Let me start by saying, marketing companies aren’t wizards. If you have a poor product, poor strategy, poor anything: odds are high that a good marketing campaign can’t fix all it. Don’t just hire a marketing company to take over marketing so that you don’t have to worry about it. And don’t expect to be handed customers on a silver platter right away if you are just starting out.
Fortunately, most marketing companies are honest and will only take on your business if they believe they can actually increase your business. As a tip, you should find a marketing company that specializes in the type of industry or services you offer. Marketing companies that have a niche usually have a good track record of being able to help companies like yours, as long as they are not taking clients in competing regions.
Here are 5 great reasons why it is a good idea to hire a marketing company, rather than doing your own marketing:
1. You don’t know what you don’t know.
The world of e-commerce and internet marketing is now a huge chunk of the economic pie and to forget that is pure business suicide. People who work in the internet marketing world have to work hard to keep updated on the rules, methods, and shortcuts that exist in a constantly evolving world. I know it’s tempting for a small business owner to want to “do it all yourself”, but unless you are already a marketing guru, don’t try to be one. You have a company to run, and a CEO focused on marketing all the time loses sight of what is truly important to their customers.
2. Marketing is meticulous and time consuming.
In order to have consistently successful marketing campaigns, careful measurement and documentation are required to know what is working and what needs to be changed. These kinds of things can take a long time to be done right and most business owners just don’t have the time it takes to perfect them. A good marketing consultant will help understand both your short-term and long-term objectives and set metrics to help your business reach them.
3. Marketing strategies can be extremely complex.
Most marketing companies will require that you build a marketing foundation and brand before implementing more direct and complex strategies. Until you understand who your customers truly are and why your product speaks to them, then you can never formulate a strategy that will be geared specifically towards your audience.
4. A good marketing plan is easy to follow.
A good marketing consultant will simplify everything down to ordered steps and help you understand cause and effect of the implemented strategies. Sometimes as a business owner, it is really nice to have some of the burden of direction taken off of your shoulders.
5. Traffic is good, but conversion rate is all that matters.
This is perhaps the most important thing to remember in marketing. So many business owners focus on gaining foot traffic that they miss the point of marketing in the first place: sales! A specific, purposeful marketing strategy will bring people willing to buy to your doors, not just one thousand window shoppers!