Business owners today have plenty to worry about. There is that nagging bottom line that requires regular attention, the sales that keep the business running, maintaining your current client list, inventory management and/or service delivery... and marketing. Our favourite part of the corporate world is what is often left by the wayside, or entrusted to the wrong part of the company. In this blog post we will break down how to know if you need to call in help from a firm, or if you are equipped to handle your marketing in house.
One of the most common misconceptions about the marketing industry is that everything is based on a project. You hire a firm to handle X graphic design project, or X website redesign project. If you are employing a robust marketing department (usually a minimum of two people, but this should scale with the size of your business) then a per project hiring process is likely reasonable. However, most of our clients work with us on retainer, as in, they have access to our team as their very own marketing department. If you are running a small business it is often more cost effective and logically it makes sense. If you have a medium to enterprise sized business, you are likely using your internal marketing staff as the project managers that oversee what is happening with the marketing. They likely book your ads, write your press releases, hire out your graphic designers and coordinate your digital marketing. We work fluidly with these members of executive teams, this is a dream scenario for a marketing firm and it makes your marketing personnel more effective. Avoid having them managing entry level talent, for the same price they can manage top talent that you have retained for your
If you are spending $2000 - $3000 a month on marketing personnel you are not retaining top talent and you are likely retaining a generalist. When you consider the breadth of marketing that you would like handled, you likely want someone that is savvy with digital marketing and then someone who is savvy with visual graphics... the person that believes they are good at both is absolutely not someone you want working for your business. Specialists are essential. For example, in our firm, we have a dedicated graphic designer, a dedicated writer, a dedicated digital strategist and we employ one generalist to assist on projects when necessary and provide support to the specialized team. When you hire a marketing firm for the same amount per month you get access to top talent that accomplishes more in less time and is equipped to measure results. That is good value for your money.
Another element of the agency versus in-house consideration is the access to valuable software. An agency is equipped with top of the line equipment and up to date versions of the latest design software. A must for professionals committed to their craft and an acknowledged cost of doing business, for your company it would be expensive to keep your team up to date. And in attempting a cost savings measure of semi-regular updates as opposed to being up to date with the latest and greatest, you are impeding productivity and your opportunity for success. Cutting edge matters in the marketing world.
Great marketers know that they don't know it all. If you suspect that your marketer looks in the mirror and sees Don Draper, get rid of them. You need someone that acknowledges the ever changing landscape, is committed to regular and rapid updating of their systems and their own knowledge and skill sets. Conferences are part of the gig when it comes to strong marketers, so you'll want to make sure that your team is on a plane and attending talks by the brightest and work-shipping with thought leaders in the field.
This is why we see most business move towards having a marketing associate and not outsourcing. You want control over your marketing, you want access to it all, all of the time. We understand that. This is a mistake. When you subcontract to an agency you are also hiring out impartial expert advice. Your ideas will sometimes be the moments of brilliance that an agency can run with, and other times you need a person that is not your subordinate and concerned about their employment status to tell you that the idea is bad and it will waste your dollars. When you are working with an agency you are afforded the opportunity to be in the know, in fact, clients of H&C chat on the phone for one hour per week with one of our team members and we have a monthly sit down to review everything. Our clients have access to their accounts so that they can remain in the loop, and we work from an evolving Google Doc that we call the Hughes & Co. Method Map that is 65 pages of analysis and strategy so that you always know our next move. Control is not a problem. Having a team of people that can "get real" with you about the good and the bad of their existing marketing and the best avenues for moving forward is invaluable.
For the size and types of business that we work with, agency is evidently the answer. If the above resonates with you, it might be your answer as well. Below we have added a banner that links to our consultation sign-up. It is a phone call, and it is free. It is no obligation and it is designed to help us learn about your business and guide you in the right direction. We have told businesses to hire in an associate before and we have retained clients, or referred to other agencies that we know will better fit their needs. When you click and fill out the form, you are taking step 1 to a stronger 2014.