|
|
Advancing the Practice of Architecture | Fall 2012 Issue
As the Practice Management Knowledge Community, our mission is to advance the practice of architecture through discovering, generating, organizing, and sharing insights, resources, and tools that enable architects to practice more effectively.
|
Letter from the Editor
By Raymond Kogan, AIA
Getting work and clients is the lifeblood of every architecture firm, and this issue of the Practice Management Digest—which goes out quarterly to all 10,000+ members of the AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community—contains a treasure trove of information about marketing and business development. Each of our seven articles, all contributed by industry experts, provides valuable intelligence and insights into how clients think, what you can do to reach them more effectively using social media, brochures and other communications vehicles, how to write high-impact proposals, and finally, making sure your firm gets the credit it deserves.
- This Digest begins with a thought provoking article entitled "Three Big Reasons Why Clients Leave You…and How You Can Win Them Back" by Howard Wolff of Full-Height Advice, Inc. Read…
- Following up on that topic is "The Client Whisperer: Every Client Has a Story to Tell; All You Have to do is Listen" by Cara Bobchek of Kogan & Company (full disclosure: Cara is my business colleague). Read…
- We then discuss how to reach out to clients using the latest in social media in "The Top Five New Marketing Technologies for Architects" by Ann Harris, Knowledge Outreach Specialist with the AIA in Washington, DC. Read…
- Delving further into social media –blogs, specifically—Michael McManus and Maggie Scott of HDR Architecture offer the instructional article "Corporate Blogs Exposed." This article stems from the alliance between the AIA PMKC and SMPS (the Society for Marketing Professional Services www.smps.org) which also provides content for AIA PMKC members in webinars, convention programs, and best practices. Read…
- Of course marketing materials are always essential, whether on paper or online, and Molly Wagner, Director of Communications for Dewberry, addresses that in "Back to Basics: Ten Best Practices for Developing a Brochure." Read…
- Then David Stone of Stone and Company offers some hard-hitting advice on proposal writing in "Avoiding the Trite Trap." Read…
- We conclude this issue with "Credit Where Credit is Due" by Cindy Taylor of Capstone Communications, for work that has been won—and done. Read…
In our last Digest we introduced a new feature for your convenience: simply download this entire issue, including all articles, as a single PDF for your ease of printing and reading later.
Upcoming Issue
Our next issue of the Practice Management Digest, to be published in December, will cover business trends and practices. If you would like to provide an article for consideration, or know someone who would, please contact me at rkogan@kogancompany.com.
|
Articles
Three Big Reasons Why Clients Leave You…and How You Can Win Them Back
By Howard J. Wolff
Where have all your clients gone? Do you know why a client is no longer working with you? Chances are you might only be guessing. My advice is to pick up the phone and ask. You'll find that clients leave you for three primary reasons:
- They feel you screwed up; and you never dealt with it satisfactorily.
- They feel neglected; and you haven't stayed in touch.
- They no longer need the services you offer; and you haven't checked in to inquire about their current situation.
Let's address each of these in order. More…
|
The Client Whisperer: Every Client Has a Story to Tell; All You Have to do is Listen
By Cara Bobchek
Clients of design firms tell us that what they want most from architects is for them to listen. But how often do you listen to your clients outside of a project engagement? How often do you take a step back and think about your client's vision and mission, and how yours might align? How do clients perceive your performance? What is your reputation in the marketplace, and what might clients be telling others about you? Client research, in the form of a marketplace survey, is an effective way to find out. More…
|
Top Five New Marketing Technologies for Architects
By Ann Harris
Here are five new technologies that will streamline your online marketing efforts, helping you to prioritize and structure marketing tasks to increase efficiency and time management. You can easily integrate your social networks and your email, automate social network posts, and find new ways of marketing your services with these (mostly) free online tools. More…
|
Corporate Blogs Exposed
By Michael McManus and Maggie Scott
We get it: Architectural firms should be using social media. We don't need to read another article convincing us to take the dive into Twitter or watch another presentation about sashaying into the world of Facebook. What we do need to hear about is one of the underground rules of social media (a rule that makes many a CEO cower): Show a little skin. A more professional term for this is transparency. So how can architectural firms embrace this new communication paradigm without opening a potential Pandora's box of PR nightmares? We recommend an employee-authored company blog. More…
|
Back to Basics: Ten Best Practices for Developing a Brochure
By Molly Wagner
In this digital age, it feels antiquated to write an article about brochure best practices. After all, haven't we evolved beyond brochures? Aren't brochures passé and inherently unsustainable? And by the time you complete the copy, gain consensus among partners and managers on imagery, and go to print isn't the brochure immediately out-of-date? However, raise your hand if your firm still uses its brochure, and you think it needs to be updated. In this article, I'll share with you ten ways to re-think your brochure or brochure system, as well as best practices for traditional and contemporary methods of execution. More…
|
Avoiding the Trite Trap
By David Stone
Having read hundreds of design firm proposals over the last 21 years, I have concluded that much of what is presented as valuable content is, in fact, trite and meaningless rubbish. Sound harsh? To add some science to this otherwise gut-level conclusion, I've developed what I call "The Trite Test." It can be applied to any communication, written or verbal, that you send to a prospective client in hopes that he or she will hire you. Here's how it works. More…
|
Credit Where Credit is Due
By Cynthia L. Taylor, APR
Securing basic credit and even modest visibility for design projects is a frequent frustration for architects. If your firm doesn't have the resources for a high-impact publicity campaign, a few simple steps can still help you receive appropriate credit. The process doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive, but it does require a little creativity and follow-through. More…
|
Best Practices
One of the PMKC's initiatives is to continuously improve the AIA's Best Practices. AIA Best Practices represent the collective wisdom of AIA members and related professionals. We like to highlight a new best practice article in each issue of the Practice Management Digest that relates to our theme, and this quarter we have "When is the Best Time to Conduct Business Development Training?" by Rich Friedman of Friedman & Partners.
You can see all of the best practices at www.AIA.org. If you would like to share a best practice with your fellow practitioners, contact the chair of our Best Practices Committee, David Richards AIA, at drichards@rossetti.com.
|
Webinars
Our upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Business Development will be presented by Karen Compton with A3K Consulting on October 18, 2012 from 1:00-2:15 EDT. Registration is FREE, but required. Earn up to 1.25 AIA CEH credits. Participants have the opportunity to inform the presentation by completing a brief online survey prior to the webinar. You can learn more and register here.
View all upcoming Knowledge Community webinars via the online webinar calendar.
|
Additional AIA Continuing Education Resources:
  |
2012 Fall Conference
As you receive this issue of the Digest, your Practice Management Knowledge Community, along with the AIA South Atlantic Region, will be kicking off our annual fall conference consisting of a day dedicated to practice management programs on Wednesday, September 19 in Atlanta preceding the AIA South Atlantic Region's conference, re:inventing Architecture.
|
Complete your AIA KnowledgeNet profile by December 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm Eastern Time and submit the entry form via email to be entered to win one 16GB iPad2 with Wi-Fi. Learn more on the iPad contest page.
|
|
|
|
|
|
