As a business owner you have probably mulled over the idea of hiring an “expert” to do your marketing so that you have time to work on your business.
This idea could mean hiring an internal resource, checking out an agency or just asking any young family members if they could post on social media on your behalf.
We run across businesses frequently who choose to use a family member because they are young and know social media. As an agency this concept makes us chuckle. Let’s just say - I ride my bike frequently, but I am not signing up to do the Tour de France anytime soon. Just because I post selfies or photos of my pet does not make me a social media expert.
The true question that comes into play is: Do you have the resources to hire someone who is trained, has worked in the field of marketing, and knows the ins and outs?
If you hesitate to answer the budget question, then you must dig deeper to understand what is causing the hesitation. Do you feel:
1. That marketing won’t produce an ROI?
2. You want to do it yourself?
3. You feel that your budget is better allocated somewhere else at this point in time?
4. You have burned by a marketer or agency in the past?
5. You feel that an outside person doesn’t know your industry or your clients like you do?
Let’s address each one of these worry items highlighted above:
#1: This question pops up frequently with our clients. The most important key is that you understand what your key business goals are, share them openly with your marketer and create strategic and measurable marketing goals. This will flush out expectations that are unrealistic for your size company and budget. It will also allow the marketer to write and execute based on those specific goals. Marketing does have an ROI if done correctly.
#2: If you feel you are really good at marketing, which you very well may be, then you have to ask yourself: is the time you are devoting to your marketing efforts taking away from other things that could be making you more money? If you spend $75 an hour on marketing and you go out and land a $100k client, is your money well spent on the marketing agency?
#3: This is a very valid question that you need to answer based on where you are in your business. Most businesses could always use some marketing efforts to build brand, create better content and engage with your clients digitally. But in today’s world, holding off on marketing if it doesn’t make sense could be your best bet. One caution is that if you are afraid of spending money on marketing efforts, now could be a great time to engage with an agency.
#4: This is one of the hardest things that marketing agencies face. We always get sad when we hear stories of how clients have been treated and are now timid to engage with another agency. It’s like a doctor who knows they can help the patient recover from an illness, but the patient is too afraid to go to the hospital because of a past incident. Both the doctors and the marketers KNOW they can help, but the patients and clients have to want to engage.
#5: Imagine driving on a road in Southern France. You are an expert at driving cars. You know your car inside and out and you have been driving since you turned 16. Do you need to know the road you are driving on? NO. You have GPS. But you do need to know how to start the car, put gas in the car and ultimately use the pedals and the steering wheel. Marketing is no different. We know how to “do” marketing, but we use analytics and other key indicators to help guide us for your business and industry specifically.
Our goal as marketers is to grow your brand awareness, execute your marketing to the best of our ability and grow your business. We know there are worries for every company thinking about engaging with a marketing agency, and we hope this has helped sort through some of the thoughts bouncing around your head. We encourage you to take the plunge with us – call StrategyNest today, let talk about building your bright future.