As technology continues to evolve, influencing consumer behaviors along the way, it is essential that businesses not only adapt the ways in which they engage with consumers. This can most certainly be an overwhelming prospect and many business owners may not have the time to devote to understanding it all.
A marketing consultant agency brings not only strategic expertise to ensure a business’ overall success, but can serve to alleviate owners from the time burdens associated with planning, budgeting, and executing a marketing plan.
Cohesive and defined strategy
An all-too-common scenario that plays out is when marketers, without giving their brand’s vision much thought, agree to various advertising opportunities. Week after week, they are called upon by a variety of media reps which results in a sponsorship here, a regional TV-spot during football season there. Then one day, while reviewing their expenses, they are shocked by the amount of money they have spent on miscellaneous advertising.
A lack of a pre-defined vision or set of short- and long-term business goals, will also undoubtedly lead to an inconsistency in branding. When business owners agree to various media obligations, their ad builds are then usually in the hands of multiple design departments within those differing media channels.
The result eventually becomes billboards, radio ads, TV or pre-roll spots, print ads that lack a cohesive marketing message. Even worse, fragmented and inconsistent visuals with no defined objective.
Media gatekeeper
It’s not an insider secret that business owners have a natural aversion to cold-calling sales reps. On a very broad average, owners can experience between 5 and 15 sales rep cold visits, calls, and emails each week.
Rather than business owners taking appointments to meet with media sales reps, the marketing consultant becomes the primary point of contact for any marketing or advertising calls. This benefits the marketer in two ways.
Firstly, business owners are relieved of the time burden meeting with sales reps and can focus their time and energy on the day-to-day operations of their business. Secondly, with a cohesive strategy already in place, a marketing consultant is able to reallocate the existing budget or filter out external marketing opportunities, depending on whether or not they will benefit your brand’s overall marketing strategy.
Effective negotiators
Not only does a marketing consultant act as a gatekeeper between media reps and yourself, the owner, but their experience as seasoned media buyers can result in saving you money.
The benefit of being able to negotiate for the best possible rates on your behalf directly results in less expenditure on the part of business owners, which also frees dollars to be allocated into other budget channels.
Budgeting
Earlier we briefly mentioned the budget shock that occurs when owners tally-up their miscellaneous advertising expenses and are confronted by the unexpected number on the total line. This issue largely stems from not having a solid and deliberate strategy in place, which effectively pre-allocates dollars towards advertising and marketing media ahead of time, not as they occur.
A marketing consulting agency works with you and your business model to determine where dollars need to be, at which time. The details of this budget can often fluctuate throughout the year to account for unforeseen opportunities or circumstances. But instead of non-planned expenses adding up to an end-of-the-year surprise, marketing consultants address these expenses by reconciling and adjusting the remaining budget.
Having a mindful handle on where dollars are being spent is just one benefit of having a marketing budget managed by a consulting professional.
Not recurring salespeople, but a perpetual thinktank
Typically, business owners are approached by various advertising sales representatives, often armed with product pieces featuring enticing exposure opportunities at affordable costs. Much of these sales offers can no doubt benefit marketers in their advertising efforts.
However, a marketing consultant does not meet with their clients initially to present a portfolio of products. The focus of a marketing consultant is to provide personalized solutions that will aid businesses in achieving their short and long-term goals.
This process begins with an in-depth business review, beyond the standard “needs analysis.” A marketing consultant’s aim is to discover a business’s goals and the obstacles hindering them from realizing their full potential.
In the rapid ever-changing technological climate, with ever-newer marketing avenues and mediums, you can not afford to not have a marketing consulting agency on your side, guiding you on executing a brand vision, pre-allocating your dollars ahead of time, and communicating with external media on your behalf. That time to make a call to your local agency is now.
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Building Brands Marketing & Consulting is a full-service marketing consulting firm located in Victoria, TX serving businesses from Victoria to Katy, and the entire Gulf Coast region in between. Our process is designed to empower your brand and outfit your business with the marketing tools needed for you to succeed. We work with you to understand your business objectives and we offer strategies that will achieve your marketing objectives. Talk to us today about how we can support your growth, limit your turnover, and put you on a solid track toward success and profit.
