Top Takeaways from the 2011 Marketers Development Roundtable

At NY Report’s recent Marketers Business Development Roundtable, in partnership with Constant Contact, marketing professionals from the New York City metro area came together to discuss the issues facing their professions, as well as share ideas with other members of their industry.

To see photos from the event, click here.

After the opening remarkets, the marketing professionals were separated into one of four roundtables, moderated by Constant Contact’s Wendi Caplan-Carroll, Annie Powell, and Ellen DePasquale, and NY Report’s executive editor Daria Meoli. At a follow-up panel after the roundtable discussions, the four moderators spoke about their top takeaways from the event.

The Positives and Negatives of Social Media

Social media was a big talking point for some participants. Although many of the marketers said that they were both time and resource challenged, which made social media difficult, some found that social media had shorter sales cycles. However, some marketers warned against thinking of social media as the ultimate marketing solution. “Social media can be a bridge to nowhere,” said one participant.

Defining Your Brand and Your Goals

Another top takeaway was that the term “marketing” needs to be defined, both for the professionals themselves and for their clients. Marketing consultancies must define their own brand in order to answer the question, “Who do you want to be?” Only by having a fixed definition of their own brand can they successfully advise clients on theirs.

Immediacy of Marketing

One concern that arose as a common theme amongst the attendants was the immediacy of marketing, and how best to stay on top of your clients’ minds. Although the obvious answer to some was social media and email marketing, which can reach large numbers fairly quickly and with low cost, many participants felt it was difficult to constantly keep in touch with their clients, and balancing their resources (time, people, and money) was a challenge.

Know When to Say No

Although the marketers agreed that it was unfortunate to have to turn down business, when you approached by a client who’s not the right fit for your company, or one who wants a type of service that you can’t provide, in those situations it’s best to say no. You shouldn’t hesitate to say that you can’t help them, instead of wasting your own, and your company’s, time and resources.