While it can be tempting to answer in the affirmative, the picture from old western movies of the snake oil salesman comes to mind. He would offer a cure-all elixir, but be far away down the trail before those gullible buyers appreciated they had a bottle of flavored water! Claims such as: 'We can double your results' or 'increase ROI by XX%' should see business owners heading for the hills! When necessary changes are being made, it's best to beware of those who guarantee instant success.
How Should A Trusted Marketing Partner Work With You?
Rather than making future claims, you should expect them to start with an in-depth analysis of your current situation. This should utilize a detailed marketing audit of your website, together with the activities of your key, identified competitors. After gathering this key data, and during a detailed discussion with you or your team, a strategy can then take shape - one which is uniquely designed to improve your results. This will be bound into the detailed knowledge of your current customer base, their spending power, and future areas for expansion.
As this process is rolled out and then progresses, adjustments will be made as effectiveness is monitored, reported and discussed.
A Trusted Partner Will Manage Your Expectations
Marketing is an effective long-term investment; it's therefore expected that results will improve gradually over that time, rather than instantly head through the roof. A simple example of a reason for this is Google takes a while to crawl new content. It's also true that it takes time to create and fine-tune high performing Pay Per Click advertising.
Taking Stock
If, after a few months, the results are not matching your expectations, it's time to have a frank debrief with your account manager. Analyzing the reasons and identifying the causes allows a strategy to be amended. Too often, the towel is thrown in, and a lot of good work is simply thrown away. As you'll appreciate, customers are fickle creatures; it often takes a period of time to fully connect with their expectations.
A professional marketing agency will be adding value to your brand. This is achieved by effectively blending their skills and hard-earned experience with your strong product and marketplace knowledge. Measuring how this work develops from your starting point creates a reference for its success.
Final Thought
Former Forbes Business Book of the Year author Seth Godin once said: 'The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing'. The former can be amended, but inaction is surely a much more serious offence in today's fluid marketplace. As you drive your business forward, a marketing audit, as discussed earlier, should prove an effective starting point. JDR Group can offer a free marketing audit and move forwards to suggest how you can improve your results.
