THE "GO TO" PLACE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN SPECIALTY FOOD MARKETING.
Working with a Marketing Professional 101
Ok…ouch…I’ve banged my head against the wall one too many times over this.
I need to talk about it.
Basically…
…there’s a ton of information out there on how businesses can market themselves better. Everything from driving qualified traffic to websites to distributing press releases.
When it comes to do-it-yourself marketing, the Internet’s got it covered.
Not quite the same story when it comes to taking your marketing to the next level—i.e., working with a marketing pro to position yourself and craft your message…
Most business owners don’t have a clue.
Seriously…they don’t understand the process.
What’s more…there seems to be widespread belief that marketing creatives have a switch that can be turned on & off. Just like that. We sit around and daydream all day.while the ideas just flow. Fun, fun, fun!
Here’s another one:...we come up with brilliant pre-fab ideas that can be used on ANY client. We have a storage-room full of ideas that we’re ready to hand out—for a price.
Creative ideas r us.
Nope…doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t work like that for any creative endeavor. Musicians, painters, writers--artists don’t just pull creations out from behind their ears. Things must germinate. Ripen, Evolve. Sometimes, a whole lot of research goes on.
It’s no different for creative marketing.
For the longest time I was stubborn. I thought this was obvious stuff. I didn’t understand why I needed to explain it. In fact, I worried it might be condescending of me to educate a client.
My logic was flawed.
Afterall, I go through a learning process each time I work with a new company. Sure I know my skill—and I pay attention to marketing trends. But I have to learn about THAT company and its target audience.
So it makes sense that I need to educate in return.
Here are a few things that goes on in the marketing process:
Personal interviews with owner, staff, willing customers
Collecting detailed information about products/services
Statistical data on customer demographics
Data on past mailings and tracking results
I’ve made the mistake of landing all of this on a client AFTER they have signed on with me. Only to be puzzled by the overwhelmed, suddenly apathetic tone in their voice.
Not giving a client heads up on this before starting a project has lead to headaches.
I’m done with headaches.
If you haven’t worked with a copywriter or marketing consultant before—and are thinking about it—you'll give them a pleasant surprise by knowing all this in advance.
Suzanne Ryan
The Gourmet Copywriter
I need to talk about it.
Basically…
…there’s a ton of information out there on how businesses can market themselves better. Everything from driving qualified traffic to websites to distributing press releases.
When it comes to do-it-yourself marketing, the Internet’s got it covered.
Not quite the same story when it comes to taking your marketing to the next level—i.e., working with a marketing pro to position yourself and craft your message…
Most business owners don’t have a clue.
Seriously…they don’t understand the process.
What’s more…there seems to be widespread belief that marketing creatives have a switch that can be turned on & off. Just like that. We sit around and daydream all day.while the ideas just flow. Fun, fun, fun!
Here’s another one:...we come up with brilliant pre-fab ideas that can be used on ANY client. We have a storage-room full of ideas that we’re ready to hand out—for a price.
Creative ideas r us.
Nope…doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t work like that for any creative endeavor. Musicians, painters, writers--artists don’t just pull creations out from behind their ears. Things must germinate. Ripen, Evolve. Sometimes, a whole lot of research goes on.
It’s no different for creative marketing.
For the longest time I was stubborn. I thought this was obvious stuff. I didn’t understand why I needed to explain it. In fact, I worried it might be condescending of me to educate a client.
My logic was flawed.
Afterall, I go through a learning process each time I work with a new company. Sure I know my skill—and I pay attention to marketing trends. But I have to learn about THAT company and its target audience.
So it makes sense that I need to educate in return.
Here are a few things that goes on in the marketing process:
Personal interviews with owner, staff, willing customers
Collecting detailed information about products/services
Statistical data on customer demographics
Data on past mailings and tracking results
I’ve made the mistake of landing all of this on a client AFTER they have signed on with me. Only to be puzzled by the overwhelmed, suddenly apathetic tone in their voice.
Not giving a client heads up on this before starting a project has lead to headaches.
I’m done with headaches.
If you haven’t worked with a copywriter or marketing consultant before—and are thinking about it—you'll give them a pleasant surprise by knowing all this in advance.
Suzanne Ryan
The Gourmet Copywriter
Tags: consultant, copywriter, marketing
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