If you’re anything like our team at DMA Solutions, you like to think about the big picture as you start on your annual planning. Identifying our BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and outlining the possibilities that come with the start of a new year are just plain exciting and the type of thing that marketers really like to sink their teeth into.
As you plan for the coming year, now is the time for you to stop, think and outline your goals and identify the barriers that may hold you back from marketing success in 2017. Inevitably, there are marketing goals that will require resources and expertise that we often do not possess. If you’re a marketer that finds that your goals and available resources don’t align, you may want to consider hiring help in the form of a marketing agency. Whether you’re seeking expertise to help you navigate a specific project or if you’re seeking to hire a team of people to lead the planning and execution of your marketing programs, hiring an agency is a great way to meet your goals faster and with gusto.
Here are five compelling reasons for you to begin the interviewing process to hire a marketing agency before the New Year:
- Your time is finite.
The biggest undervalued and under realized commodity today is time. No matter what, each day we have 24 hours, possibly 16 waking hours, to get the job done. Without a team of people helping you achieve your marketing goals, you are likely not going to achieve them, much less the BHAG that can truly turn the dial on your company’s brand recognition and your relationships. The breadth and scope required by marketing today is hardly a sport for a one-woman show or a lone ranger tackling one marketing or sales problem after another. Marketing agencies like DMA Solutions were built to provide fresh produce companies with an “instant team” of knowledgeable marketers who are working with you to achieve your goals on a daily basis.
- Hiring is a daunting task.
Finding talented marketers with an understanding of the realities we face in the fresh produce industry is a job even the best recruitment pros struggle with. Hiring a marketing agency helps you reduce the learning time that a new employee will need to ramp up in their marketing role. Even more so, working with an agency that understands fresh produce marketing can help you achieve your goals faster and oftentimes replaces the need for hiring talent internally altogether.
- Your brand is an asset that requires expertise.
For over four years, the team at DMA Solutions has been asking fresh produce marketers that visit our website, download our free resources and subscribe to our blog one simple question: What’s your biggest marketing challenge? Over the years branding is consistently the most common answer and biggest area of opportunity for produce companies. Working with a fresh produce branding expert can expedite progress and put you in a position to win on behalf of your company.
- You can afford to work with an agency.
We’ve provided marketing services to fresh produce companies for nearly 15 years and have yet to be presented with a company on an “unlimited budget.” An agency that cares about your business and your marketing success will consult you about what you CAN do with your budget and help you align realistic goals that you can meet to measure success. If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that if we create value with the budget we do have, then potential for gaining more is very likely. Let a marketing agency help you with these efforts and focus on what you can do.
- Public Relations has changed and the opportunities are endless.
The profession and practice of public relations has evolved significantly beyond the Mad Men days of the past, yet one key element holds true today: Whether you’re pitching an Op-ed to a trade editor, sharing a new product with a national publication or simply approaching a blogger, relationships are the key to your company’s PR success. Many agencies already have these necessary relationships established, which means they are able to instantly expose your brand to influencers and evangelists on your behalf. This approach to public relations in the fresh produce industry is highly overlooked and underrated, and DMA Solutions is committed to helping brands shift their thinking to better value PR in 2017.
As if you needed another reason to consider agency support in 2017, we’ve listed additional marketing “no brainers” below that an agency like DMA Solutions can help you overcome in the coming year:
- Your website is not responsive to mobile devices yet more than 70% of the US population will have a smartphone in 2017.
- You’ve dreamed of a day when you’d actually have time to measure your marketing activities and performance.
- You want to know more about the audiences engaging with your online content like your website and your social media channels.
- Marketing is not your only responsibility at the company yet you are consistently tasked with marketing initiatives that must perform on a regular basis.
- Anyone other than a social media expert is currently managing your online communities.
- You have less than 1,000 “LIKES” on Facebook but your products are branded at the retail level.
- You are wondering which social media network would yield the most value for your company.
- You aren’t sure if your trade advertisements are yielding new business conversations for your sales team.
- Your branding is diluted with multiple versions of your logo and messaging floating around.
Need I say more? Consider meeting with a DMA Solutions team member during Fresh Summit! We will be on the show floor and ready to help you solve your challenges now and in 2017. Request a consultation and let’s start working together to make 2017 your best year in marketing yet!
