Do these questions sound familiar?
“Our 14 year-old runs the Facebook business page. I don’t need to hire someone to do that for me.”
“My daughter is studying to be a graphic designer, she can make my logo and business cards.”
“I typically log into Canva.com and use whatever free template there is.”
“Sometimes, I Google image search and use something I found on the internet.”
I fully support bringing your family into the business, if it makes sense and they are skilled in specific areas. However, just because a family member CAN run a Facebook ad, doesn’t mean they SHOULD. I know how to sew, but I’m not going to start making my own clothes.
Let’s dive deeper with a few questions.
- Does Junior know your audience – how they think, their buying patterns, what content makes your customer buy or engage?
- Does Susie know about offset printing, vector art, royalty free images and how to properly use layout programs?
- When you log into Canva.com, and choose a template for your business, how are you differentiating your business from the competition?
- Do you know that you could get sued if you use an image you sourced from Google on your own website as if it’s your own property?
Yes, it can happen.
Having the wrong person help you with your marketing can sometimes do more damage than it does help. When you are marketing your business, it’s ideal that all of your assets look related. Same logo, consistent color palette, font style, imagery and messaging all help position your brand in the marketplace. If your daughter helps design your business cards, your buddy Jim helps design your website, the TV station develops your TV commercial, and the billboard company designs your advertisement, it’s harder to maintain a level of consistency. It’s even more difficult to get a customer to trust you, because of mixed messaging and brand confusion.
We understand.
As small business owners ourselves, we understand the importance of staying lean. Why put the money towards something, if you know someone who is willing to help you out. Let’s look at it this way: You are the expert in your industry and that’s why customers love coming to you – you solve a problem for them or address a pain point. Marketing is no different. As creatives and marketing professionals, we create and implement strategies using well designed marketing materials to best position you to your customer. We want to help you strengthen relationships and build new ones because of the positive experience your business provides to them. You’re busy running your own business, delegate the work to those skilled in the marketing area to best serve you.
Good marketing doesn’t always equal high cost.
With a solid marketing plan and well designed materials, developed correctly the first time, you don’t have the cost of reprinting, redesigning, rebuilding websites and retargeting ad campaigns which can save you money in the long run. It’s important to talk openly and fully trust the marketer you’ve selected. Your marketing partner should dive into understanding your business, your team and your customer in order to create/implement that reinforce your brand message. Do your research, ask the questions, and be open about what you’re willing to spend. Your marketing partner should develop a plan of attack and guide you as to what you can accomplish with your communicated budget, working with you to develop multiple phases if need be.
Read the blog “How to Select an Agency” for other helpful tips on choosing the right marketing partner.
Keep it simple.
As mentioned above, it’s best to align yourself with a marketing professional or agency that can handle all the pieces you need developed – both in print and in digital form. A professional will be able to analyze and digest your overall goal and make recommendations to help your business move forward. It’s best to bring your ideas to the table, but trust is key. Your marketing partner and design team will interpret your needs and provide creative direction. They will also be able to create and implement strategies with measurable results to provide you with information on how to continually move forward in the future. Let them do their job, while you focus on being excellent at what you do. Partner with your marketing team to develop the materials you need to best relate to and engage your customer. Remember, your customer is why you decided to go into business in the first place.
Do you have marketing needs you’d like to discuss? We’d love to hear from you, enjoy a cup of coffee and learn more about your business. Contact us today!
