Part of a series of blog posts that takes a closer look at defining your strategy.
Entrepreneur: AKA jack-of-all-trades, AKA wearer-of-a-thousand-hats, AKA superstar.
If you are in start up mode, you are working all hours, planning, doing, begging for money, hiring, setting up, selling. If you are a business in progress, you are probably still doing all of those things.
Busy business owners have a long list of critical priorities that trump marketing to-dos. But,taking care of the every day stuff means you aren’t focused on building a pipeline, or finding new sales channels, or bringing new customers to your door.
How do you know when to pull the trigger on outsourcing your marketing? Here are 5 signs that it’s time to get help, which could mean hiring an employee or a marketing firm:
1. You budgeted for advertising but have not had the time to identify ad opportunities, nevermind design an ad or draft messaging.
2. Your friends and business associates tell you (a week later) that you should have been at THE BEST EVENT EVER where all of your target customers could have seen you.
3. You open up your local magazine or newspaper to see a feature story that quotes all of your competitors, but not you.
4. You see tremendous buzz on social media about the hottest new start-up in your space, as if your business didn’t exist.
5. You are out and about, telling you story and seeking supporters, without printed collateral, or without a strong website to send people to in order to learn more.
If any of these statements ring true, then it’s time you get help. You are losing opportunities which means you are losing money. Investing in marketing help will help you recoup that lost income. We tell potential clients that marketing should drive the bottom line, not drain it.
Not sure how to move forward with getting help? Give us a call to learn about our customized solutions. And sign up for our newsletter to get tips and tricks in your inbox monthly-ish.
This post is part of a series called What’s Your Strategy? and includes The Catch-22 of Budgeting for Effective Marketing.
