There are so many options to market your business – from digital, Facebook ads and email newsletters to more traditional methods such as print and PR – it can be very confusing trying to find what works for you?
As business owner, you may be doing the marketing yourself, taking valuable time that you could better invest in improving the business or just focusing on the day job.
I guess I wouldn’t be wrong to say you probably don’t know what is working or are certainly unsure, or have tried a few things and they haven’t delivered? Marketing is one of your necessary but costly elements of running your business, so you want to get it right.
The challenge of the competitive world
It’s a very competitive world, particularly for a smaller business, whatever sector you are in there is always the challenge of finding new customers or retaining the customers that you have via marketing.
However, marketing costs money and time to effectively deliver and it’s easy to waste money with average, badly targeted or inefficient marketing.
What you need to do first
- Firstly, you should know and understand your target market … it’s not everyone! Who are the people that would most likely need and buy your products and/or services? This is where a solid marketing strategy works, delivering your marketing direction so you don’t waste valuable budget.
- Second, using that strategy, develop a marketing plan that uses the right options to reach that target market, again saving valuable budget. Chances are it won’t all be digital, or social media, but a mix of different options that work together to deliver results.
- Third, have the time, know-how and resources to do the first and second things … and then action everything.
The benefits of outsourcing
If all that seems ominous and time consuming as you have a business to run, then consider hiring a marketing expert or consultant to help.
A good marketing consultant can:
- save you time and money by helping you develop the right strategy and plan quickly … a shortcut to success via marketing if you like.
- assess what’s working and what isn’t, so your marketing spend is used wisely.
- offer a network of specialists in the marketing field to help deliver all aspects of your plan effectively and efficiently.
- give you freedom to focus on what’s most important, such as business operations, admin and time with your customers.
Consider hiring a marketing consultant if:
- you don’t understand your target market.
- you don’t have a strategy or plan … or what you have isn’t working.
- the business lacks a good level of growth and/or return on investment.
- you need to generate more quality enquiries and look after existing customers better.
- marketing is simply not a priority for you.
A marketing expert or consultant can provide an external perspective and viewpoint. Ultimately they will understand your business and tailor your marketing requirements to achieve your objectives and goals.
However, don’t expect instant results … there will be questions, lots of them, to understand what you’ve been doing; your leads or sales data, meet the team (if required), do a SWOT analysis to thoroughly understand you and your business.
It’s not expensive
Finally, I know what you’re thinking? What’s all this going to cost? Well, if it’s me, the initial chat is free to see if my knowledge and experience can help. If we’re both happy, then as a rule of thumb, the more days you require help, the rate will be lower on a retainer basis.
Perhaps think about what it would cost for a permanent hire to do your marketing (salary £17K to £25K for a marketing assistant), including pension, NI, laptop and training. That’s got the calculator going!!!
One of the huge advantages of outsourcing marketing to a consultant is you don’t pay any of those, only pay for the time you need, plus you’ll probably get someone with greater knowledge and experience.
Get in touch
Want to have that free chat? It’s easy to book a day/time that suits us both – here’s the link: https://calendly.com/andy-sarson-aps/121-meeting
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