Taking The Next Step In Your Marketing Plan
What Really Happens When You Hire A Marketing Agency ?
If you don’t have customers, you don’t really have a business, that’s why Marketing is just as important as Sales. Marketing is how you get sales, by spreading the word about your products and services to the appropriate audiences. After all, if you don’t spread your message, how will anyone hear it?
For many small businesses active marketing often takes a backseat to other, seemingly more pressing issues like production, fulfillment, sales etc. It can be difficult to carve out time in what is likely an already very busy day to think strategically about how to take your product to market in the first place. Website design and maintenance, buying ad space, designing graphics and writing copy for ads, social media or blog posts can feel like a full time job – because it really is. Then you throw in concepts such as Relationship Marketing, Social Media Engagement, Content Marketing, Influencer and Email Marketing and what is a small business owner to do? No wonder marketing takes a back seat – we get it!
Most companies understand the need for a well planned and executed marketing strategy. The reality however, is that unless you have a dedicated person or team it can be overwhelming and having these in place isn’t always the most cost effective route you can go. That’s where a marketing agency like MAC5 comes in.
Save $$ and Time
Going the marketing agency route can save you quite a bit of money. Look at it this way: When you hire in-house you have to spend time and resources on training and management of the new hires. Working with an agency means that you don’t need to pay payroll taxes, employment insurance, don’t need to pay dental, don’t need to provide office space and equipment and you’ll have access to a team of experts with a proven track record.
Working with a marketing agency means you don’t need to take timeout from the 5 other critical roles you play in your company to write website copy. The pros will handle that.
Need a new graphic for your flash sale? The pros will handle that. Want to redesign the online store? No problem, we’re on it! Can’t find the time for “doing” social media? We can! Have no idea how to tell if your efforts are working? We can provide regular analytical reports to help you better understand which messages are resonating and which ones are flopping so we don’t repeat mistakes. Have lots of ideas but need someone to talk to about tactics and strategy? Let’s grab coffee and you can bend our ears, we love talking shop.
Like What you See? Never miss a beat and Follow Our Blog!
Ask the Right Questions
With new clients, we typically start with a simple, informal conversation – there’s no charge, no obligation and no expectations. We love to help clients get a personalized idea of how our online marketing services can benefit their business and bring their website up to superior standards. At MAC5, we pride ourselves in challenging the tech world around us and luckily get to work with some of the brightest minds in the business every day.
We recommend that you take a moment to jot down some questions before the meeting. Its important that you understand what services are offered and how they will be implemented. Here is a list of questions you should always ask yourself before working with any freelancer or agency:
1) What is My Communication Style?
You want to find someone who is a good fit, whom you will enjoy working with. It’s important to know what kind of communication you should expect, be it daily, weekly, infrequently, or instantaneous.
2) How Much Education Do I want?
Do you want to learn how the professionals do things so that you can eventually do it on your own? Would you prefer to do what you do best – running your empire – while they do their thing?
3) What are My Expectations?
If there are specific duties you expect an agency to fulfill, you must be upfront about it. In some cases, a marketing agency may not be prepared to meet your expectations and you want to know that long before you sign any contracts.
4) Am I Able to Meet Deadlines?
This one is a really important aspect to successful marketing. Your marketers will need information, some in-house art, approvals, answers to questions all in a timely manner in order to run effective campaigns. Print ads have deadlines for ad space. Pay Per Click campaigns (PPC, AdWords, Facebook ads) start costing real money once they go live. If you think you may run into trouble providing these items fast enough, you need to be upfront about it so that we can work around your needs.
Time For a Change ?
At MAC5, we’re a different kind of company that very much enjoys what we do. We pride ourselves in a holistic approach to projects that is a polar opposite to the Corporate World. Even if you have little or no real “tech” experience it’s really not a problem. At the end of the day, we’re Business owners – just like you – and with a phone and an internet connection or Skype we can solve almost any problem. Get in touch with us and let’s see if we can help?
Contact Us Today