If you agree, but don't have the time or expertise to pull it off on your own, you might consider hiring a marketing consultant or ad agency to help you. But how do you tell who the experts are?
Ask these 5 questions knowing what answers to look for.
Q1 ? ?What System Do They Use To Create The Messaging For Your Ad??
To entice you, ad agencies will showcase eye-catching marketing pieces they've done for other clients. Whether it's print, radio, video or web design - for them, their end result is artistic design. These pieces may catch the eye but if the underlying strategy is wrong, they flop. Graphics must support the message ? not the other way around. The real result is the number of leads generated, percentage converted to sales, and dollars that flow into your business. Don't be fooled by glitz and glitter ? marketing is science, not art. Ask what method they use to develop the message. If the answer is, ?We ask the business owner?, walk away. That's not a system.
Q2 - ?Do They Know The Top-Ranked Customer Hot-Buttons For Your Business??
Most ad agencies don't understand what's important to your customers. If they don't know what drives prospects in your industry to buy from one provider instead of another, you can only expect dismal results.
Although too detailed for this article you can find your customer hot-buttons by going to our web site, click on ?Industries Served? and then select your industry. They're in priority sequence along with the marketing challenges you're likely to face. Compare these answers with the marketing consultant you're evaluating, then decide.
Q3 - ?How Do They Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Ads??
This is especially important if you're running ads through different media. A great ad in the wrong place will produce dismal results. Suppose you're running the same ad in 4 magazines and getting good call volume, you'll probably continue running them, right? What if you learn that 80% of the calls are coming from one magazine? You'll probably cancel the others and use the money for something else, right?
If you can't measure it, you won't know what works and what doesn't. The only way to know is to have an ?accountability tag? in each ad.
PS ? Don't let any marketing consultant fool you into believing that your receptionist will ask prospects which ad prompted them to call? When they're busy they have no time to ask.
Q4 - ?Do You Have A Program That Fits My Budget??
Cost is always a factor. You'll find that some ad agencies won't return your call unless you are prepared to spend $15K to $20K for a monthly retainer. Look for ad agencies that have programs for small and mid-sized companies. In fact, depending on your management style, you might want to hire a marketing consultant that gives you the choice of a turnkey solution or a "shared effort" teaching and coaching program that encourages hands-on involvement on your part. It just depends on your business philosophy and budget.
Q5 - ?How Long Before I See Results??
Excellent results can't be produced overnight, but seriously, should you have to wait 6 to 18 months just for the development phase of your marketing campaign? A typical ad agency can take this long or more. For small companies, this is too long a time period and it could actually be your death sentence. Expect some results within 60 days.
Summary
There is too much at stake to attempt ?trial and error marketing? on your own. In this digital age you are better off working remotely with a marketing consultant who can pull it off than a local one that may not produce results.
Find an ad agency that can deliver the right marketing strategy the first time using a systematized development process. Be sure they use ?accountability tags? so you'll see exactly how effective (or ineffective) it is. If your budget is tight see if they have a program that allows you and your people to share some of the workload.
? FloodGate Marketing Inc. 2007
A study conducted some years ago found that more than two out of three multinational advertisers wanted more fully integrated capabilities (including interactive) from their agencies; the multinationals felt great advertising was important but it was not enough. They therefore wished their agencies would join them at every stage, understand their business and help them understand it better. They actually concluded that if an ad agency came back to them with only a media plan and print and television advertising, then they did not get the message (Bob Schmetterer 2000).
Internet Protocol technology provides instant differentiation and also offers the prospect of lasting competitive advantage provided the Web’s potential is fully utilized. Branding should actually be difficult without differentiation. Achieving differentiation in turn requires an understanding of New Media, described as any digital, interactive or on-line communications platform, ranging from the Internet and interactive kiosks and CD-ROMs, to digital TV and radio, and emerging multimedia wireless devices (Will Collin 2000).
In the near future our traditional understanding of demographics and target groups will be inadequate in the new economy of choice, prosperity and geographic independence; this is because the online world allows new levels of data capture and behavioural tracking (C. Ingram and R. Norman 2000). Our ad agencies should be able to coordinate and execute creatively in any channel of communication. It is therefore necessary that there is true convergence at the strategic planning level of product planning and design, mass and interactive advertising, direct marketing, sales promotions, packaging, point of purchase display, public relations, etc. (A. Rosenshine 2000). The onus lies on agencies to bring these capabilities to their clients as a unique strategy toward maximizing the effectiveness of a given marketing budget.
There are three individuals who cannot stop amazing me: Don Tapscott of Alliance for Converging Technologies (ACT), a gentleman described by Al Gore, U.S’ former VP, as one of the World’s leading cyber-gurus; David Ticoll and Alex Lowly both of the same company. They condemn advertising, promotion, publicity, public relations and most other aspects of corporate communications for being archaic. They observe that these concepts exploited unidirectional, one-to-many, and one-size-fits-all media to communicate messages to “faceless, powerless customers."
The brand will not continue to be an image established through print and broadcast media; it will function as a measure of relationship capital as customers gain new power. Someday media will converge whether we like the idea or not and anybody can own media. Our ad agencies should be smart enough to change their approach to supporting their clients’ brands in the digital world.
According to Jan Soderstrom of 3 Com Corp, “rightly or wrongly, the advertising community has historically been given more credit for following trends than for setting them." This perfectly summarizes the Nigerian industry, where agencies would rather help clients reflect their customer’s views than try to alter them. Because clients are not getting enough strategic advice, they are beginning to turn to management consultants so as to fill the void; it is high time agencies challenged their way of doing business. It is a positive development that Nigeria is now appreciating the importance of the Internet in its bid to maintain a highly competitive business culture vis-à-vis globalization and changes in consumer behaviour. Today several African businesses can market to global consumers through reputable E-commerce portals; our ad agencies should plug in!
I like our banking sector because it is highly proactive as far as technology is concerned, e.g. most of them already have a Net presence while an encouraging number does online banking. The automated clearing system which greatly increases the number of cheques cleared within a transacting day is transforming the face of banking in my country already.
Noah Samara, an information revolutionary of Ethiopian descent based in the U.S. had digitized scores of audio channels and winged them via satellites to the data-starved masses of Africa thereby providing a comprehensive range of programming to several continents. For advertisers the mix of a vast audience and variety of programming has endless opportunities. The concept of the traditional, full-service agency is now eroded as agencies must wake up to the relationship age. Like computer power, human intelligence is now shifting outward on the Net.
Our ad agencies need not advise their clients to continue to budget resources for controlling message content, flow, and timing because influencing customer tastes and behaviour will depend on developing relationship capital.
Both Michael C. Manzoni & Yusuf Danesi are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Michael C. Manzoni has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing. Written by Michael C. Manzoni, Executive Partner with the Toronto area marketing agency FloodGate Marketing Inc. They can be found at