Effective marketing materials aren't just about how they look. Getting to that final, streamlined product includes many crucial steps. These are our top five.

As marketing professionals, we often dedicate hours of our lives to scrolling, sifting, searching, and scrolling again. To what end? Sadly, we’re probably trying to find correct information online about the things we care about. But with Google Alerts, it doesn’t need to be this way.

What is public relations in our industry? PR is often seen as an advertising mechanism, intended for general publicity. While that may be true in other industries, in the AEC industry we view PR as a support tactic to win work and enhance your firm’s image. Ideally, it is an activity that supports and influences your client base to develop a long-term relationship that results in winning work.

Are you afraid to emerge from your winter hibernation unable to contact new prospects? Don’t be afraid. Get ready to feel confident when preparing to contact new prospects!

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

Principal Keri Hammond, FSMPS, CPSM, applies this quote to the fear professionals have about the most crucial industry task, market research.

It’s almost the new year. Many new resolutions will be made. Many firms will be renewing or starting strategic planning for the upcoming year. Did you know that many firms miss the mark on their targets because they continue with their current target markets and clients, simply because it’s what they have done it in the past? Don’t be that firm. Take the time to conduct market research and get headed in the right direction. Before you start down the wrong path, conduct market research that can help you determine whether your target markets will provide an equitable return.

At MARKETLINK, we practice the macro to micro approach to business development: Go from high-level to detailed when identifying and implementing business development strategies. And don’t just guess at where you are going, use research to make sure your strategies are on point.

While “business development” is a common term in our industry, some may view it as jargon taken from an executive MBA program; it may seem overwhelming and incomprehensible to folks who don’t do it every day. But business development specialist Alicia Zimmerman doesn’t see it that way. Her take on business development? It’s a method of forging sincere, long-term relationships, with business success as the positive outcome.

Imagine a software that combines the power of Excel with the convenience and cloud-functionality of Google Sheets. On top of that, this tool effortlessly links data together, making it an indispensable database. That’s Airtable.