big & small marketing ideas

Qualities your Outsourced Marketing Firm Should Have

Does your company need to devote more time and resources to marketing itself, without hiring permanent employees or committing to a set marketing budget? If so, an outsourced marketing partner could be your answer.

But beware – not all such providers are equal. Some throw around the “outsourced” term, since it’s trendy and implies efficient use of marketing resources. But many don’t really walk the walk, charging Madison Ave rates, not giving enough value to match hefty retainers, and basically getting fat off their clients while NOT obsessing over ways to get their CLIENTS more customers and profit. Before you choose an outsourced marketing partner (and really, even after you choose one), pay attention to how your they work for you.

Here are several things an outsourced marketing company should be, and do. If they don’t, start looking elsewhere.

Live and breathe their client’s business and almost always consider how they can get them more customers.

They think about new effective ideas to grow their client’s business and just as importantly, execution of those ideas – even the best idea is nothing if it isn’t implemented correctly.

1) Try hard to beat timelines and over-deliver on all projects and commitments.

2) Do what it takes to provide creative, results-oriented marketing solutions that help their customers achieve and exceed their business goals.

3) Be committed to total customer satisfaction. If the client isn’t satisfied, they don’t shy away from finding out the problem, then they act to improve (and communicate those improvements), instead of diluting it with more promises of FUTURE satisfaction.

4) Ask good questions and listen to what the client’s answer, then act and adjust based on the client’s needs.

5) When they’re unsure of something, they ask questions about it, whether it’s assumed to be known or not. It’s better to confirm simple things than to go down a wrong path that could’ve easily been avoided.

6) Return calls and emails incredibly fast. Clients rarely have to follow up, since they know what their marketing partner is doing, and how it’s going.

7) They give away ideas.

8) They don’t just think about the project they’re doing. They think about it in the context of the client’s entire business, always considering the reasons the client is asking to create something, then planning accordingly.

9) They work with or without a budget, and they do the most with any level of budget, big or small. They treat their client’s dollars as they do their own, with bare minimums of waste.

10) They don’t assume that just because something worked in the past, it’s automatically effective now. They stay on the forefront of their industry’s expertise.

11) Things like social media don’t surprise or scare them.

12) Treat their clients as they wanted to be treated when they were clients.

13) Communicate frequently and succinctly so there are no surprises or misunderstandings regarding the work product, delivery dates or project costs.

14) They create shared agendas and task lists. To them, clients are not “them” but “us”.

15) They let the client take credit for great ideas while playing the scapegoat if things go wrong – that’s part of any marketing agency’s role, and it’s rewarded with client loyalty.

 

If you’re outsourced marketing vendor is living all this, stick with them. If not, time to start looking for a company that does.

 

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