Recently I’ve had 4 or 5 conversations with business owners about marketing in general and outsourcing in specific.
They all had this idea that finding someone to execute their vision, their idea for some marketing activity was “doing marketing”.
And that they had hired a “Marketing Guy” or a company to take care of it for them.
- One told me about a postcard idea he had and gotten a big-name local marketing firm to create for him.
- Another hired a web designer that was billed as a Marketing Company to create a website – but not any of the content, just whatever they wanted.
- The last one was pretty happy with the Facebook Ads that he had someone create and run for him because of all the activity on FB they generated.
- And another had contracted with (oh no!) a social media marketing company and signed a 1-year contract. They had no idea what they were going to do.
What they had all really done was hired out Graphics, Web Design, Pay Per Click, ad creation and someone to put generic graphics up for them on Instagram.
Those are all parts of Marketing. But not the POINT of marketing.
What those business owners actually wanted was:
#1: To improve their image.
They were proud of their company and wanted their public face to be worth of that pride.
#2: They wanted more business.
More money and more leads.
Better Image by Outsourcing Digital Marketing
Better Image – for personal pride, recruiting better people, or creating a higher perceived value to getting more sales/money.
More Money by Outsourcing Digital Marketing
More Money – which could be expressed as More Leads, More Sales, etc.
While these WANTS were on their minds, one of these things happened:
Someone told them they should be on Insta or TikTok. And they saw tons of people beings successful there and just said “I want that” to themselves. Then found someone who said they would do that for them.
In another they saw some good marketing by a popular social media marketing firm and were convinced that THIS was the way to Better Image and More Money.
Or they finally decided the ancient website that they cringed at sending people to needed an upgrade and started asking around for a “web guy”.
Maybe they even responded to one of those emails that promises with the magic of “SEO” they’ll put you on the front page of Google.
In every case what they found was someone carrying a HAMMER that told them that all their business, profit, sales, and marketing issues looked, coincidentally, like a nail.
To a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail
I have nothing against any of these marketing agencies, social media companies or indy web developers. They often do excellent work,
But when you, Small Business Owner, comes into contact with one, you just have to know which hammer they’re carrying and if your business is that particular nail.
It’s like going into a Doctors office for allergies up and instead of GP there’s a surgeon waiting with a scalpel. Guess what she recommends? Well – the scalpel is already in her hand so – brain surgery!
Or realizing your house isn’t warming up in the winder and calling HVAC guy that recommends a new unit [and a monthly maintenance contract] – but never notices all your windows are open. Because they don’t sell window-closing services. Or insulation. Or blankets.
So when you go to a social media company and ask for what you should do to grow your business what do they say?
Or a web developer.
Or a graphic artist, or copywriter, or paid advertising expert.
They all have a single tool. And it’s a hammer with your name on it.
They’re not “Wrong”!
The thing is that much of the time each one of these hammer wielding professionals are not wrong.
A “nicer” website will boost your image and might help you generate more leads.
That social campaign – even if they’re all generic graphics – will probably generate more interest.
Pay per click advertising definitely work in most cases.
And that well designed flyer or postcard could be a great way to get more business.
MAAAYBEEE you needed that brain surgery.
And a new HVAC unit.
But that doesn’t mean your windows aren’t still open.
What SHOULD a Small Business Owner Do?
Recognize what you’re actually trying to accomplish when outsourcing digital marketing, not how you think it should be done.
Image?
Money?
Then learn more about the ways to get there.
Because almost every marketing agency has one hammer that’s a LOT bigger than the others. And that’s the one they’ll pitch you to use to hammer out a solution to your problem.
They’re really a website company that doesn’t know anything about paid. It’s in Instagram PRO that also does xyz if they need to. It’s an SEO guy that is steeped in organic search that can’t talk at all about how to convert that into leads and sales.
If you know a few things about Marketing from a high level, you’ll be able to recognize that hammer they carry and keep it in mind when you make your decision on what to do next.
When you do decide to learn more about all this just Contact me here.
