The 6 Things to Consider in Selecting the Right Agency for your Business
Recently, a friend was sharing his disillusion regarding the slow growth of his business, despite the
advertising he did, he was not getting any NEW
business, just the regular repeat & referral small
project. Since he believed his business was worthwhile and he did not want to close it, he was doing
some research about why his business was not
growing and why he was not better known in the
area.
It is very difficult for small business owners to work IN
their business and also ON their business simultaneously. On the one hand, they need to make money
and on the other hand they need to market their
business.
One of the best decisions a business owner can
make is working with an agency that can assist
them with various aspects of their business: Corporate image (designing a captivating logo and
name), printing relevant items/stationery, having a
web presence including Social Media and having a
Marketing plan in order to turn prospects into clients
and ultimately money!
Many small businesses already have certain of the
above in place however due to lack of planning for
marketing and advertising they tend to use various
suppliers to do some of the other work, which is
where the brand could lose its integrity.
So what 6 things should a small business owner look
for in an agency which can
help them grow their business?
1. Budget: You, as the business owner, need to
consider the budget you have for marketing.
An agency that deals with SME’s, will be aware of
the constraints of budgets of small
businesses and be able to assist with excellent
quality at affordable prices.
2. Brand consistency: it is vitally important to ensure
you have a consistent brand
ie: your company name, logo, tag/buy line should
ALWAYS be the same on ALL
elements which markets your business.
3. Website: Having a website informs your potential
clients, online about your business
and is an anchor in the virtual world. Your website
could offer information about your
products and services, blogs about your business,
special offers and needs to be designed with a
number of clever ideas specifically for your business.
4. Social Media, which forms part of the virtual world
for marketing also needs to be
applicable for your business and remain consistent
with all other aspects of the brand. The agency
would be able to guide you with this and assist you
with setting it up initially, run with it for a pre determined time and hand over to you when you feel
comfortable to carry on alone.
5. Design and print: There will be times, when design
and printing will become necessary, and the
agency, (which will have your designs on record),
will be able to assist with any further designs, edits to
current material and be in a position to have these
printed as well. As your business grows, it may
require more exciting ways of marketing, which can
be suggested and created by the agency.
6. Marketing plans: With an effective Marketing
Plan, which the agency can assist you develop,
your marketing is planned for the year including the
budgets required,
and is carefully planned and rolled out, so that it
alleviates ‘knee jerk reaction
marketing’ when sales decline.
In short, the type of agency you need to consider
offers you, the business owner and holistic,
fully rounded solution to getting your business to
grow and develop!