By Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect & co-founder of SnappSales
Ever wondered what your day would look like if you could focus only on the things you love doing and what you’re really good at? If you have quite a structured day then most probably you fit in about 2 hours of marketing each day. This is to help build the business brand, increase your social media footprint and to navigate potential clients through the first part of your sales funnel.
However, what could your day look like if you outsourced your marketing function? In order to do great effective marketing you need to put your strategic hat on and place yourself in the buyer’s shoes. I often give sales strategy talks and the starting point, always, is understanding your buyer persona. This lays the foundation for a great marketing campaign and will ensure that you convert that visitor into a client. If you have a developed buyer persona it will help the outsourced marketing company put together high converting marketing collateral for you.
But first let’s rewind. How do we identify the right marketing company for your business? And how do we build a buyer persona?
Identifying potential outsource marketing partners
In-house vs outsource
Most times business owners will ask whether it is better to outsource or do the function in-house? In turn, my response would be can you afford not to outsource your marketing function? If you have highly qualified team members who come from SEO, web development, graphic design and strategic backgrounds that understand how to maximise converting content for higher conversion rates, then I would say stick with doing it in-house.
However, if like the rest of us, you’re a business owner whose skill set lies somewhere else, and more than likely you don’t have the resources, then it is recommended to outsource this function. How much does it really cost you to either spend 2 hours per day on doing your own marketing vs spending those 2 hours building your client base and network?
The perfect marketing partner
Now that we’ve determined it is best to outsource this function to professionals, let’s take a look how we identify who the ideal partner would be.
I would deal with it in this manner. The marketing partner should be seen as an extension of your team and therefore they should match and complement your company culture. If you can see yourself meeting with the outsourced company once a week to enjoy a cup of coffee then you know you’re on the right track. A company culture match is invaluable.
Start by doing research on good old Google. So search for marketing companies in your area and shortlist what you’ve found to three potential partners. Take a look at their websites, client work and testimonials. Certain websites will speak with you and others not. Do deeper research on your shortlist; speak with some of the clients they have done work for. Arrange to meet for that coffee and get a feel for each identified potential marketing partner.
You’ll know once you’ve met with them who aligns best with your company culture, vision and what you want to achieve with your marketing campaigns. Remember to ask them what the ROI was on their other client campaigns. It’s all good and well creating pretty & great content, however, if it doesn’t convert then you’re throwing money to the wind.
Defining your buyer persona
The basis for any of your marketing campaigns is understanding and knowing your buyer persona. This is the potential client you are selling to or also known as a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. You need to know who are selling to and how they think. This is important because your marketing collateral needs to speak to the person that you eventually want to do business with.
Give your buyer persona a name, height, gender, hair colour, eye colour and geographic location. This person needs to have a background, so where they studied, the kind of work they are currently doing, a marital status and know whether they have children or not. If they do have children, how old are they and where do they go to school? Remember, this buyer person is a “template” of what your ideal client looks like. You need to know their interests and hobbies inside out. You should know where they hangout online, what they do on weekends and so forth.
The better you understand your buyer persona the more your marketing collateral will flow and have greater impact. By “speaking” with your buyer persona with every piece of content that you put out there, the easier it is to draw them in and get them to become a long-staying client.
Bringing it all together
Get comfortable with the idea of not doing everything yourself. As successful business owners grasping the value of outsourcing certain tasks like your marketing function is key. By partnering with the right marketing company and really understanding your market will mean business success!
Happy outsourcing!
Karen Wessels is the co-founder and COO of VA Connect, a South African virtual assistant platform that provides outsourced administrative support; and is also the co-founder of SnappSales, a company that generates quality sales leads for its clients. Prior to establishing both her companies, Karen spent over 10 years in different sales, marketing & admin support roles. This experience has equipped her with the invaluable skills required to run her two successful business ventures. Follow Karen on her Personal Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
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