I was playing Scrabble the other day and it dawned on me that the same strategies I used while playing are applicable to the development of a marketing strategy for a client. In Scrabble, you have to create words with letters selected at random. You have to manage them carefully and decide which placement gives you the best competitive advantage. You might not always start out with the letters you want, and sometimes realize you are short one letter needed for the perfect word, but, in the end, your goal is to earn the most points with the tiles you have.

If you ever built a house, you understand the importance of designing the structure or floor plan with an architect before laying the foundation. If you are an attorney, you understand the importance of doing some discovery about your client and case before presenting to a judge.

Accounting marketers have swarmed Washington, DC this week for the Association for Accounting Marketers (AAM) annual conference. Sessions have included performance reviews, how to add value to your firm and niche development to marketing audits and online marketing strategy.