Apr 08 Why use a marketing firm?

Why do companies hire marketing firms?

There are many reasons.

Some companies hire a marketing firm because they don’t have a marketing department for themselves and need assistance in this area of their business. Some companies don’t need a full-time marketing person and appreciate the depth they get when they employ a marketing firm that has many people and many ideas to share. There’s one phone call to make to get the work from a team.

Some companies have one person in marketing who needs more depth to properly get the job done. In this case, a marketing firm becomes the de facto marketing department for that company working directly for the marketing director. The company’s marketing person also has a group to brainstorm with and share ideas. There’s someone to call to ask, “Have you read the latest Adweek article? What do you think?”

Some companies use marketing firms to supplement the marketing work they cannot do for themselves. “Hey, you’re better at social and digital media. I want to hire you just for that.” Perhaps the company needs assistance in buying media or is just looking for expertise for other ideas.

Companies know that it helps to get an outside opinion of their work.  I belong to a group of advertising agency owners for the simple reason that I sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees either, and I need an outside opinion. And, even if the advice is something I’ve thought of, it helps to reinforce that I’m following a path that others have traveled on. My group is not shy about offering different opinions either.

Why do companies not hire a marketing firm?

One reason is they think they can do it on their own. That’s fine. Some can. But, sometimes it’s like that New Year’s resolution and gets put on the back burner as other hotter firey issues come before it. We all have a limited amount of time to get our jobs done. I look to others who have more expertise than I to help me – like accountants and lawyers.

“Well, I use Facebook, and that’s all I need.” I’m not opposed to Facebook. I would recommend the Facebook-only user to talk to others who have experiences with other media to see how it works for them. I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. Are all my customers on Facebook? Are all my customers reading the Daily Journal? Who might I be leaving out? What does the research show? What do my existing customers say.

Another reason is expense. Anecdotally I always hear that the first cut on the budget is the marketing line. I know one business owner who believed in adding to the marketing line of his budget when the economy slowed so that he could gain market share so that as the economy was to grow the business was to grow in the new market share proportion. Of course, as a marketer, I’m going to ask if someone can truly run their business without marketing it in some way.  The buying public has to know the company exists before it can make a decision to use the company.

To use marketing or not to use marketing. There’s no choice really. Marketing is as integral part of any business as operations, human resources and accounting is.

I know that when I find myself saying that “I just don’t have the time,” that’s the point I need to reach out for help.