Program Recap: Real Talk – The Marketing and Business Development Bond
Posted by [email protected] on Dec. 7, 2022 / Subscribe 0
Our December event, entitled “The Marketing & Business Development Bond,” explored how these two roles function synergistically, advancing the company’s growth and overall success. We heard from two industry professionals, Samantha Cummins (Director of Marketing and Business Development (BD)) and Caitlin Moore (Marketing Manager) both with Williamson Design Associates (WDA), who shared their success with clearly defining their areas of responsibilities, while at the same time working together seamlessly. Although some overlap is inevitable, SMPS distinguishes between these two disciplines as follows:
Marketing – “The process of creating firm awareness; building and differentiating the brand; driving business development activities; and identifying, anticipating, and satisfying client objectives to achieve profitable business goals.” https://www.smps.org/resources/what-is-marketing/
Caitlin’s responsibilities include proposal and pursuit coordination and management, marketing collateral efforts, and implementing and improving overall marketing workflow and processes.
Business Development – “A component of marketing, the process of identifying clients and opportunities, developing relationships, and securing profitable work for the firm.” https://www.smps.org/resources/what-is-business-development/
Samantha regularly meets with clients, attends networking meetings, and relays overarching industry information to the rest of the company and Marketing team to facilitate strategic goals and plans.
The conversation delved into several topics, but three top takeaways are noted below.
- Evaluate strengths and weaknesses
Marketing and BD serve different purposes. By identifying those distinctions, it can help each entity flourish in their specific areas of interest. Each role brings a different skillset to the table and there’s value in bolstering both sectors. Two heads are truly better than one, and they are not competing forces. It’s clear that Caitlin and Samantha’s model of having a separate Marketing and BD segments works for their medium-sized architecture firm, although sometimes these two different roles are fulfilled by only one person. It can be a struggle not being able to bounce ideas off someone else with a Marketing mindset and wearing multiple hats is a requirement of the position. With time, Caitlin and Samantha have identified what each individually excels at within their roles and what they each bring to the larger picture, as well.
- Set realistic boundaries and expectations
There’s no doubt that Marketing and BD folks pivot between varying tasks and work long hours for the sake of keeping everything afloat. If not us, then who’s going to do it? In reality, there are not enough hours in the day for us to do it all by ourselves and we rely on our team for support. Both parties need to determine what individual tasks they are responsible for and how best to split up daily activities. Deadlines and submittals can definitely be stressful, but when communication is streamlined and expectations are clear, all parties have the highest chance of success. There are also times where it’s critical to advocate for yourself to leadership or technical staff and having that built in support system and partner in the other person is an asset.
The nuances and value of these distinct roles may be lost for some members of leadership, depending on their own disciplines and background, but finding opportunities to educate these individuals, respectfully, can save you future headaches. Setting expectations and boundaries can be used to your advantage, so people understand who is best suited to address different issues or questions. Marketing professionals understand that time is money and it’s vital to get the firm and its leadership on the same page with how best to allocate resources amongst their talent.
- Back each other up
As we’ve determined, the Marketing and BD bond is strong. Their goals are intertwined, and the company relies on a healthy connection between the two parties. As our speakers described it, it’s advantageous to have frequent “information dumps” with your counterpart(s) to ensure seamless communication. For instance, BD externally drives a firm’s overall marketing strategy and the sale of its services/products. The insight that a BD professional gains from the conversations and relationships that are built with clients should be shared with Marketing counterparts so that those same insights can inform proposals and other messaging. It’s evident that Caitlin and Samantha have this rhythm down to a science and their relationship can be one that inspires other firms to do the same. Not only are they colleagues, but it’s obvious that they’re friends, as well, and understand the others’ pain points.
Caitlin and Samantha discussed some ways to elevate each other’s positioning, as well as improve communication. These include simply copying each other on emails, supporting one another’s ideas in brainstorming meetings, promoting calendar transparency between key personnel, and navigating situations where a “good cop-bad cop” approach is needed.
Although the roles of Marketing and Business Development differ from firm to firm, more often than not, they rely on one another to build brand awareness, strong client reputations, and firm growth. Each role brings different frames of reference, helping to strengthen the firm and build one another up. A resilient and thriving Marketing and BD group reflects the firm’s greater success and presence.
This Real Talk event truly brought new insight to the topic and revived an age-old conversation regarding these roles and their distinctions. It was great to have the opportunity to catch up with existing connections and meet some new faces as well. The audience consisted of approximately 20 people in a small forum setting, allowing for more of a conversational approach, rather than a lecture. Caitlin and Samantha were ideal candidates to discuss this topic and they each shared their expertise and valuable advice. From recent college graduates to tenured AEC professionals, the room was filled with a wide range of ideas and perspectives. I look forward to future SMPS educational events that highlight other critical, and perhaps overlooked, AEC Marketing and BD topics.
Want to learn more? Connect with Cailtin Moore and Samantha Cummins on LinkedIn and follow SMPS Tampa Bay to get connected with the AEC Marketing community. Like what you read? Stay tuned for future educational events and more blog posts.
By Amanda Hamende, Marketing Coordinator
Patel, Greene and Associates, LLC
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