PRESIDENT'S PLATFORM | October 2021
Posted on Oct. 26, 2021 / President's Platform / Subscribe 0
Featured Author: Brian C. Ferry, President, SMPS-NY
The data will set you free.
It’s a new play on an old saying: the truth will set you free. Data is truth, with one caveat—thoughtful interpretation. Last month, I discussed how profitability and financial literacy in business are important tools in a marketer’s approach to making an evidence-based decision and earning support from technical staff and principals. Another part of understanding that profitability curve is collecting, analyzing, and reporting hard data.
Big data. If the term itself sounds overwhelming, for many firms it is. A 2020 Harvard Business Review article explains that, while hundreds of billions of dollars are projected to be spent by businesses on data and analytics by 2022, “Gartner analyst Nick Heudecker has estimated that as many as 85% of big data projects fail.”
“The truth is that to get useful answers from data, we can’t just take it at face value,” the authors1 continue. “We need to learn how to ask thoughtful questions … how it was sourced, what models were used to analyze it, and what was left out. Most of all, we need to go beyond using data simply to optimize operations and leverage it to imagine new possibilities.”
Traditional product and consumer marketing has always embraced data in ways professional services marketing rarely has. Courses on data-driven decision making are taught at NYU, Carnegie Mellon, and Northeastern, but they’re commonly taught to business, economics, and “traditional” marketing and advertising students. How does the professional services marketer (or business developer) embrace data at a smaller scale that will help our businesses succeed and boost department morale and effectiveness by pursuing fewer and higher-quality leads?
Two words: knowledge management.
Domain 1 of MARKENDIUM®, the SMPS Body of Knowledge, defines knowledge management as “the process by which organization knowledge is captured, stored, and disseminated within a company.” There are many ways to do this, including Marketing Information Systems and Decision Support Systems. The most used process in AEC, and most recognized acronym within our circles, is the Customer Relationship Management system. SMPS further defines a CRM as “the ability to leverage intelligent connections among people, companies, relationships, experience, and expertise through technology to deploy your business objectives.”2 A CRM serves as:
- A contact repository for marketing information
- A resource for analytical and data-reporting capabilities
- A tool to target marketing efforts, generate sales, and customize client services
We all know the big dogs of AEC CRM: Salesforce, Deltek, and Cosential (now named Unanet CRM). The marketplace also includes many low-cost and free options through HubSpot, Monday.com, and Zoho. The more thorough your data goals are, the more complex the inter-departmental relationship must be. An integrated CRM can pull data from marketing, business development, accounting, human resources, and project administration departments. SMPS’ MARKENDIUM® goes on to say that “knowledge management is often under the purview of the company’s CIO (Chief Information Officer).” However, many SMPS members know that when there is no budget for data scientists or systems administrators, it commonly falls on marketing and administrative staff to add one more spinning plate to their repertoire.
“We can’t get all those departments to agree on anything!”
“We’re a small team that’s already stretched too thin!”
The good news is that a simple CRM can be created with Excel and an extra 10 minutes after the submission of each proposal. Gather data over a six-month period and carefully choose the metrics you wish to measure and report on. You can start by tracking pursuits by client name, market sector, contract size, and win or loss. For the overachievers in the room, add columns for the pre-submission likelihood of award (in values of 25%), new versus repeat clients, and length of time spent in coordination of the opportunity (in weeks). This should be used only as a stop-gap solution while making your claim to management that data and a robust CRM strategy will reap immense benefits for your company. HBR also has a great piece on 10 Steps to Creating a Data-Driven Culture.
You’ll be surprised at the conclusions that can be drawn and the doors that can be opened thanks to your new data collection and reporting processes. Thankfully, SMPS New York has several upcoming programs that can assist you in building your data infrastructure:
- The New York Chapter is teaming with Upstate New York to host a virtual Empire State CPSM Boot Camp starting on November 12. Registration closes November 5, so act fast! This three-month plan offers virtual instruction on SMPS’ Six Domains of Practice (including market research!), study groups to help keep you motivated, and will conclude just prior to the March testing window offered by SMPS HQ and testing proctor PTC (Professional Testing Corporation).
- Fuel your data with knowledge of the Westchester-Hudson Valley (WHV) region’s upcoming pipeline of work. This rapidly growing geography is seeing accelerated growth in community revitalization, infrastructure, biotech, cannabis manufacturing, and renewable energy, so join the WHV Affiliate’s Economic Forecast for Developing Communities program on November 10. It will be co-hosted by AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley, NSPE Putnam & Westchester, and Associated General Contractors of New York State.
- Earlier this week, I kicked off a recurring opportunity to meet virtually with the members of our chapter and those interested in professional development through SMPS New York. These 60-minute virtual “Office” Hours events will serve as an opportunity for greater Board transparency, learning what SMPS New York can help you build your firm’s profile within the industry, and understanding the benefit volunteering can have on your own professional development. They may feature guest speakers in the future. Think of it as a radio talk show and you’re the caller who has a question or observation.
- Last, but certainly not least, the newly invigorated Long Island Affiliate will be hosting their first event of the year on Veteran’s Day, November 11. Their Long Island Spirits event is free and will be a great opportunity to reconnect with your colleagues and sample some of the many craft beers available at Croxley’s Ale House in Farmingdale.
1 Haller, Eric and Satell, Greg. Data-Driven Decisions Start with These 4 Questions, Harvard Business Review. 2020, Feb. 11; https://hbr.org/2020/02/data-driven-decisions-start-with-these-4-questions
2 SMPS Publications. Markendium Domain 1: Marketing Research. 2016; 83-86.
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