Why Hire an Advertising Agency?
When starting a new business, entrepreneurs invariably face tough decisions when they realize something needs to be done and they just don’t know how to do it. We let mechanics fix our cars; so why do we expect that when running a small business we can do everything ourselves?
When we discuss things like accounting, and legal issues, it seems simple to hire someone who is educated and even licensed to handle these things for us. When you start thinking about things like marketing, advertising and public relations things tend to get confusing and you begin to wonder if you should try to save some money and wing it. As a new business, you will get calls from everyone from the phone book sales reps, newspapers, magazines, coupon books – all promising you ROI if you would turn over your hard earned revenues. Who’s best interest do they really have in mind?
How do you know which is right for your business? How do you know what you will ultimately need? One of the best places to start is to look at your competitors. If you offer a service like HVAC, landscaping, or plumbing, chances are a strong online presence is needed to compete. If you offer services that are available online, chances are that you will do just as well skipping the ads in phone books, magazines and newspapers.
If you’ve never hired a professional firm before, don’t worry. Ad Agencies aren’t expecting you to have all the answers. They should listen to your point of view, get a feel for your business and its style, understand what colors or themes you have in mind and then be able to put together a professional logo and assorted materials for you to use throughout your business. An approach like that can take the bother out of getting your marketing materials in top form.
Your job as a business owner is to decide what you do best and focus on it. Whenever you spend your valuable time outside of those core tasks ultimately it will cost you business. You need to focus on your core strengths and hire employees or consultants to handle what they specialize in. When you have everyone focused on their core responsibilities and not distracted with other tasks, your business will take off and allow you the freedom to enjoy being an entrepreneur.