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Moire Marketing Offers a Checklist for Professional Service Firms Looking to Build Their Brand and Business with Alumni Programs

Posted on: Monday, 26 October 2009, 07:30 CDT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In a competitive economic climate, professional service firms need to capitalize on any edge they can and are finding rich resources when leveraging their alumni network.

Alumni programs have become a crucial way for professional service firms to develop new business, strengthen their brands and recruit the best and brightest. They can become brand ambassadors for a firm, referral sources for new business and references for new hires or "boomerangs" that return to a firm.

Moire Marketing Partners (www.moiremarketing.com), a strategic branding and communications agency specializing in professional service firms, has worked on several successful alumni programs. The company has pulled together a checklist to help firms start building their own alumni programs.

1. Pay attention to your firm culture - Is your firm conservative or progressive? Do you like to take risks or do you want to maintain the status quo? You'll need to consider the culture at your firm to determine the best tools to use to engage your alumni.
2. Engage your alumni in person - There's nothing better than face time. Build your program around a series of events alumni can attend throughout the year. Happy hours, special family-focused events, receptions and parties as well as continuing education programs are all great ways to engage alumni.
3. Stay connected - To keep former employees involved, reach out to them with a specialty publication that offers alumni profiles as well as news about the firm. You can build your alumni network with a directory that can be available in print or online or even develop your own social network for alumni to meet and stay in touch.
4. Take ownership - To stay focused and ensure the success of your program, you'll need to decide what department at the firm takes ownership of the program. Alumni outreach could fall under the purview of marketing, HR or IT. Consider the way your firm is structured and the outreach you're planning to identify what group should manage the program.
5. Measure your efforts - Before you even implement your alumni program, be sure to set objectives. Do you want to increase brand awareness or boost referral sources? Once you know what your goals are, you can identify the most appropriate metrics for measuring the effectiveness of your program.
   

For more strategic tips, contact Leigh George, director of strategy, Moire Marketing Partners, at 202-822-0100, write to lgeorge@moiremarketing.com or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/leighgeorge. Follow Moire on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/moiremarketing.

About Moire Marketing Partners

Founded in 2001, Moire Marketing Partners is a strategic branding and communications agency specializing in the success of professional service firms. Services include brand strategy, positioning and messaging, website design and development, microsites and blogs, social networks, search engine marketing, advertising, brochures, annual reports, copywriting, event support and exhibit design. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Long Beach, Calif.

This release is available online in the Feintuch Communications media room at www.feintuchcommunications.com.

SOURCE Moire Marketing Partners

Source: PR Newswire

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