Outsourced Marketing
Hello Everyone!
I have been doing some market research lately about how to help small to medium sized businesses. I own a small Advertising and Marketing agency and I opened it to work with the smaller businesses, but the industry has a bad wrap on price. I really don`t want the multi-million dollar accounts. I just want a small, modest shop that helps the small- to medium-sized businesses have a voice in the industry through professional marketing help.
Some of the conclusions I have come to during my research is that marketing is typically done four ways in the small business realm:
1) The owner performs the marketing which results in wasted time and lack of results through effectiveness.
2) The business hires a marketing employee which produces a narrowed focus and the same non-effective marketing campaigns.
3) They outsource different aspects of their marketing to many different companies which produces a confused message.
4) They just forget about marketing and wait for the business to come in.
With this information I have started a program that works as an "outsourced marketing department" for these small businesses at a rate between a part-time salary and full-time salary.
I guess my question for you all is, is this program of value to the many small business owners out there? Please elaborate. For more information about the program go to www.FullSourceMarketing.com</A>. I really appreciate all your feedback.MiserAd2007-5-10 18:19:18
I have been doing some market research lately about how to help small to medium sized businesses. I own a small Advertising and Marketing agency and I opened it to work with the smaller businesses, but the industry has a bad wrap on price. I really don`t want the multi-million dollar accounts. I just want a small, modest shop that helps the small- to medium-sized businesses have a voice in the industry through professional marketing help.
Some of the conclusions I have come to during my research is that marketing is typically done four ways in the small business realm:
1) The owner performs the marketing which results in wasted time and lack of results through effectiveness.
2) The business hires a marketing employee which produces a narrowed focus and the same non-effective marketing campaigns.
3) They outsource different aspects of their marketing to many different companies which produces a confused message.
4) They just forget about marketing and wait for the business to come in.
With this information I have started a program that works as an "outsourced marketing department" for these small businesses at a rate between a part-time salary and full-time salary.
I guess my question for you all is, is this program of value to the many small business owners out there? Please elaborate. For more information about the program go to www.FullSourceMarketing.com</A>. I really appreciate all your feedback.MiserAd2007-5-10 18:19:18
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Comments
I have not seen 1 positive response from you on any topics. Are you a negative individual naturally?
The words, "Weekly Insight" is very clear on my flat screen. There is a difference between constructive feedback and being too direct.
I am not an expert on copy or websites but was taught to be helpful, not negative.
Pam Akkerman
My comments: The site seems a bit amateurish, especially the copywriting. Using "Welcome" is a classic beginner mistake. Get rid of the "Welcome" and replace it with a great headline. Your current headline is decent but lacks hook or sparkle:
"Full Source Marketing is your Marketing Department Solution!" This phrase is a bit boring and while communicative and somewhat clear, it just doesn`t make me want to know more about your products and services. I don`t really feel that a 4 second or 10 second glance at the front page gives me much clarity about what you offer.
You do have a lot of copy in those three paragraphs. Shorten this to bullet points or small paragraph headings and very short paragraphs.
Overall, I like the attempt at simplicity. It`s pretty clean design and doesn`t overwhelm. The use of Iframes in the pages is strange. Why not have this content on the page itself?
One issue that may or may not be important is the Fee Schedule. Attempting to explain the finance part of it in very literal terms won`t lead to more customers. I guess that explaining how to save $15,000 a year by spending $36,000 doesn`t really make sense to me ... and I am a finance junkie. By using this approach you are selling numbers. This won`t work with most people. It would work very well with me but I enjoy numbers and most people don`t.
You might want to polish the site a bit more and really give it a huge injection of clarity and some extra heat.
Your blog contains good information by the way. I learned a few good tips!!!
Small business owners don`t pay much attention to marketing because of all the reasons you list ... but there are other reasons. Sometimes it`s hard to remember that most people have no interest whatsoever in marketing.
1. Why does a small business owner ignore marketing?
2. Is marketing a revenue booster or does it dilute risk?
3. Marketing in house -vs- outsourcing.
I am interested in your grasp of these numbers. If a business spends $36,000 to hire you, how long does it take them to recoup that investment and what is the rate of return? In the specific numbers, you have some mathematically interesting proposals: Spend $36k to save $15k. This doesn`t make sense. Also, since the number 36 is more than double 15, you will be hard pressed to justify this as cost savings. Instead, the message "spend $15k to save $36k" is much more appealing.
Your model also has a few specific thorns. You are offering a strategic product, like McKinsey and Co. This is often the most difficult type of product to sell to anyone. Small businesses are most often looking for products that solve immediate and clearly indentifiable issues. Marketing is a vague concept. most people don`t know what it means. Your model might be better if you offer to solve very specific problems. Ask small business owners about their number one concern and it`s not marketing; it`s cash. Your site talks about the cost in cash of outsourcing a marketing department. Yet the cash requirement for a small business to outsource is quite large: $3000 per month or $98 per day for an entire year. This is a tricky area: do your services bring in more than $98 per day in extra revenue?
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