What Questions Should I Ask a Marketing Firm Before Hiring?

What Questions Should I Ask a Marketing Firm Before Hiring?

  • On : May 20, 2022

When partnering with a marketing firm, it can be difficult to determine which of your available options is the best fit for your business. If you are looking to outsource your marketing, you will need to be able to filter out the firms that can’t meet the needs of your business and differentiate them from the ones that can deliver the marketing strategy best suited to you. By asking the right questions during your search for a marketing agency, you will be able to find the perfect partner that can deliver the marketing solution that elevates your business above the competition. Asking about the firm’s experience, their project management, expectations, and their marketing teams will give you a clearer view of which firm is best for you.

Experience

A firm’s experience gives you an idea of their strengths and what kinds of solutions they provide. Their previous clients and capabilities are important to know so you can get a picture of what sort of solutions they usually deliver and what industries they typically serve. If all of an agencies previous clients are B2B, they may not have the right experience to deliver the best possible B2C solution. Ask about who their previous clients are and what kind of relationship they had with the client. Were they partnered with the customer themselves, or are they a client that was managed by an employee while they worked somewhere else?

It is also important to find out if they have any current clients that operate in the same or similar industry to you. Working with one of your competitors presents a conflict of interest that may prevent them from delivering the best possible outcome for both clients. In this case, it is best to find a different marketing firm to partner with.

Example questions you could ask are:

  • Who are your previous clients?
  • Are they clients this agency has served, or have your employees served them at different firms?
  • Can you provide examples of your firm’s contributions to successful marketing campaigns?
  • What are your firm’s capabilities? (Be specific to different areas of marketing e.g., Web design, SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing)
  • Do you have any current clients that are in a similar industry to ours? Are there any conflicts of interest that you should declare?

Project management and expectations

Knowing what you expect out of a marketing firm is key to choosing the right partner. But it’s important to know that firms will also have different expectations of clients, with each agency handling accounts and projects differently. You should find out about the details of how your account will be managed and who will be managing it. Having your collaboration run smoothly is dependent on knowing what that collaboration looks like and understanding the responsibilities of each party. You should also be asking for details about communication. When will you meet? Will it be in person or online? How often will this happen and what will be discussed? These are all great questions to begin communicating the expectations of both parties and understand how the project will be managed.

You should also discuss revisions or changes to work. In some of the creative aspects of your project you will have a certain vision that their designers may not nail the first time. Discuss how revisions are made and if there are any limitations to the requests you can make.

Pricing is another factor you need to discuss with any potential marketing partner. You should know not only the total cost of hiring a firm but also when payment is expected and if any additional costs or discounts are possible based on results. Most firms will provide one clear price, but it’s always good to ask to make sure you are getting the best price possible. The firm should provide clear details on what is included in the price.

Some possible questions to ask are:

  • How will we communicate?
  • When will we meet?
  • How often will we meet?
  • What form will these meetings take (online, in-person)?
  • Who will be working on our account?
  • What can I edit for creative work?
  • Are there any limitations to revisions or requests?
  • What is the cost of hiring your firm?
  • Are there any additional costs or fees that we may incur? How are expenses invoiced?

The Marketing Team

It is typical to hire a marketing firm for around 8-12 months, so you are going to be working with them for a while. It’s important to make sure that the people you are going to work with are a good fit for your company. Good work relationships lead to greater chances of success. Questions about the company culture and asking to meet some of the team can help you determine if the firm will be a good fit for your company.

Many marketing firms will outsource part of the work they do to contractors or freelancers. You should know what kind of work is being done by employees of the agency and what work is done by people that aren’t on payroll.

Possible questions you could ask are:

  • What is your company culture?
  • Can we meet some of the people that will be working on our account?
  • What skills do you have on payroll?
  • What services do you outsource to contractors or freelancers?
  • What sort of relationship do you have with your contractors? How long have you known them?

When hiring a marketing firm to help with or take over your marketing efforts, its important to ask the right questions to find the perfect match for your company. Asking about the firm’s experience, their project management style, expectations, and their marketing team will enable you to make an informed decision about which marketing agency can deliver the best solution for your business. It can be daunting to try and sift through the many options when hiring a marketing firm, especially if you don’t have much or any marketing experience yourself. But by asking the right questions from the beginning of your search, you can put yourself in the best position to partner with the right agency for your needs.

Image Source: Shutterstock (1022272123)

AI marketing

How to Enhance your Marketing Strategy with AI

  • On : October 4, 2021

The world of technology has come a long way ever since society got its first computer built in the 1900s. Modern technology goes far beyond what we initially thought it would, from computers and dial phones to laptops, smart watches and pocket-sized phones, with the most current and cutting-edge technology being artificial intelligence (AI).

Artificial intelligence is a wide-ranging brand of computer science that’s often built with intelligent machines capable of performing complex tasks that usually require human intelligence. Although this type of technology has been along for many years, it only recently become available to use for various tasks.

When someone mentions AI to you, the first thing that might pop into your mind might be robots, creepy-looking machines, or even the film ‘I am Mother.’ However, AI can do a lot more than you think, and one of those things is marketing.

Marketers use big data and machine learning as AI marketing tools, to boost the success and performance of their marketing campaigns. This directly leads to an increase in sales, profit, and revenue. Big data allows marketers to extract, aggregate, and divide large sets of data via automation, which is done automatically and saves manual time. After marketers are finished gathering and sorting the data, it’s analysed to ensure the best content will reach the desired audience.

AI Marketing Strategy Pioneer

Robotic Marketer was the first company in the world to develop marketing strategies using AI. The technology sought to mimic human processes related to development of a marketing strategy, benefiting from AI and machine learning. As the only truly data driven marketing strategy technology platform, AI has played a pivotal role in using data to drive better outcomes from marketing.

Here’s how you can enhance your marketing strategy with AI:

Conduct a Predictive Analytics

One way to enhance your marketing strategy by using AI as a predictive analytic tool. It’s important to remember that the central point of AI marketing is using big data and machine learning tools to obtain information that can be analysed and read against several factors. These various factors can incorporate demographic data and website analytics.

Predictive analytics includes page views, amount of time spent on a page, bounce rate, click-through rate, and more. These metrics used by AI and allow you to make informed decisions about business resources and make future predictions.

Effectively Target and Segment Your Audience

One crucial aspect in marketing that all marketers should know well is to create a personalised digital marketing experience for customers. It’s important to understand how to target the right audience for your content. Marketers can do this by using customer data and machine learning algorithms to identify essential and recurring patterns. For example, demographic information about users based on specific pieces of content produced or how often a group of people does something with your content.

AI and machine learning algorithm can detect that people aged 20-35 are more drawn to social media articles, whereas people aged 50-70 are drawn to articles that relate to business and other interest like golf and bowls. If you begin focusing on content dissemination to a specific audience on a certain platforms such as social media, emails, ads, and so on, you can better reach your target audience and enhance engagement.

AI and machine learning algorithm can also obtain information about when (day and time) your content is accessed the most by users on platforms such as social media. This enables AI machine learning algorithms to obtain accurate and current information to understand the best times of day and to publish marketing collateral and achieve the highest levels of user engagement.

Adopt Chatbots

AI-powered chatbots are another way you can enhance your AI marketing strategy. Chatbots can converse with a human user through text or voice and provide a customer-centric interaction. This enables customers to contact your company during non-working hours, thus increasing your customer reach.

If you want to market your product/service to consumers who live on the other side of the world, AI can overcome time zones different, and ensure all queries and issues are immediately addresses. As a result, consumers can be quickly addressed, therefore enhancing your ability to communicate with consumers.

Overall, it’s clear that AI can be used to advance your marketing capabilities, enhance your marketing strategy, better reach your target audience, improve engagement, and address consumer queries. As technology continues to develop, AI will also continue to be a part of the 21st century and reduce tedious marketing and research-based tasks, while improving marketing results.

If you require a relevant and comprehensive marketing strategy or advice regarding your existing strategy and marketing activities, get in contact with our highly qualified team.

Image source: Shutterstock 1765670678

small business marketing trends 2021

5 Small Business Marketing Trends You Need To Know About

  • On : June 30, 2021

Small businesses are faced with limited resources and are often up against significantly larger competitors. In order to reach your audience at the right time, it is very important to regularly keep your finger on the pulse of fluctuating marketing trends. In fact, regularly researching marketing trends should be a big part of the overall market strategy of your small business! Here are some of the most important trends influencing the market for small businesses currently.

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go to market strategy

The Best Go-To-Market Strategy Examples

  • On : February 2, 2021

Source: Marketing Eye Australia

Go-to-market strategies that are well thought through, strategic by nature and research-backed have a higher likelihood of success than those that rely on ad hoc marketing tactics or old methodologies. Having a good example of a go-to-market strategy will ensure that you learn from other companies’ successes and failures while endeavoring to develop a go-to-market strategy that is aligned to your product launch goals.

Over the past few weeks, we have been inundated with technology companies seeking to use our marketing services to develop go-to-market strategies that exemplify a successful model that will work in the current economic climate. COVID has played havoc on marketing strategies because buyer habits have changed along with budget restrictions, but for solid product launches, adapting to these changes and ensuring that your go-to-market strategy plan is rock solid, will only help you stand out from the crowd.

COMPANIES ARE NOT CHANGING THEIR GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGIES FAST ENOUGH
The biggest issue is relaxed marketing leads that fail to take into account the effect of COVID on the way companies buy.

Marketing Eye focuses largely on B2B go-to-market strategies for technology companies, and as such, adjusting how we market is more data-driven than ever before. The reality is that if you “do what you’ve always done” your company is less likely to achieve your product launch goals.

GO-TO-MARKET-STRATEGY IS PART OF YOUR OVERALL MARKING PLAN
Unlike a marketing strategy, a go-to-market strategy does not incorporate all areas of marketing. Instead, it is a business tool that marketers use to ensure that technology products (APPs, software, solutions) are launched successfully into the market. It incorporates a comprehensive marketing tactic plan on how the new product or service will reach the end-customer.

The key focus for a go-to-market strategy is a) pricing strategy and b) distribution plan.

Key components of a go-to-market strategy

Target Market: Understanding who your target market is and developing a buyer persona is imperative to achieving a successful product launch. When technology companies launch a new product in the market, it is important that they have a firm understand of who their customer is and what are their key pain points. Focus groups are used regularly as part of this process.

Unique Value Proposition: What makes your product unique and why should your customers buy your product over competitor options? Before you go-to-market it is important to establish this credential.

Key Messaging: What key messages form part of the value proposition, what problems does the technology or service solve, how is your company positioned in the market and what messages resonate with buyers to help them identify why they should buy your product

Pricing: Pricing strategies form part of management, sales and marketing research on what a customer is willing to pay for the product/service that you are offering the market. Having the right pricing strategy will determine whether or not people are willing to pay the price set for your product/service.

Distribution Strategy: Ensure that you have an effective and reliable distribution plan in place for your product.

GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY EXAMPLES THAT WERE SUCCESSFUL
Apple: While we don’t hear too much about the failures that Apple has with releasing new products to the market, they certainly have been highly successful with iPods, iPhones, iWatch and so on. Some great tips can be found online as to how Apple has successfully navigated product launches without using advertising and avoiding price wars.

Vuclip: This highly successful go-to-market strategy was accelerated by the company focusing on “must-have” mobile streaming in developing countries.

Carry A Book: Taking into account that people would be reading more as the world stayed home over COVID, Carry A Book app focuses on understanding that consumers want to read books and share their thoughts with others. The investment people make in reading a book from front to back is intense and when its over, it’s like losing a friend. What Carry A Book has successfully done is given avid readers a way of staying connected to what they have read

Go-to-market strategies benefit from the simplicity and customer experience. If executed well, a go-to-market strategy will have a higher ROI than being lost with overall marketing strategies focused too heavily on brand.

We use Robotic Marketer technology for go-to-market strategies as it is easy to use but importantly helps marketers understand customers and the market better.

5 Reasons Why You Need a New Digital Marketing Strategy in 2021

5 Reasons Why You Need a New Digital Marketing Strategy in 2021

  • On : January 11, 2021

A new year means new opportunities to optimize your digital marketing strategy for maximum effectiveness. The fast-paced field of marketing is an ever-evolving practice that requires a trained eye that is on top of the myriad changes occurring on a day-to-day basis. Smart businesses stay ahead of digital marketing trends in order to ensure that the business reaches its full potential and performs accordingly. We’ve put together a list of the top five reasons why you likely need a new digital marketing strategy in 2021.

  1. Get with the times or get left behind.

This means embracing new and popular digital platforms in order to maximize your customer base and communicate with them in the most efficient manner. Last year, TikTok emerged as the reigning champion in its ability to command the attention of the younger generation as social media users the world over spent more time online in light of COVID-19. Brands who recognized this shift early on were quick to reap the benefits of the platform’s exponential international growth.

As such, staying on top of the platforms most engaged with, new or old, will provide substantial opportunities for your business to optimize its reach. Set aside sometime each week to review current events and digital marketing trends so that your business is one of the first to jump on and utilize the innovative tools at these platforms’ disposal.

  1. Maximize sales through social media and sales overlap.

While new platforms continue to arise, social media giants like Facebook and Instagram continue to lead by example on the front of revitalizing their digital marketing strategies as a means of keeping users engaged. In 2016, Facebook incorporated sales into its business model with Facebook Marketplace, allowing users to buy and sell items from other users. Though slow to gain traction at first, it has evolved into one of the platform’s most interactive features.

In the last year, Instagram has followed suit with the introduction of its shopping feature, which largely entails B2C sales for users through brands they already follow or those they stumble upon through the discovery page. As social media and sales increasingly overlap, users are more likely to execute in-app purchases which fast track sales processes and converts them from followers into customers. For businesses who choose to open themselves up to this line of efficiency, sales turnover will be sure to expand substantially in 2021.

  1. Less is, as always, more.

While it is important to stay active on up-and-coming marketing platforms, it is worth ensuring that your business isn’t spreading itself too thin, or else you risk wasting valuable resources on fruitless tasks. Your new digital marketing strategy should include setting aside time to regularly review the tangible outcomes of where your business’ time and energy is best spent. Do not be afraid to cull efforts with your least effective digital marketing platforms. Doing so will reallocate the same resources to more result-prone tasks, and ensure no effort goes unnecessarily wasted.

For instance, imagine your business utilizes LinkedIn, podcast advertisements, email campaigns and Facebook as its primary means of generating sales. If, as of late, the latter two methods are providing little to no overall improvement, consider cutting them from your digital marketing strategy and instead reallocate resources to the most effective platforms of sales generation. Not only will this ensure the time spent on reliable sources of engagement and income, but it will also improve the overall quality of your messages to your customer base.

  1. The average human attention span continues to shorten.

Unsurprising yet certainly frightening is the fact that, as of 2020, the average attention span is, at most, eight seconds. Yes, you read that correctly: that is less than the average attention span of a goldfish. Rather than be put off, embrace this new reality and adapt accordingly by adjusting your digital marketing strategy to best compete for your audience’s attention.

Increasingly, audiences are drawn to personalized, video and image-based content. Your next advertising campaign should, quite simply, give the people what they want. As a starting point, we recommend curating a list of high-performing brands whose business aligns with your own and highlighting their most engaged with content. This will provide you with relevant inspiration for your own advertising campaigns to ensure that your target audience is most likely to respond positively to content as well as encourage click-throughs.

  1. If it isn’t mobile-friendly, don’t bother.

If you haven’t already optimized your website for mobile viewing, now is the time to do so. The significant growth of the mobile market in recent years has necessitated that businesses have mobile-friendly interfaces, given that consumers understandably opt for the most accessible and efficient means of interaction. Without it, businesses run the immediate risk of losing customers as a result of outdated website designs.

Some of the obvious benefits of mobile-friendly interfaces involve the capacity for location-based marketing as well as its cost-effectiveness. This means your business is able to curate tailored content for your audience, which also improves the intricacy and relevancy of your customer profiles. As such, your business is able to do more with less by selectively targeting consumers who are most likely to engage with your content and avoiding wasting resources on less probable leads.

The Advantages of A Marketing Strategy

The Advantages of A Marketing Strategy

  • On : November 17, 2020

Source: Marketing Eye Australia

2020 has been an interesting year in marketing, to say the least. Yes, we have all undeniably suffered under the conditions of the pandemic – but where there’s hardship there’s also an opportunity to be found and many of us have been forced into new and exciting places.

When the normal way of doing things isn’t an option anymore, we have to get creative. Marketing in 2020 has seen an increased use of digital mediums more so than ever before. And although we get more digital each and every year, it’s safe to say that no one expected a surge from necessity like this. Remote shopping and digital marketing have become more important to the business and consumer market than ever before.But the more things change, the more they stay the same. While we have found creative new ways to communicate online, the role of the marketing strategy has changed little in its central value. Given this, it’s not surprising that many have come to realize how sorely they’ve underestimated the importance of the document. A marketing strategy is a roadmap, a blueprint that sets out what and how you’ll communicate with your audience over the coming year. Without a marketing strategy, businesses are engaging their customers with one hand tied behind their back. But more specifically than that, where is the value of working with a marketing strategy?

Oversee your business, sales and marketing together

We all like to think we see the big picture, but we’re usually standing too close to know what we’re looking at. The writing of a strategy puts everything into perspective – it’s the perfect opportunity to take a step back and have an objective look at your business, sales and marketing objectives. This is the time to really get into it and think:

  • What are our strengths?
  • What are our weaknesses?
  • What do we do to improve?

A healthy dose of introspection is not the only key to surviving in the business world but thriving.

Strategies your branding

There’s an impressive amount of variety in the ways in which people and businesses market their brands. Even just when taking a few minutes to explore this variety, it becomes quickly apparent that some marketing is organized whilst others take a more ad-hoc approach. Without a documented marketing strategy, it becomes near impossible to manage your branding activities in an organized fashion. The most successful marketing and branding campaigns involve an integrated campaign. Attempting to coordinate multiple channels to deliver branding communications without a strategy is almost certainly going to end up as an expensive waste of time. A strategy is researched and provides clarity around the execution of tactics to achieve the campaign’s ultimate objectives.

Plan the use of your resources

As business owners and employees, we’re all too aware of the limitations to our resources and expenditure. Yes, it would be nice for any small business owner to spend $1,000 a day on sponsored Facebook posts, but it’s just not feasible for most of us. A strategy crucially outlines the budgets for each and every marketing activity. It’s far too often we see small businesses managing their marketing without a strategy overspending on channels that aren’t producing the results they’re after.

A fundamental tenant of strategy is prioritizing and assigning your resources. None of us have unlimited cash reserves; we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. A strategy lays it all out: here’s what I’ve got to work with, here’s where what we want to work on, here’s how much we’re putting into what. In this sense, a strategy is crucial to the organization and administration of your resources. One single document can make every marketing decision and purchase easier for the next year – because you’ve already put the work into making the decision.

Business and marketing are all about planning. Speak to any marketing strategy consultant and they will tell you the same thing. 2020 has proven this to be the case in what can only be called a harsh reality check. As times have gotten tough, many businesses have divested from marketing and other divisions sometimes seen to be less essential. But because times have been tougher, the competition has been heightened. And this has left those companies using a marketing strategy with a clear-cut edge.

Source: Marketing Eye Australia

website development

5 Reasons Why A Website Is Important For A Small Business

  • On : September 11, 2020

A website is an essential component for any operating business, especially for a small business. Now more than ever, it is necessary for business owners to ask key questions such as, “where are my customers found?” “where is my competition engaging with my target audience?”.

The answer is easy, they are all online.

Therefore, it is only natural that you need to adapt. Whether you need it to establish your brand by raising awareness and engagement as an online presence or to create a steady flow of online traffic which could bring potential customers to your brand. Nonetheless, a website is a necessity.

Here are the five reasons why small businesses need a website:

  1. Credibility and legitimacy are interconnected with a website

In contemporary times, where the internet reigns supreme, there is an expectation that all businesses, whether big or small have a website. If at times you’ve come across a business that does not possess a website, the chances are you would most likely not associate with the business.

According to HubSpot, website launch and integration generates, on average, over 470,000 website visitors, 1,800 leads, and 300 new customers per month, for different organizations ranging in different sizes.

Overall, a website allows the capability to develop the brand from an online perspective, establishing legitimacy and appealing to possible customers.

  1. Enhanced accessibility and global outreach

As the online landscape continues to expand, so will the variety of different electronic devices and online channels.

As of 2020, mobile devices and tablets, generated about half of all website traffic globally. As a small business with a readied website, this allows you to reach an assortment of customers and prospects than ever before.

Furthermore, 51% of consumers make use of websites to evaluate and gage online purchases through the employment of mobile devices. “The sky’s the limit” is the best description on why small businesses need to utilize a website.

  1. The attraction of potential customers online

As a small business, you are always trying to appeal to potential customers.

Possibly you have been applying traditional marketing practices such as television & radio advertising and print promotion activities to gather new customers.

Nowadays, they are deemed to be inefficient and expensive for small businesses. Transitioning to an online focus, allows for a small business to find customers in a new way.

For the most part, your customers expect your business to have a digital presence. Individuals, groups and organizations are seeking and researching the value of your brand and more notably from whom to buy online.

If you do not have an online presence, especially through a website, you will be left behind.

  1. Access to data, feedback and response

Collecting data, feedback, and customer responsiveness can be difficult to gain if you do not have a website to direct those data forms which could help improve and enrich your small business.

Furthermore, a website can be considerably supportive, with a built-in online chat bar. This allows the customer to communicate while they are on your website instantly.

Also, a webpage dedicated for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on your website, allows you to receive and answer feedback responses which fosters relationships with customers.

  1. Exhibiting your products and services to the online world

A website is the best way to highlight your products and services online. This offers an opportunity for your small business to show why customers should buy from you.

Look at this process as a narrative; emphasizing on how your small business supports the community, in turn fostering relationships and resolving challenges. The crucial component for a website is to be engaging and personalization.

 

If you are still conflicted in utilizing a website, I hope the reasons presented above can provide a solution to your online presence predicament. But most importantly, the website must represent the brand itself. It must represent the values of your small business.

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