A New Year's Reflection: Embracing Wisdom and Leading Innovation in AEC Marketing

As the new calendar page turns, I find myself enveloped in the quietude of reflection, not resolutions. I've realized that setting resolutions tends to strap me with undue pressure—like setting off on a journey with a heavy pack. Instead, I prefer to usher in the new year with a reflective spirit, using the crisp hindsight of 20/20 to carve a wiser path forward for both my company and myself.

Belief in Our Craft

This introspection brings me to my first musing: do we, as marketers, truly believe in the campaigns we advocate for? There's an ironic twist when a campaign's success seems to startle the marketer the most. Why is that? Principals who leap with faith into our strategies often do so with an expectation of success—they're relieved when their trust is validated. Yet, marketers carry a bundle of doubt. Is it a fear that our internal audience won't rally behind our ideas, or the trepidation of pioneering uncharted tactics, anxious about losing credibility if we falter?

Here’s my dispatch to fellow marketers: You are more valuable than you realize. If not you, then who? Who else is poised to steer the ship of innovation in marketing at your firm?

The Measure of Success

My second observation is a longstanding comfort within our industry with not quantifying sales results. Business development, shrouded in subjective successes, rarely faces the scrutiny of hard metrics, especially in times of abundant work. However, as the pace begins to slow, firms are peering down the road at uncertainty. It's perplexing how the same organizations readily onboard a high-salaried business developer based on faith but hesitate to approve a few thousand dollars for an awareness campaign that could yield measurable results. Why the discrepancy in decision-making?

Customer Obsession and Exceptional Experiences

Lastly, I ponder on the concept of customer obsession, a hot topic juxtaposed against a backdrop of buyer complacency. What are we doing to surprise and delight? A personal experience at my dermatologist's office, where an unexpected delay led to my fee being waived, sparked a revelation. How often do we go above and beyond when service falters to not just apologize but to tangibly show our commitment to excellence?

This epiphany has deepened my contemplation about my business, pushing me to ensure we offer more than just "marketing expertise." Similarly, in AEC, clients have a myriad of options. Beyond maintaining relationships, we must ask ourselves: how do we make it riskier for them to leave us than to stay?

As we knit these reflections into our fabric of work, let's commit to a year of unwavering belief in our strategies, to embracing measurable success, and to elevating our client experiences beyond the expected. And what better way to start than by joining hands with like-minded professionals?

I extend a personal invitation to you to join us at SmartWIN24 in Atlanta, GA, on February 28-29, 2024. It's more than a conference; it's a gathering of minds committed to innovation, to learning from each other, and to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AEC marketing.

If you're intrigued by these musings and wish to dive deeper into these topics, register for SmartWIN24. For our newsletter subscribers, we're offering a special gift: use code "VIP400" to take $400 off your registration. Let's step into this new year with a pledge to not only deliver but to astonish, to measure our strides, and to lead the charge in transforming our industry.

May this year be one where your wisdom shines bright, and your marketing efforts resonate even brighter. Let's make this one count!

Judy Sparks

CEO & President

Smartegies