Frequently Asked Questions
Are you a major league start-up keen to raise awareness? Is rapid business growth high on your agenda? Or are you an established player in your field wanting to take things to the next level? You’ll know that business success can’t be ‘magicked’ out of thin air. It takes focus, drive and determination.
You’ll probably have a few questions on what it’s like working with a marketing consultancy. Hopefully, we’ve answered them all below, but if not, please get in touch today for a chat.
I am so busy working in my business, so how can I effectively market and grow the company?
Many successful entrepreneurs and MDs work flat out to grow their business. You’re continually pulled in several different directions, trying to work effectively across all areas of the company.
Whist we appreciate that budget can be limited in the growing phase of your business, successful marketing makes a real difference to your growth. Up front investment in compiling the right strategy can make all the difference. Harmanie Marketing takes away the headache of doing it yourself. Whatever your budget or requirements, we can simply compile the strategy or do more. We can manage the day to day to work closely with you to feel like we are an extended part of your business, recommend the best course of action and provide solutions.
We’ve tried several marketing tactics and we’re still not getting the desired results. Why not?
In many cases, businesses implement standalone marketing tactics without creating an integrated campaign which supports business objectives. Singular tactics are rolled out, tried and tested one after the other with (understandably) limited results. It can be a one-way road to failure.
The most effective digital marketing strategies combine an integrated approach using a variety of inbound and outbound methods to reach your target audience. The challenge for you is to be sure that you know which combination of tactics will work best for your brand. With our knowledge of developing and rolling out results-focused marketing strategies, we can work with you to meet that challenge head-on.
Our marketing department needs support. Can you help?
When you’re working day-to-day in a business, it is often hard to stand back and see what you’re missing or what needs to be done differently. Sometimes, you’re too close to the detail and risk getting caught up in company politics. Marketing teams are bogged down managing social media platforms, updating websites, writing copy for content and campaigns and arranging meetings with third party suppliers.
It’s a common problem for growing companies as all marketing teams need to be accountable to the management team and the board while delivering results and staying on top of budget control. Does this sound like your marketing team? We can help you take a step back, review your strategy and adopt a more holistic approach.
We think we need help with audience research and insights. Is this something you offer?
It’s one thing knowing broadly who your customers are. But how much research have you carried out on your audience, industry and competitors?
Research uncovers aspects of customer behaviour that you might not have previously considered. What are their online preferences? What are their business challenges? Understanding information like this can uncover the point of difference for your brand.
At Harmanie Marketing, we work with our clients to devise and conduct primary and secondary market research to uncover key insights. In-depth target audience personas can then be created and prioritised by strategic importance for your company and will form the basis to build your marketing strategy.
Our current marketing suppliers are not giving us value for money. What makes you different?
Some marketing agencies and suppliers promise the world, charge the earth and do not deliver the results. There are other agencies that offer a single set of services, for example, some offer just social media services, some just branding, some just website design, some just SEO specialists. The list is endless. While this is fine for companies that know where they need to focus their efforts, what about companies who don’t have a clear strategic vision? And even if you do, do you have the time to manage all your suppliers? From years of experience, we’ve built up a network of tried and tested third party suppliers and can manage the whole process for you or working by your side.
Our sales team and our marketing team aren’t working closely enough. How do we change this?
Sales teams connect with your target customers every day. So, it goes without saying that they can provide valuable feedback to marketing teams, offering insights into the needs and wants of your audience. They can provide both positive and negative feedback and highlight areas of the business that need improvement.
Are your sales teams getting enough leads? Is your sales team achieving a good conversion rate? Do they attend regular meetings with marketing colleagues to discuss business objectives? If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, we can help uncover the reasons why and help put some processes in place. Making sure both your sales and marketing teams are aligned and working together to achieve the same objectives provides unity and insight, which aids the successful growth of the company.
Our marketing plan hasn’t been updated or reviewed in months. Is this a problem?
As your marketing plan is being implemented, it is important to regularly review and monitor results against your agreed objectives. Do you have KPIs (key performance indicators) in place? Do you monitor the success of each tactic to understand the effect it has on sales and the marketing plan as a whole? Continual analysis will ensure that all areas of your marketing activity are working hard for you and can be tweaked if necessary. And that can only be a good thing for the development and evolution of your business.