If your business has ever thought about outsourcing their marketing efforts or hiring a consultant or agency to create and handle your marketing plan, you will have lots of questions before you decide on the right marketing team. Here are the top five areas where we get the most frequent inquiries, followed by the corresponding advice.
BUDGET
1. How much should I budget for marketing?
Some people will advise a marketing budget based on a percentage of total revenue or a percentage of sales, such as 10% of last year’s sales = marketing budget for this year. This, however is a random way to figure out a budget. A more accurate figure would include an analysis of your industry and the competition, sales and new business goals and anything special such as a new product launch or a big event. View your marketing budget as an investment, rather than as an expense, and this will help with the process.
WEBSITE
2. Do I really need a website? What if I don’t sell things – do I need a website?
Absolutely yes and positively yes. Every business in every industry should have an online presence, starting with a mobile-friendly website. It doesn’t have to be pages and pages long but it needs to provide information about who you are, what you do and why someone should hire you or buy your product. It should also provide an easy way for people to contact you, locate you and get other basics such as hours of operation and how to schedule an appointment. It should be search-engine optimized. It should be linked to your social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA
3. Should I use social media?
Yes. The real question should be “What social media should I use?” Depending on your product, service, sales goals and industry, your social media presence will differ, but yes, social media is a standard part of marketing.
TELEVISION
4. Can you get me an interview on a television program?
It’s not the job of a producer to help businesses sell their products, regardless of how unique, life-changing and fabulous they are. It is the job of a producer to secure compelling interviews with experts on current events and create absorbing stories that align with their formats and audiences. So, the marketing objective is to be publicized as an expert or thought leader in the industry. A producer would not invite you to be interviewed to talk about your new anti-virus software but would consider you as a guest on a segment about cyber-security.
RESULTS
5. When will we see results?
In order to see results, you need to determine your goals, baseline and measurement instruments. Do you want more leads and at what percentage increase? Do you want more sales, better attendance at your events, more customer appointments, more signups for your email newsletter, more publicity for your products? These are all workable goals where a range of 6 months to a year is a realistic time frame.
Determine your goals, ask the right questions, have quantifiable objectives and you will be more prepared in your process for acquiring marketing services.
Leisa Chester Weir
For daily marketing communications news, subscribe to LGK’s free, online, MarCom Digest.