Question

Topic: Strategy

What Other Ways To Market A Design Agency?

Posted by sookshuen on 5/20/2010 at 11:58 AM ET 125 Points
I am currently working in a small design and marketing agency as a new marketing intern. I am having difficulties coping with this job role because I have recently just graduated with a Masters in Marketing and is very inexperience in the marketing industry. I need research a bit more on how to market the company, basically all the guidelines of marketing campaigns are set up for me, but I was told by my employer that I have to improvise and come up with "creative" solutions. I need help so badly, this has lower down my self confidence, but I still want to contribute to the company just as much. Thanks! :)
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by wnelson on 5/20/2010 at 12:21 PM Accepted
    Sookie,

    What your boss really means by, "improvise and come up with 'creative' solutions" is you can spend no money, but you are welcome to work as many hours as you can and pull magic pills out of thin air to stimulate big clients with lots of money to come to your company on their own with large checks made out to your company asking how they can pay more.

    Please help clarify a few things first:

    1) What is it your boss expects? What are your goals? How do you know if you did a good job?
    2) Does your company have a sales force? If so, what do they do? Since one of marketing's roles is to support the sales team with what they need to do their job, what do they need? Have you asked them? If you have no sales folks, then you may as well add that to your job description because most likely, your boss is expecting you to sell, not market.
    3) You have guidelines for campaigns - what are these campaigns? Before we can add to your arsenal of marketing weapons, we need to know what you already have.

    Now, I have to say it: Doesn't a design and marketing agency specialize in providing the right marketing expertise and plans to companies to make them successful? If so, why don't you simply make your own company a client and do that for yourself? Use your internal resources to create that "creative" solution. I mean, if your resources can't market yourself, that's bad That would be my first stop in your journey.

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted by telemoxie on 5/20/2010 at 12:28 PM Accepted
    I have performed outbound, targeted lead generation programs for a variety of creative agencies over the years, and I would suggest the following:

    1) take a long-term view. Most companies who use agencies keep the agency for years at a time. You may need to keep your name in front of quite a few prospects in order to generate enough quality appointments.

    2) read some books on sales. Clearly there is overlap between sales and marketing, and many sales books teach a variety of tactics to generate leads and open doors.

    3) focus on companies who actually spend money on marketing services. It is very easy to find lots of businesses (especially small businesses) who need your services, but the sad fact is that the vast majority of them will not retain a professional marketing agency. How can you find firms with a budget for marketing and a track record of spending money? One way is to find corporations who advertise at trade shows (many companies list the tradeshows they attend on their websites). Companies who advertise at trade shows need a variety of products and services, they believe in spending money on marketing, and they need to get things done on schedule and sometimes in a hurry.

    If you (or anyone reading this post) would like some coaching on how to generate new agency accounts over time, please send me an e-mail (available from my profile). Good luck, and take care.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 5/20/2010 at 5:46 PM Accepted
    When you're selling a creative service, as you are, tacky promotions don't work. This is a serious decision for most clients, so you need to show up with a sample solution to their specific problem ... and examples of how you've solved similar problems for others before.

    This is very much a sales-driven mission, and up-front research is key. The more you know about your target audience the better chance you'll have of saying and showing them the right things.

    So don't try to reach dozens or hundreds of prospects. Pick ONE and learn all you can about them. Then present your solution to their most pressing problem. If you get the job, pick another target and repeat the process. If you don't get the job, find out why you didn't, fix whatever it is you didn't do right, and pick another target for your modified approach.

    Each time you don't land a client, you'll learn something, and the next pitch will be better as a result. And after a while, you'll find that you're closing more than you're losing.
  • Posted by sookshuen on 5/20/2010 at 8:48 PM Author
    PhilGrisolia=Results : I think the reason my employers are relying on me like that is because it is a very small organisation that consists of 10 people ; 1 creative director, 1 accounts director (aka marketing director, and the remaining are copywriters, graphic designers) .. Practically, I am the only person in their "marketing department" is because they hardly have time to market their organisation due to the amount of time spent with existing clients.. I am not paid for this internship, it is mainly for my CV boosting.. However I might be hired if they accept me as an "asset" of their company which i have to prove to them. When you mention although I have a Masters in Marketing, it is not true when you said I have been asleep in most of my classes, but in my opinion, all these time, I have been spoon fed and has been doing what I was told, to finish assignments based on books.. Therefore I find it hard to apply it to the real world (if you get what I mean) It might take a while but I am willing to do what it takes to achieve my goals :)

    wnelson : This company does not have a sales force. Basically all their existing clients are made available from viral marketing (word of mouth).. Currently, they are expecting an expansion, not just relying 100% on this marketing strategy but also to attract new customers. The question is, why would customers choose US amongst the whole lot of competitors? What range of products or services we offer that differs from them? Currently, my bosses expects me to bombard them with new ideas that would help them to increase and attract new customers. During my first week till now (1 month duration), I had to collect database of potential customers from targeted audience (such as Marketing/PR agencies or clients that has their own products either based in London or non-London) from LinkedIn. From there, my boss has chose 150 contacts from that database to send out brochures to with direct mail. Our remaining 1000++ contacts will be updated with email marketing, sending them details of our service marketing, why they should rely on our company compared to the rest ,etc . Meanwhile, apparently along the way, I have to come up with creative ideas to help implement these strategy. Therefore, I am kind of stuck here. :/

    Thanks telemoxie & mgoodman for your advise :)
  • Posted by sookshuen on 5/24/2010 at 4:28 PM Author
    Thanks SharkWriter for your advice. Yes, my company do have a website. I have also done some research on the same industry sector's website as my organisation. I find your advise very helpful as I can then differentiate what can be taken into account in the future for implementation. Thank people! I will try my best and not let it bring me down. :)
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