketing will seem unnecessary.When the big issue is getting everything done, rather than pullingin enough work, marketing often goes out the window. It’s hard tomake time for it. Still, says Barry, it is a good idea to keep lessonslearned in a downturn in mind, and make marketing an integral partof every business.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
