By Karin Doucette

The fishmonger in Pike Place Market, Seattle's fresh food mart and tourist mecca, was selling Prince Edward Island lobsters under a "Nova Scotia" label. Why? "No one knows where Prince Edward Island is," he explained.

This anecdote isn't about Canadian geography or consumer preference as much as it is about knowing client perceptions keenly enough to make a sale. The fishmonger knew customers had a romantic (if not longitudinal) notion of Nova Scotia that evoked satisfying impressions of natural beauty and abundant seafood. So his product's true origin wasn't key to his marketing; all he needed to make a sale was to prompt a perception.

This is the essence of marketing: Get yourself in the right spot in the marketplace to draw the client's attention, present a commodity you are convinced will be attractive, creatively help the client picture the benefits of having this commodity, and you'll get the business you want.

Although most SMPS members are focused on professional services, not crustaceans, our marketing challenge is as simple. However, we frequently complicate it. We let the marketing effort be driven by internal processes or styles, instead of by a shared image of the service we're selling. We often get bogged down in complicated methods to attract the client, instead of asking, "Where would my client find me?" We tend to produce elaborate tools to explain our service's quality and value, instead of letting the service clearly "speak" for itself.

These complications happen for two reasons: 1. we don't foster a marketing vision, and 2. we forget to think like the client.

Stand up and hold your left arm out in front of you. Pivot as far around to the left as you can, without turning your feet, and visually anchor to something-a picture, colleague, sleeping cat, whatever. Now, repeat these movements with your eyes closed. Open them and you'll find you've "seen" beyond your original visual anchor. That's because you were able to focus on your movements, on the task itself, without being distracted. And because you didn't have a preconceived idea of where you would end up, you got further. That's the power of vision.

Until recently, I saw "the vision thing" as the purview of executive managers. I thought they had a greater perspective, a broader grasp of the issues, and more power to take steps in the right direction.

Now I know better. Vision involves harnessing individual creativity within a workable framework. Specifying the framework is the executive's job. But each of us must be willing and available to shape the vision. It's up to each of us to foster a view of the marketplace and find a way of connecting our creativity to the client-in the same way as everyone in an organization is also responsible for marketing.

It's time for marketers to step up to the next level of intelligence and be responsible not just for evoking an external response from our client but also for provoking an internal one from each other. Marketers can take greater responsibility for fostering vision. Our unique role typically gives us a 3600 view of our company's operation. By taking the lead in sharing information, disseminating compelling language, and informing individual groups about shared needs and issues, we can help nurture big-picture thinking. We can stimulate awareness that uncovers common ground.

Some ways you can define your vision:

• Try to write an ad about it; this forces you to grapple with features and benefits that appeal to the buyer. Remember, every business client is also a consumer.

• Pin down the intrinsic value of your operation. There's scant difference between the chinos you buy at The Gap, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, or L.L. Bean. What leads you to favor one of these fine stores over the other is the experience of the buy. Be able to convey the experience of doing business with your firm.

• Beware of special language that can numb you to the business you're really in. (Disney, long the icon of imagination, now says it's business is "experience management.")

• Get educated about branding and commit to brand building. It involves tying your vision to your values and reputation to convey something meaningful-and do it consistently. A simple start is to review your marketing collateral. How? Ian Miller, Monsanto's global marketing head, suggests the "squint" test. Line up your marketing materials and look at them squint-eyed; if they look like they came from the same source, you have the starting point for a brand image.

• Create a vision board of clients, vendors, colleagues, and employees to define, inspire, convince, and anchor your efforts.

• Don't feel obliged to organize special groups. I entered the A/E field through the Bechtel group of companies, and people are always amazed when I say this global operation didn't have a centralized (even decentralized) marketing department. They did in-person, one-to-one selling. This is the same approach used by my employer, a mid-sized consulting firm, which has reaped steady growth for 15 years.

Um, lobsters are crustaceans, not fish. Still, it's a good question. To answer, let me revisit the Canadian theme (oops, my nationalism is showing), but switch metaphors. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky says he succeeded because he didn't skate to where the puck was. He skated to where the puck was going to be. How did he know where that was? He says he thought like the puck.

To learn where your client is heading-so you can get there first-you need to think like the client. Begin by asking the right question. I don't think it's "what do my clients need or want?" so much as "what can my clients do through me that they can't do through anyone else?" The answers reveal whether your vision is clear and will help you anticipate the client's next need.

Do you think we most often lose clients because we don't meet their needs? Surprisingly, 65% of clients say they leave because they feel ignored, not because they found a better value elsewhere. Talk to your client regularly. It might be a phone call, a golf gig, a monthly lunch, an interactive web site, or an informative direct-mail campaign. My company surveyed clients then invited three to our annual retreat for on-the-spot performance evaluations and recommendations for improvement. You can also use a report card. Just don't ask clients what they like or don't like about you. Ask them, "What three things would you change?" Be creative.

Creativity is one of your most powerful marketing tools. It's cheap and it buys attention. Get serious about creative swiping-look outside your field to see what works in others, then adapt and adopt it. And get serious about creativity inside your organization. Too often, internal groups work as creative silos because there are few established vehicles for sharing thoughts, approaches, or problem-solving tactics.

Our internal borders can be as constraining as any geopolitical limits. Consequently, we get too focused on the technical work and forget to refresh the creative juice that accomplishes the work. Ad agencies, high-tech companies, sports teams, arts groups, even some architectural firms are hip to "rejuicing." Half the battle in doing so is getting people physically together (gee, we have to stay billable...). But there are long-term consequences if you don't. Marketers can initiate or help executives organize regular multidiscipline meetings, conference calls, videoconferences, brown bags, or brainstorming sessions. Make creativity and innovation the agenda items and help facilitate the discussion.

From such groupthink will come a stronger vision, new collaborations based on new awareness of shared needs, and a more interesting organization. These ingredients shape your company's personality. It, and its value, will become more distinctive to the client.

Every lobster is different, too.

Karin Doucette is marketing manager at Geomatrix Consultants Inc., a 300-person consulting firm with 12 offices in the United States and Canada. She can be reached by telephone in San Francisco at 415-434-9400, ext. 7214, or through www.geomatrix.com. (Karin is a native of Canada's Prince Edward Island.)