Do you ever feel like you need to call 911 for your company marketing? Getting marketing help for your business can be challenging when it comes to sorting through the variety of options available to you.
This article will give you seven tips to consider when faced with the decision to reach out and get assistance with your marketing.
1. Is everything broken or just a few specific things?
The best way to determine if you just need some surgical help, or a complete makeover, is to do a thorough marketing plan review. Assess what is working now and what isn't. Do you need to make minor tweaks or redesign entire campaigns?
When seeking marketing help from an outside firm these questions will be asked of you anyway, so going through the exercise will be helpful for you either way.
2. Can the broken things be fixed utilizing existing resources?
Do you have anyone on your staff that has the ability to fix the things that are broken? Make a cost estimate of the difference between using an outside resource versus handling it internally. Some times outside help brings a fresh perspective, but you may also be faced with a lack of historical knowledge that could be crucial to determining if a certain change is viable or not.
3. Create a clear definition of your project parameters.
If you decide to seek outside help it is important that you have clear objectives for your project. List your expectations and desired results. By doing this you'll also avoid "project creep" which can extend the time and cost of the work because parameters are not clearly defined.
4. Get multiple bids. Interview at least three candidates to help you.
Have the key internal people who will be working with the contractor assist in the interviewing so that the interpersonal dynamics can be assessed.
Getting multiple bids will also help you keep the project competitive. Make sure you let each bidder know that you are interviewing two other candidates.
5. Test the candidates a small project to prove their ability and willingness to follow instructions.
This can be a "mock" presentation they can give to you based on some basic instructions provided on the test. By doing this you can often determine not only how eager they are to take the work, but also the ability to meet a deadline.
6. Make a list of pros and cons of each candidate and discuss them with your team.
By looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each potential contractor your team can often come to a unified decision which will help reinforce the working relationship once the project begins.
7. Ask for references and check them.
Take the extra few minutes needed to reach out to previous customers of the contractor and gauge their feedback. Sometimes a few simple open-ended questions will uncover key attributes of the contractor.
Implementing these seven tips when considering marketing help will go a long way to making sure your ultimate project will be completed on time and on budget.
To receive more marketing help check out the resources at http://www.CompanyMarketing.co.
John F. Hunt is author of "The Do-It-Yourself Marketing Handbook: How Anyone Can Learn to be a Great Marketer"
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