This year, Rosenberg Advertising celebrates 40 years of business. It’s hard to believe. We can certainly call ourselves experts in marketing and advertising, but in reflecting on what we’ve achieved, we realized so much of what we’ve learned doesn’t have a thing to do with the services we provide. It’s how we run our business that makes us different! So, to kick off our 40th anniversary, I’m sharing a few of the philosophies that have contributed to our success:
The Golden Rule
It may feel cliché, but it’s the way we’ve run our business since the day the doors opened… treat others the way you want to be treated – co-workers, clients, a stranger on the street, your competition. If you follow this rule, you’ll rarely go wrong. We all learned it in kindergarten, and it still applies today!
If it weren’t for clients… well, we wouldn’t be here
We know the most critical factor in our success is our clients. Without them, we’d have nothing. Plain and simple. Big or small, we value every client equally because we know we wouldn’t be in business without them. It’s why you’ll catch Austin stopping into one of our client’s storefronts on his lunch break or why you’ll find Melissa re-reading a proposal 50 times before sending it, ensuring we are offering the best possible value to a fellow small business. It’s always about the client, just as it should be.
Relationships > Anything!
Knowing just how important our clients are, we try to build strong, genuine, and long-lasting relationships with each and every one of them. We think all of our clients would attest to this. We don’t spend much time trying to win industry awards, because the depth and longevity of our client relationships is the award (and in case you’re curious, our average client relationship is 8.5 years long – almost three times higher than the industry average!).
A really connected team beats talented individuals who work as individuals
We’ve been through nearly 80 total employees in 40 years of business, and with 14 currently, it’s safe to say we’ve seen a lot of different groups assembled. At times, we’ve had a group of very talented people who work well on their own and at times, we’ve had an extremely connected team who operates as, well, a team. The latter is always more ideal and results in better work for our clients.
So, what does it mean to truly be “connected?” Look no further than our current team. No one is out for themselves – we do everything to better our entire organization and to provide the best work that we can for our clients. There is no competition – we care about the company as a whole more than we care about our individual achievements. A big part of this comes from our very established company culture, and a mutual respect and appreciation for one another and our unique talents. Everyone here knows that none of us could ever do it alone.
Hire for a willing attitude
There are many things you look for when hiring a new team member, but I’ve learned that a “can-do” attitude needs to be at the top of the list. It’s something all of our team members, including me, possess. Whether it be a client request or an internal initiative, our mindset is “I’m going to try and do this hard thing until I have proof that I can’t.” Without this attitude, how would we grow? If we operated our business out of fear of failing, we would still only be placing newspaper ads!
Listen more than you talk
This works in almost every aspect of life but especially with clients. Part of what sets us apart is that we truly care and try to show it whenever we can. Listening demonstrates that compassion. You won’t find us strolling into a first meeting with a pitch deck all about us. Instead, we listen to why you called us and what you need, and from a marketing perspective, try to figure out how we can help.
Don’t underestimate the basics
We’ve all chosen not to work with a company or buy a product because of terrible customer service, which usually means that they’ve forgotten about the basics. We’ve learned that there is almost nothing more important than executing the basics every single day – picking up the phone, being polite and courteous, emailing back in a timely manner, and having in-person meetings. You could be the best graphic designer or web developer in the world but if you let an email sit unanswered for weeks, does it really matter? Nope.
If you do your best work and always show you care, nothing should keep you up at night
This is a Melissa-ism and one that we all live by. At the end of the day, we ask ourselves two questions. 1) Did we do our best work? And 2) Did we show our clients that we care? If the answer is yes and yes, then we’ve done our job.
A bonus from Melissa and Austin: What would Dave do?
At least once a week, you can hear one of us say “What would Dave do?” Dave has taught so many of us so much. Some of us have worked with him for 10, 15, even 35 years! So, when we are confronting a challenge and all else fails, we simply ask ourselves what he would do in the same situation?! It’s gotten us this far. 😊
