Many small business owners realize they have to market their businesses to gain new customers. However, most small business owners will start spending money towards their marketing efforts before they answer the biggest question of all.
“How much is a new customer worth? How much revenue am I willing to spend to gain a new customer?”
Setting goals/expectations should be an important part to your business plan. Once you set your expectations, do not be afraid to convey this to your marketing consultant. Marketing is a lot like gambling on your business; until you find out exactly what works for you and what does not. Most media reps are afraid to admit that this process requires trial and error. Some forms of marketing may work extremely well for one business and not work at all for another. A business is like a person, each has its own set of individual needs. It is very important that you let your marketing reps or consultants in on your business challenges, goals, and budgets.
It is not easy to convince business owners to reveal their marketing budgets to a marketing consultant! Do you know how many reps contact a business on average per month? For many businesses, that figure can be as high as 38 representatives! Business owners often think marketing reps need this information to drive cost up! I know from personal experience, it can be uncomfortable for the advertising customer to provide a budget to their representative. However; for you to get the most out of your experience when buying media, this information is paramount.
There are so many marketing solutions (tactics) offered; the best way to help your rep to prepare a proposal is to:
- Communicate your Business Model (Price, Promotion, Product), Goals and Challenges.
- Work together to choose solutions that fit within the budget YOU give them.
- Choose the Correct Target Audience & Location ->Paint a Picture of YOUR perfect customer.
- Discuss the Proposal, Communicate what you like and what you do not like.
Communication is key to having a great media rep. All media reps have goals but those that work for large corporations have huge increasing goals to meet every month and are faced with increasing their digital sales to make up for the decline in traditional media. While most smaller digital agency reps do not have this stress and their goals are more focused to retain the business month after month. Ultimately, every media reps main goal should be to deliver results for the customer in order to retain that business. The only way to win is for the customer to be satisfied by seeing the results they want. There are still media consultants today who may be better labeled as “transactional sellers”. In our humble opinion, this group is often not the best to aide you in achieving your desired goals.
CONTACT US TODAY –> Crystal@AD-IOS.com or
CALL CRYSTAL 859.621.0470
If your representative asks you these important questions about your business and follows up with you each month or at the end of a campaign to go over your results then you should feel safe opening up to them.
Ask yourself these questions about your consultant:
- Do they know your target audience?
- Do they know your current sales promotions and understand your seasons?
- Do they understand your unique sales proposition?
- Are they following you on social media to keep up with your business?
- Do they talk about your other marketing efforts and listen attentively?
- Do they offer research about your business?
- Have they ever asked you how you will measure the effectiveness of your campaign?
- Do they understand the value of a new customer to your business?
At AD-IOS, we strive to match our clients to consultants they can trust and depend on. AD-IOS understands that most business owners wear multiple hats. We are here to help business owners find creative solutions that in the end will reach their goals. Our consultants goals are to retain business to ensure that our customers get the best service possible.
Please LIKE, FOLLOW and VISIT us for more information!
