Fact: The marketing sector is huge.
I don’t just mean huge due to the amount of companies and organisations out there to choose from, but also huge due to the actual initiatives that fall under the heading of marketing. For example, networking, social media, design, websites, SEO, PR, advertising, print, exhibitions, webinars are all forms of marketing so where does the average organisation start when it comes to its marketing and how does it find the right company to help?
The answer of what you need is not easy and certainly isn’t set in stone as each organisation is different and may well be at different stages of its life-cycle, but there are certain key elements that you should have in order to present (market) yourself to your prospects. Namely, an identity, a website, business stationery and some sort of mini brochure. These elements lay the foundations for your marketing and should be what you invest in first. I say invest as that is what it should be, an investment. You’re investing in your business and its future.
In terms of the company, well there are loads out there and even platforms where you can design a logo, website etc yourself online. But……before you start, put yourself in the position of a prospect. In order for them to start to think about doing business with you, what impression would they need to have? Do you want a piece of clip art for your logo, a free website template and some sub standard business cards done online on the cheap??! I think not.
Marketing platforms have become incredibly accessible these days, but that doesn’t mean that doing your own website is going to be the right thing to do. You can apply this to any other professional service. Would you write your own Will or cut your own hair or do your own accounts or build your own house or would you seek professional help? I know what I would do!
Similarly, just because you can set up a Linkedin page or a Twitter or Facebook account it doesn’t mean you should. Always ask yourself, “why” am I doing this? These types of platforms are all different and all have different audiences so don’t just link them so that one Tweet goes out across everything. Put time and effort into how you use them and make sure that the content you post is relevant. Linkedin is for businesses. Twitter is social networking and Facebook is more of a B2C platform.
I would not advise investing large amounts of money on just your logo and brand. There are companies who will design you a logo for not a lot of money and others that will charge a fortune so be careful. When Bath Marketing Consultancy sees new companies, we advise them to try and source a single company who can look after everything for them if required; be a sort of custodian for the company. The logistics of sourcing and working with multiple companies to deliver each marketing element can become impossible.
Similarly, if you appoint 1 company to design and build a website, 1 to design a logo etc then that is all you will get; a single deliverable so there are unlikely to be any economies of scale!
As usual, BMC is here if you need any help!
