Marketing FAQ

Have a question? Chances are good somebody else has had the same question. Check out our FAQs. If you still need some answers or just want to talk, give us a call or send us an email.

How much does a marketing strategy cost?
Every project is different, but the cost of developing a marketing strategy typically ranges from $40,000 to $100,000. Variables include the scope of the projects and services to be marketed, research, the type and amount of creative, and so on. Having said that, we won’t recommend national focus groups or a logo redesign unless we believe they’re necessary for you to succeed in your market, and we always focus on investing your marketing budget in activities that will generate significant returns.

If you don’t have that kind of budget, or you aren’t looking for a full-blown marketing strategy, give us a call and we can talk to you about the best place to invest your marketing budget to get the biggest bang. We can also give you some of the information you need to help pry open your CFO’s wallet.

How long does it take to develop a marketing strategy?
In some cases, marketing strategies can be developed in as little as six weeks, but we suggest scheduling anywhere from three to six months. The process requires significant interaction with you and your executive team, and once we start engaging everyone the creative juices can really get flowing. Give us a call, tell us your problems and we’ll give you an idea of how long we think it will take.

All I need is a logo/ad/brochure/website. Do you do that?
If you already have a marketing strategy, we can help you with the tactical execution, whether that’s an advertising campaign, a website, collateral, lead generation program, email marketing or more. Without a strategy to guide the process, you won’t get the return on your marketing budget that you could and should, whether you go with us, a traditional advertising agency or your next door neighbor’s nephew who works for beer and pizza.

If you don't specialize in my industry, how can you be of help?
No marketing firm or ad agency can know the ins-and-outs of your business better than those who work directly in it. The value we bring to the table is in our processes and ability to facilitate sessions with the experts in your company, to draw out new insights and to identify new opportunities. We have fewer preconceptions and "that's the way we've always done it" hang ups. Often , we are also able to employ new strategies and tactics that are commonplace in other industries but new to yours, and effectively use them to quickly set you apart from—and ahead of—the competition.

When is the best time to do a marketing strategy?
The sooner the better. If you wait until you “need” a marketing strategy, it’s probably too late. While you’re putting on your running shoes, your more strategic competitors will be putting more distance between you and them. Effective marketing strategies should put your competition in a place where they need strategy. Ideally, marketing strategies should be developed in conjunction with business planning, because your marketing needs to serve your greater business goals. So consider developing and updating your marketing strategy as a regular part of your annual planning and budgets, and start work on the strategies behind a push into new markets or major projects as soon as you start work on them.

If you have waited until the need arose, you probably need a short-term tactical plan to keep your company in the race while you work on strategy that addresses your immediate threats as part of your overall business plan.

My team feels that they already know our market and what works. Do we still need marketing strategy?
Nobody knows your business better than you and your team does. The downside of this is that it can lead to what is called “marketing myopia,” in which a company becomes too focused on what it currently does instead of what it can do better. In these cases, we usually uncover marketing budgets that are delivering a fraction of the return on investment that they should as the team tries new, disconnected tactics or relies on tried and true tactics that are no longer producing the desired results. We can help your team broaden its perspective, clarify big goals and business objectives, and ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction with integrated, effective marketing strategies.

We already have a logo. Why do we need a brand strategy?
Brand is more than just a logo. It is every interaction and experience that a person has with your company. Strategies and programs that establish clarity around your brand help guide employee interactions with customers, marketing materials, operational decisions, investors, and prospective employees. While this may include creating a new logo that better represents your brand, more often it involves defining your market position and developing clear and unified messages that supports every interaction a customer has with your company, helps build a win-win relationship and manages expectations for the future.