Customer Development
Grow or die. That’s what we’re conditioned to believe as we evolve our businesses and organizations. Naturally, the inclination is to seek new avenues or improve existing models to support this business axiom. What should it be? Which markets should we focus on first (or at all)? Are we sure this will bring better value? Typically the organization has a feeling this “next thing” they need to do may work, or it has been deemed by the executive team that this is the way to go. Before taking some incredibly risky bets, and sucking away valuable time and resources, it’s best to take on the arduous task of actually speaking with key stakeholders (customers, employees, managers and leaders) to properly synthesize and derive valuable insights.
Sometimes, you need someone courageous enough to tell your organization the truth. And its best told by someone from the outside to really help sink things in. By doing the upfront work, I serve as that neutral, 3rd party partner that can work alongside your team to facilitate sessions, parse signal from noise and triangulate the opportunities that will make it clear to your organization if the “next thing” you need to do is truly worth the investment.
Communications Development
Once you know you’re on the right track, then it’s time to start planning. I mean really planning. Because I’ve spent over 2 decades seeing how projects succeed and fail, I can bring you my tested expertise to let you know what you need to consider next. Whether it’s internal or external, I can not only help you plan and architect your content, I can tap into my trusted network to source the right resources and help drive the plan forward. Whether it’s a website redesign, a marketing campaign or change management initiative, I can help spot missing pieces and really help your organization think through what needs to be there to make the communication spread and stick.
Business Development
Every organization seeks new opportunities to grow. Whether it be new customers, influencers, donors or bots, the web is proven to be that low-cost, yet highly targeted channel to direct your messaging. Sometimes paid placement is the way to get traction, in other cases social media is the vehicle to win over the hearts and minds of those elusive influencers, or perhaps the coveted top position for targeted keywords will be a better way to expose your brand to the unindoctrinated? In all cases, content is the essential ingredient that fuels such specific digital channels. Depending on what your organization or department needs to accomplish, I can help clarify and articulate your SMART goals, determine what makes sense to pursue and then source (as well as train) the right implementers (employees, agents, freelancers or firms) to get a customized lead generation program underway.
Startup Advisory
This is my most favorite thing to do. It combines all that I have to offer into a consolidated package, and allows me to work directly with small, and in some cases, inexperienced teams to help focus, clarify and nurture select startups through those turbulent early stages. This is where a seasoned hand becomes incredibly valuable to refine pitches, open doors and reach the right people to advance the mission quickly.
Hopefully this gives you a good understanding of what I can bring to the table for your organization. Large or small, I seek out opportunities to work with companies that have an interesting problem to solve. If any of this resonates with you, then let’s start a conversation.