I recently spoke to a new client and knowing that they had spoken to several other marketing companies before choosing Aardvark Marketing Consultants asked why they had chosen to give their business to us. It's important for me to understand why people choose to spend their money with my business, and I encourage all businesses owners to do the same. The answer my client gave was that we were "the only marketing company that talked about marketing" - we looked at all their marketing activity; he felt the others were just trying to sell him a new website, a brochure or some direct marketing.
It isn't the first time I have received this feedback from a client, so I started thinking about why this happens, and how I could use this to help explain to potential new clients the difference that Aardvark Marketing Consultants offers them.
Imagine you have a problem with your car - a familiar scenario for most of us every now and again. Sometimes, it's easy to identify the exact problem; perhaps a warning light illuminates on the dashboard, or there are symptoms we have encountered before. You might call or visit a shop or filling station, get a new bulb, buy some more oil or whatever else is required, make the fix, jump back in the car and everything is fine once more.
However, sometimes the problem isn't as obvious is it? You just get the feeling that the car isn't running as smoothly as usual; but don't know why. In this scenario, you'll probably have to consult an expert, maybe the main dealer or a local garage. They will use their knowledge of all kinds of cars and their experience of many different types of problems to identify what's wrong with your car and then tell you what they need to do to put it right. Once you have agreed their diagnosis and solution, they do the work and your car is back to full performance.
A similar situation can occur in marketing a small or medium sized business - sometimes as a business owner or marketing director, we can identify a specific issue that needs addressing and buy a solution from an expert in that field. Perhaps the company brochure needs updating or the website isn't appearing high enough up the search rankings.
However, in many cases, it's a more general concern about the overall effectiveness or cost of marketing that doesn't feel right. In this situation, an experienced and independent marketing consultant can review the whole marketing effort and identify where improvements can be made to restore or exceed the previous performance and ensure that the business gets the maximum possible return on it's marketing investment.
In addition to helping business owners identify the source of marketing under-performance and implementing solutions, Aardvark Marketing Consultants also offer a fixed price marketing healthcheck for small and medium sized businesses.
To find out how Aardvark Marketing Consultants can help you resolve any marketing issues or concerns, please call Chris Hutchinson on 01905 622 206 or send me an e-mail.
