INSIGHTs & INTUITION

What is one of the best ways you have found to reach new clients or customers?

Amber Larson Senior Marketing Manager Bartlett & West Bismarck, N.D.

As an engineering, architecture and construction services firm, Bartlett & West typically connects with new or existing clients through trade shows, industry training events and face-to-face meetings. Obviously, last year put a halt to all those activities. We quickly moved to hosting online webinars and virtual socials to fill those gaps.

Within a month of COVID hitting, we built and began hosting free, online webinars. They helped contacts meet ongoing training requirements and generated new project opportunities through valuable content. The webinars have been so popular that we foresee continuing to offer the training option even as other events come back. However, for existing customers, nothing replaces the value of picking up the phone or meeting in person.

We design and manufacture Unmanned Aircraft Systems, focusing on ones with higher payloads. That enables our UAS to serve a variety of functions. If we try to grow our business reaching customers directly, to convince them to use our aircraft for what they need to accomplish, we may only be providing part of their solution. It’s better for us to work with a company providing the actual solution – a LiDAR-based 3D map of an archaeological site, a cover crop planting with an aerial seed spreader, a windmill inspection with a multi-spectral camera, to name a few – so the solution and our UAS can be integrated to provide results the customer will be delighted in.

So, we find a great way to gain customers is by working with the solution providers to make their solution the best it can be. Then, with that fullyintegrated solution, the payload and the aircraft, the end user customer is happier. And, when we’ve done it right, we have gained access to an entire “use case.”

Tom Nickell CEO ESCO Mobile Recon Systems, LLC Grand Forks, N.D.

At Hatch Realty, our greatest “lead sources” come from our past clients and sphere of influence. With over 5,000 past clients and thousands of other nurtured relationships throughout the community, this is always the primary target for us to foster growth within our ecosystem. We host four events annually that target and focus on those that already know/like/trust us. These events are opportunities to give back, to create unique experiences, and to give us a platform to reach out and connect with people. Our events are not about us taking or asking for business – rather, they are all about us coming from contribution with no strings attached.

Our annual “pie day” takes place the week of Thanksgiving, and we give away nearly 2,000 pumpkin pies to our friends, family, and past clients. This pie-day giveaway is the largest real estate giveaway in the country, and it has served as a great way for us to continue to build relationships and capture more mind-share from people that are our raving fans.

Max Kringen

Founder and Chief Storyteller Tellwell Fargo, N.D.

Erik Hatch Realtor, Owner, Broker Hatch Realty Fargo, N.D.

At Tellwell, we believe story is the most powerful way to introduce your brand, educate and engage your customers, and remind them why they love you.” Those four words – introduce, educate, engage, and remind – form the four-step marketing funnel that we share with each of our clients. They also guide our own internal marketing processes.

If a prospective client is completely unfamiliar with Tellwell, we’ll introduce ourselves with a brief brand story and invite them in for a discovery, where we can educate them about the work we do and (hopefully) engage them in a project. Or, if we’ve worked together in the past, we’ll remind them who we are and why we matter by checking in with them regularly and providing nuggets of wisdom to help them proactively solve their problems. The marketing funnel is all about meeting people where they are and providing them with just the information that they need to do whatever it is we want them to do. In the wise words of Brene Brown, “clarity is kind.” As humans, we deal with enough information overload already – we are most receptive to marketing messages that are concise, relevant to us, and come with a few easy action steps.

Unemployment Situation

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April, the latest number available according tor the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1%. Job gains in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education were partly offset by losses in temporary help services and in couriers and messengers.

College Enrollment

In October 2020, 62.7% of the 3.1 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October were enrolled in colleges or universities, down from 66.2% in October 2019. This decrease reflects the effect of the COVID–19 pandemic. Among 2020 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young women, at 66.2% in October 2020, continued to be higher than the rate for young men (59.3%). The college enrollment rate of Asians (83.2%) also continued to be higher than the rates for recent White (62.9%), Black (56.6%), and Hispanic (56.2%) graduates.

14.0 12.0

10.0

8.0

6.0

Bureau 4.0

Source: U.S. 2.0

Import And Export

U.S. import prices advanced 0.7% in April following a 1.4% increase in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported according to the latest data available. Higher prices for fuel and non-fuel imports contributed to both the April and March advances. Prices for U.S. exports increased 0.8% in April, after rising 2.4% the previous month.

Total, enrolled in college Men Women White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino ethinicity 0%20%40%60% 100% 80%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Preliminary Air Traffic Data

20.0

10.0

0.0

-10.0

-20.0

16.0 Percent Apr 2011Apr 2013Apr 2015Apr 2017Apr 2019Apr 2021 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

30.0 Percent Apr 2011Apr 2013Apr 2015Apr 2017Apr 2019Apr 2021

-30.0

Mar2020

2019 2020 *March 2021 data is preliminary

-51%-96% -70% -61% 10% April May June July AugustSeptemberOctober NovemberDecember January February

March*2021 46 TWITTER.COM/PRAIRIEBIZ FACEBOOK.COM/PRAIRIEBUSINESS PRAIRIEBUSINESSMAGAZINE.COM

IT'STHEYEAROFTHEROADTRIP! Scan t he QR code or go to BeLegendar y.link/NDRoadTrips to get ideas, itineraries, a music playlist and the new 2 021 Road Trip Guide!