Outsourcing a marketing manager is a significant decision that can directly impact your business's growth. With a variety of options in the market, it's essential to know how to select the right person who fits your unique needs. To ensure your company's success, you should require five key principles from your marketing manager. These principles will lead to focused and effective work that contributes to achieving business goals.
Understanding the Brand and the Market:
Require your marketing manager to deeply understand the market you operate in, your target audience, and competitors. Make sure they understand the uniqueness of your brand and can develop a strategy that highlights it.
Example: If you are involved in installing solar energy systems on residential rooftops and land plots, like the company APV, the marketing manager should be familiar with the local market in Israel, understand the growing demand for solar systems due to rising electricity prices and environmental awareness, and identify potential customers who might be interested in this solution. For instance, they might pinpoint areas with high awareness of sustainability issues or neighborhoods with numerous private homes with rooftops suitable for solar installations.
Additionally, they will need to consider the government incentives for installing solar systems, such as financial rebates offered by the government, and use this information in marketing campaigns that highlight both the financial savings and the environmental benefits. Such understanding will enable the creation of a focused strategy that emphasizes the added value of your solar solutions.
2. Clear Success Metrics:
Together, define quantitative and qualitative goals to measure success, such as increased sales, greater exposure, or improved customer engagement.
Example: Suppose your goal is to increase online visibility. Success metrics could include a 20% increase in website traffic within 3 months, or generating 500 new leads from social media each month. The manager should present a plan detailing how they will achieve these goals and what tools they will use, such as paid advertising, content marketing, or influencer partnerships.
3. Strategic Action Plan:
Request a clear marketing plan with milestones, deadlines, and performance improvement tools. Ensure the plan is tailored to your needs and resources.
For example, if it's a new brand launch, the action plan might include a pre-launch awareness campaign, launching a dedicated website, collaborating with relevant bloggers and influencers, running paid social media campaigns, and participating in marketing events. All of these should be divided into phases with a clear timeline, allowing the client to track progress in real-time and ensure the strategy is executed as planned.
4. Transparency and Regular Reporting:
Ensure full transparency throughout the process. Request updates and reports on project progress and adjustments based on field results.
For example, the marketing manager can offer a schedule for weekly or monthly reports showcasing performance data, such as newsletter open rates, conversions from paid ads, or growth in social media followers. The report could include recommendations for improvements based on data analysis. For instance, if a particular campaign isn't performing well, the manager might suggest new directions such as changing visuals, messaging, or reselecting the target audience.
5. Tailored and Personalized Service:
It's essential to ensure that the manager offers flexibility and customization to meet your changing needs, along with a high level of commitment and ongoing availability.
Example: If your business experiences unexpected changes, such as the need to promote a sale on short notice, the outsourced marketing manager should be available for quick adjustments. For instance, if you suddenly have excess inventory that needs to be sold quickly, the manager can guide external teams to create a fast campaign. Additionally, if the market shifts or you need to target a different audience, the manager should be able to pivot quickly and provide personalized solutions, such as changing advertising strategies or updating the website to match the new situation.
This expansion helps the client clearly understand what to expect from an outsourced marketing manager and how they can strategically and effectively contribute to the business's success.
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