The Search To Find The Perfect Marketing Agency

Published October 17, 2023

So you’re interested in working with a marketing agency! That is great to hear. First off, simply because you are reading our blog post and we happen to be a marketing agency, but also because we want to make sure that you find an agency that is the perfect fit for your business. It may not be us and that is OK! But what we want to do is make sure you have the tools and resources to find that perfect agency. Here’s how.

What is a Marketing Agency?

A marketing agency is a company that provides various marketing services to businesses and organizations. These services can include:

Market research
Advertising
Branding
Video production
Photography
Social media management
And so much more!

Marketing agencies work with their clients to develop strategies and campaigns that will help them reach their target audiences and achieve their marketing goals. They should also provide analytics and reporting to help their clients measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.

Some marketing agencies specialize in specific industries or types of marketing, while others offer a wide range of services to clients in various fields. Overall, the goal of a marketing agency is to help its clients promote their products or services and increase their brand awareness and sales and become one with their client’s brand.

How Working With An Agency Can Benefit Your Business

Working with a marketing agency can provide many benefits for your business. Since a marketing agency is a team of professionals who specialize in promoting and growing businesses through various marketing channels, you not only get one person but a whole team to work on your account. Here are some reasons why you should consider working with a marketing agency:

Expertise: Marketing agencies have a team of experts who specialize in different areas of marketing, such as social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, and more. By working with a marketing agency, you can tap into their expertise and get access to the latest marketing strategies and techniques.
Cost-effective: Hiring an in-house marketing team can be expensive, especially for small businesses. By working with a marketing agency, you can get access to a team of marketing professionals at a fraction of the cost of hiring an in-house team.
Save time: Marketing can be time-consuming, especially if you don’t have the expertise or resources to do it effectively. By working with a marketing agency, you can free up your time and focus on other important aspects of your business.
Results-driven: Marketing agencies are focused on delivering results for their clients. They will work with you to set goals and create a customized marketing plan to help you achieve those goals.
Stay ahead of the competition: A marketing agency can help you stay ahead of the competition by keeping up with the latest marketing trends and tactics. They will ensure that your business is using the most effective marketing strategies to reach your target audience and grow your business.

Where Do I Look to Find A Marketing Agency?

Finding the right marketing agency can be a daunting task, but with the right approach, it can be much easier. The first step is to determine your needs and goals for this agency. Then, you can begin your search by asking for referrals from colleagues or friends who have used marketing agencies before. You can also search online for marketing agencies in your area and read reviews from their past clients. Here are some top websites to start your hunt on:

Once you have a list of potential agencies, start by checking their website and social media networks to see if their style and expertise match your needs. It’s important to schedule a meeting or phone call with the agency to discuss your goals and evaluate their experience and approach. Be sure to ask about their pricing structure, timeline, and success rates with similar projects.

The Bottom Line

Overall, working with a marketing agency can be a great investment for your business. It can help you save time and money, while also delivering results and helping you stay ahead of the competition. Ultimately, the right marketing agency for you will be one that understands your business and can help you achieve your goals in a creative and effective way. Take your time and do your research to find the perfect fit for your needs.

Is Marketing Getting Lost In The Shuffle? Here’s How To Find It Again

Published November 14, 2022

A professor once said that marketing is fixing the problem with connecting the customer to the business. There is always a need, a want, a desire, and/or a problem. If you can figure out reasons for the customer to need your business, then you can easily market it to them. This seems like common sense, but getting back to the basics of marketing might be getting lost in the shuffle. Think about how many advertisements you see in a day. Whether you are watching TV, listening to the radio or a podcast, looking at something on the internet and so on…advertising is everywhere. So how can your marketing be found in the flood of advertising?

What’s In It For The Customer?

The market is saturated with similar products and services. It can be very competitive depending on what your business is. The best thing to always remember when marketing is how does it help the customer? Constantly talking about the product or service can just get boring. But saying how it helps the customer right off the bat can encourage the potential customer to keep reading to learn more about it. Here is a great example from ContentFirst Marketing.

A great test to see if advertisements made their mark is with Super Bowl ads. Customers will remember the commercials, but will they actually remember what product was being pushed? Some brands have iconic imagery (Budweiser horses and frogs, Geico gecko, etc.) and others may have really great visuals, but the actual product just gets lost. Was the money worth the effort?

Think about those old school infomercials. The ovens that cook turkeys in less time than others, the knives that can cut anything, or the ladder that extends higher than competitors but stores in smaller spaces. These always stood out because they were fixing a common problem customers could have. Potential customers saw value in the products. Stick to this way of thinking, and it will be a great way to build upon a campaign.

Stand Out Where Your Customers Are

Talk to any marketing professional and you will hear a different opinion of where your business should advertise or what platforms you should be present on. This also can depend on where you live and in what part of the world as some areas utilize mediums other areas just don’t. Think city fold versus country folk and how to market to people in each. It is different! It seems like everyday a new social platform is born. It is nearly impossible to be present on all of them with a marketing strategy. And of course there are thousands of ways to reach potential customers, but figuring out where your target audience obtains their information would be a great place to start.

According to Seth Matlins, Forbes Staff, 3 out of every 4 brands could disappear in an instant with no one noticing or caring. That is a lot! That means those brands are not meeting a need, want, desire or solving a problem for their customers or there are too many competitors in the market. Within the same article, Seth mentions that almost 8 of every 10 searches on Amazon are by category, not brand. Customers aren’t searching for Suzy’s Honey but instead are searching for honey. When that search happens, thousands upon thousands of results of honey show up and Suzy’s Honey gets pushed to page 6, which hardly anyone ever gets to.

Instead of running around trying to be everywhere all at once, focus on maybe a couple of different places and do your best on those to market your product instead of just doing minimal efforts on many.

Start With The Basics

Many business owners and marketers are confusing tactics with strategies and strategies with objectives. In marketing, while copying something a competitor has done is flattering, it likely may not wind up working for you. Just because we think that we can jump straight in and copy the tactics others are using we likely won’t get the same results. Why? Even if something worked for them does not mean it will work for you.

Start with the basics again, even if you’ve already had successful campaigns. Go back to the problems your potential customers have and understand why they are having those problems and how your business can help them. Decide which group you are going to really focus on. Doing this can help narrow down your marketing strategy and help determine which niche your products fits in for this particular campaign. And finally, take a look at how this group buys something. What is their buying pattern? From step 1 of having a problem to step 2 of where they go to research how to solve their problem and step 3 of actually buying can help when deciding what kind of marketing you should do. Do your potential customers like to read, listen or watch a video? Do they like reviews? Do they like to go to a store to make a purchase or buy it online (if it is a product)? Do they like to call and speak to someone on the phone about a service or would they rather set up a meeting and speak face to face? So many questions but these can help get back to the basics.

The Bottom Line

Fundamental marketing may seem super boring and it may seem like you are leaving a lot of potential customers on the table if you aren’t marketing everywhere. However, the power of finding the right target market and the ways they buy, can work. Even the greatest and most expensive tactics fail. It isn’t about the amount of money or the size of the target market. It is, and always will be, about finding the right product or service for your clients.

COVID-19 Communication Guide

Published December 17, 2020

A guide to help communicate with your consumers during COVID-19 business changes

Communicating with your customers and clients when a new mandate is released is vital to the success of your business. Some businesses are affected to the fullest extent and others are not affected at all, and it is our job as business owners, marketers, and PR directors to make sure that the community knows what the new mandates are, if they have affected your business or not, how they will be affected by those changes, and who they can contact for more information if they need it. The better you communicate with the consumers, the better chance you have to succeed in this ever-changing business climate that is currently being driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below are some of the main general questions that consumers, clients and customers want to know about your business during COVID-19 and regarding new mandate changes. We have also listed some suggestions on how to answer them.

Remember that you might have different services or adjustments that may go to different audiences, so your messages and their mediums will need to be tailored to those specific people.

You will also likely send out your information in different rounds which include different levels of information. For example, your first round will be more broad as you digest the new mandate information and figure out how to adjust and your next rounds will include more details as you adjust your services based on the needs of your consumers during the new mandates.

General Consumer Questions:

ARE YOU CLOSING?
If NO → How does this affect your business?
→ Even if there are very little or no changes to your business, you should still communicate that there have been new mandates set forth by the state, and they do not affect your normal business operations and if anyone has any questions, how can they get a hold of you.

If YES:
→ Make it clear when you plan to close (date & time)
→ Make it clear when you plan to reopen (date & time)
*The mandate dates & times may not be specific enough to your business hours

Does your business generally charge a monthly fee?
If NO → Skip to the next question.
If YES:
→ Explain how you plan to move forward with the monthly fee?
→ WILL THEY STILL BE CHARGED?
→ Are you offering something different to make up for not having (some/all) your services available?

Are you adjusting your services?
→ These may be adjusting as you go, so be broad but let people know where they can go to keep updated on these adjusted services and then as they adjust – continue to communicate with your consumers.

Where can they go to get more information?
→ This can be your website, social media, client logins, emails, texts, etc.

Who can they contact for questions? (One point person.)
→ You may have one or more people taking questions while you are open, closed, or have adjusted services. Just make sure to be clear on who the public should contact.

Make sure to have help checking all of your public-facing information. It takes at least 2 sets of eyes (and brains) to make sure you get all of your bases covered!

Where to change this information: (UPDATE OFTEN AND WHEN THERE ARE ANY CHANGES)

Website:
– Website (Pop-up: we don’t like them, but they are really effective in this situation)
– Website – HOME PAGE
– Website – COVID-19 Update Page (Create or keep updated if you have a page)

Social media:
– Social Media – Create COVID-19 UPDATE (FB & GMB)
– Social Media – PIN THE POST
– Social Media – Change your Banner image to reflect the changes
– Social Media – Create Highlights (IG)
– Social Media – Change Profile and Info pages
– Social Media – Change Hours if needed
– Social Media – Change COVID Services if needed (FB)

Google Listing:
– Google Listing – Create COVID-19 Posts (1 per week with updates)
– Google Listing – Change Hours
– Google Listing – Change Services

DIRECT COMMUNICATION LINES TO YOUR CLIENTS & CUSTOMERS:
– Direct communication lines like Emails, Text Messages, and Business Apps are great ways to get your information out immediately but sometimes are forgotten in the hustle of distributing new information.
– Remember to use these more direct messages cautiously and consistently, but do not overwhelm your clientele by respecting their information and time.

COVID-19 has brought not only challenges to businesses and communities but also opportunities for increased communication with your business’s consumers, clients and customers. Whether the operations of your business have been altered because of the pandemic or they have stayed the same, it is important to provide information frequently. From your website to social media to your Google Listing, it is vital for your business to communicate consistently across multiple channels. In a time of uncertainty, make sure your business gives inquiring minds what they want to know.

Interested in Downloading the Covid-19 Communication Guide pdf? Fill out the form below!

Relationship Marketing

Published November 4, 2020

What It Is and How To Properly Use It

According to HubSpot, Relationship Marketing is, “a type of marketing that focuses on cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers to ensure long-term satisfaction and brand loyalty.”

Studies have shown that retaining current customers can at times bring in more revenue than bringing in new customers. It also usually costs less to keep your current customers happy, according to Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company. Of course, we’re not saying that you should not be trying to attract new customers, but you should also be making sure that you are doing what you can to best retain your current customers that are worth keeping.

So, since you now know what Relationship Marketing is and why you should be working to retain customers, how do you do it properly?

To start, you have to get clients, right? Here are some tips for guidelines on following up. Remember that these guidelines can change and will depend on each client. Just like no snowflake is the same, the same goes for customers.

Whenever you contact a customer, set the expectation right away so they know that you will be following up.
Set an expectation of when they will get their proposal and what will be included.
Let them know that you will be following up with them after X amount of days of when you sent the proposal.
1. If it is a time-sensitive project then wait no longer than two days for a callback.
Always follow through with the expectations that you set for them.
Make sure that the customer knows that you’re there for them, but do not live and die by their business.

Now the customer has the proposal, has agreed to it, and is now ready to start working with you. Of course, expectations are different depending on what type of industry you are in. Construction companies, for example, will only be with customers as long as their project lasts. However, if they do a good job and are respectful and courteous, then they will probably get word of mouth recommendations along with staying top of mind for future projects that may come along with repeat customers.

To have customers stay with your business and stay happy, follow these tips.

Make sure that you check in with your contact every so often. This should not be every week, as that could be too much. But once a month, check-in with them to see how they feel everything is going and how they are doing.
Make sure that you’re not always talking business or trying to sell more services or products, but show that you genuinely care.
Consider holidays or certain times to send small gifts or cards to show that you care and appreciate their business.
If you see something that could help them with their business, such as an article, send it to them.
If you are having customer appreciation or VIP events including sales or offers, have them be the first to know.

Again, no size fits all with these tips and guidelines. The main thing is to show that you care for the customers and appreciate them. Setting expectations helps them to know when they should hear from you and following through with these expectations shows a lot, since not every company would do that.

We know that there is a lot that goes into running a successful business and it can certainly seem overwhelming at times. We are always here to help in any way we can. Even if you just need someone to grab a coffee with and talk things through, we love coffee and good conversation. Contact us today so we can schedule a time to meet!

What is a Marketing Agency?

Where Do I Look to Find A Marketing Agency?

The Bottom Line

What’s In It For The Customer?

Stand Out Where Your Customers Are

Start With The Basics

The Bottom Line

According to HubSpot, Relationship Marketing is, “a type of marketing that focuses on cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers to ensure long-term satisfaction and brand loyalty.”

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