Small Businesses: 5 Best Practices When Working With a Marketing Consultant

I am a sap for the person that takes a risk.  I get charged when someone makes a bold move, like moving across the country to be close to his daughter.  I get choked up when an athlete performs their best and receives an Olympic medal. 

My ultimate respect:  an individual who finds what they love to do and develops a way to make a living doing it by launching a business.  WOW!

As I meet these business owners, I try to help.  Sure – often they don’t ask.  But this is my passion.  I market.  I promote.  I love to do both for businesses with passionate people behind them.

I love smart business owners that look to a marketing consultant to create:

• An online community to enhance their brand and bring leads to their business
• An effective website with SEO so search engines can find them
• A memorable logo
• A professional design for menus/brochures/sales sheets/business cards
• Creative promotions to drive traffic
• Well-written content
• A sales leads market strategy to find opportunities … and more opportunities!

I often recommend that business owners not try to do their own marketing/design/PR/social media.  It takes time to do it right and the time you take to bust your learning curve, you could spend doing what you do best.  You have the enthusiasm to promote your business.  So partner with a professional to knock it out of the park!

A smart business owner may be a trusting business owner.  However, there are a few best practices to avoid communication errors and receive clarity on expectations and deliverables when working with a marketing professional:

1.   Ask business owners in your area for referrals. 

2.   Do some light homework.  For example, the beauty of social media is its transparency.  If you are talking to a marketing professional to act as your social media consultant, check their accounts to be sure they are active in the space.

LinkedIn:  Do they have a full profile, including a custom name?  Recommendations?  Do they belong to Groups?  Do they use applications? 

Facebook:  Do they have an active business page for their own business?

Twitter: Do they have an active account?  Do they have over 100 followers and utilize lists?

3.   Ask for a marketing plan or outline.  You may need to pay for the time to create the plan, but the exercise will offer a clear roadmap of where your relationship is headed.  You learn how you will work with your marketing manager and how well they listen to what your goals are to develop a great strategy. 

4.   When you determine your next steps – get it in writing!  Clarify the rate (time & materials versus fixed) and the timetable. How will you communicate with each other?  How often will you receive an invoice and what are the payment terms.

5.   Important:  OWN YOUR PRODUCT!  If you are building a Facebook Business Page with your marketing consultant, initially create the page from YOUR Facebook account, then make the marketing consultant an Admin on the Page.  Don’t let an employee create the page for you either.  The owner of the page is the first person to register the Page from their Facebook Profile.  Also, reserve your own web address with the vendor of your choice (i.e. Go Daddy, Network Solutions, etc.).  You provide the information to your marketing consultant and you continue to own your web address. When I do website with business owners, I work with them to register their domain on their account and using their credit card.  Additionally, when I complete the project, I provide a DVD with a copy of the website files and applicable receipts for my clients’ files.   It is the business owner’s property and I choose not to hold people hostage. 

Discuss this upfront since the assumption should be the marketing consultant does not have to provide the files for you to take to another relationship.

UPDATE:  On June 14, 2010 – All Facebook reported that Facebook now allows the removal of the original page admins.  I predicted (no-brainer) that as Facebook became more business-friendly, they would have to make this adjustment.  Please note they have now gone a little far the other way:  now ANY admin can delete any other admin and could delete the page altogether.  So – my new Facebook prediction is they will make an adjustment so there are safeguards from a disgruntled employee deleting your Facebook page before you remember to delete their admin rights.  Until that policy is changed, just remember that the original page admin is no longer the “owner” of the page (good thing).  However, be discriminate in who you invite to control your Facebook page as an admin so they don’t delete your admin rights or your entire page.