Start-ups, small businesses, and mid-sized companies all have one major marketing issue in common: scalability. While you want the best and the brightest working on your marketing campaigns, contracts with big advertising agencies in Massachusetts can be expensive, as can having your own in-house marketing team, and neither arrangement allows for the natural ebb and flow of your marketing activities: busier one month, slower the next. Then again, simply hiring a Boston website design firm or freelancer isn’t going to provide for your traditional and Internet marketing needs.
The solution, for many of today’s forward-thinking young companies, is working with an outsourced marketing company, sometimes called an on-demand marketing department. These alternatives to traditional “ivory tower” advertising agencies, in Massachusetts and elsewhere, are a viable option that enables smaller and younger companies to access talent they would otherwise be unable to afford, were they paying for it full time.
While providing for scalability and offering otherwise unavailable talent, these on-demand firms offer everything business owners expect from a full-service ad agency in Boston: website design, Internet marketing expertise, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) activities, market and competition analyses, campaign development and execution, graphic design, content development, and more. However, finding the right outsourced marketing department in Boston can be tricky, and a poor decision can cost you time and money.
To find the right marketing team for your company, you’ll need to meet with your prospective providers and get to know them. Ask about their longevity as a firm, turnover within the organization, and the experience and qualifications of the owners, partners, and those who will actually be working on your account. Ask about contractual agreements, retainers, and scalability, as some companies are more flexible than others. If the company charges a monthly retainer, ask what you can expect to see from them monthly if you’re between big campaigns. Ask for an idea of what your expenditures will be on a busy month as opposed to a slow one.
Once you’ve narrowed your search down, let your top two or three choices get to know your company a bit. Give them a feel for your corporate persona and culture, your approach and core beliefs. Show them how you do business and who you are as a company, and then let them pitch their general ideas. At this point, you’ll most likely have a good idea of which company you want to work with. Ultimately, there’s a judgment call to be made. Most of the time, all other things being equal, you just have to trust your research and your gut and go with the firm you think is best.