Aimee Woodall
This one goes out to the business owners of the world. Yes, you! You might be thinking that it’s time to take your marketing and PR out of the house to (gasp!) hire an agency.
Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be scary.
But forking over money to pay for something that will help you get more money is scary. It’s an investment, and investments are often unpredictable. In many ways, the risks you face as a personal investor are the same as those you face as a business owner, but in many ways they’re not.
Allow me to elaborate.
As an individual, you can typically spend, save or invest your money. Since businesses have to spend, I’ll take that out of the equation. In this scenario, saving means that you’ll put money aside without interest (and without risk of loss) and investing means that you have the potential to gain interest (but also to lose).
When thinking about hiring a PR firm, the options are not so diametric. You can “invest” by hiring a firm, choosing the firm that you believe will result in the greatest dividends, or you can “save” by keeping things in-house. But whereas saving money in your mattress (as an individual) has no real negative result (unless your house burns down), “saving” on PR can mean extra work for you and your staff. Your “savings” is strictly monetary.
But that’s not all. While there is risk in hiring an outsider to handle your marketing, there’s an even greater risk in doing it yourself. You may think that you have some good ideas (and you probably do!), that you know how to write and send emails and that you’ve seen a few episodes of “Mad Men.” Unfortunately, this does not qualify you as a professional. While many of the principles of marketing are innate (not to mention fun), you’re an expert in your own business, and there’s no way you can expect to keep up with all of the changes in this industry while maintaining focus on your own.
So now you’re thinking this: “Maybe I can just hire someone to help a little. I’ll find the cheapest option and go with that.” This could be your biggest mistake yet. To effectively and professionally market a company it takes a number of resources (databases, monitoring software, several employees, etc.), and if those expenses are not apparent in your invoice’s bottom line, your business could not only be missing out – it could suffer. I’m not saying that the most expensive firm is automatically the best. As with anything, a fancy name rarely translates to value. But a certain amount of time and complexity should go into your company’s marketing, and cutting corners could be disastrous.
So as you ponder letting some outside agency come into your business’ life, ask yourself what that agency has to offer. Here’s a checklist of items to consider. Keep in mind, there aren’t really right or wrong answers, just opportunities for thought.
- Does the agency quantify their results?
- How will activities and results be reported?
- Do they know about or have experience in your industry?
- Do they have resources that you don’t have?
- Are they well connected in your community?
- Do they have relationships with vendors?
- Do they have relationships with media?
- Will you be working with the same person who sold the account?
- Have you seen past work?
- Does the dollars/hour ratio in their proposal make sense?
There are a lot of good agencies out there, but there are also a lot of people trying to capitalize on a service industry. Beware predatory marketing firms. Steer clear of any agency that doesn’t seem to have you and your business’ best interests in mind. Consider your budget and find the best agency your money can buy. Leave the marketing to the experts and get back to doing what you do best – running your business!
Aimee Woodall/Black Sheep Agency
Contact her 832.971.7725 or email at aimee@theblacksheepagency.com
Theblacksheepagency.com
