5 Myths About the Marketing Industry
myth 1: an agency won’t know about your industry
Although we are not experts in your field, we are experts in ours. At first we may not know your industry, but once a new client starts to work with us, we’ll take you through our process so we can learn it. The first step for all our clients is what we call a “discovery session.” We listen as you tell us the story of how you got started. We listen to your concerns and your aspirations. And, we listen for themes and ideas that will help us deliver those “aha!” moments. If you already have brand standards, great. If you need one, we’ll help you define it. Having brand standards ensures that all of your marketing efforts are cohesive in telling your brand’s story.
Sometimes an external perspective can be scary, especially for a brand manager or an in-house marketing team. Our client relationships strengthen from working closely together and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
myth 2: marketing is easy and can be done by anyone
Efficient and effective marketing is no easy task. Marketing takes an enormous amount of time and dedication if you want to see your efforts pay off. Trends and platforms are constantly changing and evolving, forcing marketers to adapt their strategies. This comes with a lot of monitoring to enhance performance. It is tremendously important to have qualified experts handling your marketing efforts.
Excellent content marketing takes commitment on a level that many business owners don’t have time to tackle on their own. The game-changer comes down to results. Quality is more important than quantity, thoughtful marketing creates results time and time again without fail. If you don’t market, you may be saving money and time, but your audience decreases considerably and you’ll often pay for your savings through lowered sales.
myth 3: small businesses shouldn’t waste their time on marketing
Marketing is vital to business growth—regardless of the size of the business. In fact, when businesses are small or just starting out, it’s more important than ever to market their product or service in order to create brand awareness. It’s understandable why this idea is so pervasive. Small businesses don’t have nearly as much time, or as big of a marketing budget, as large companies do. This does not mean that marketing is a waste of time or money.
As small business owners ourselves, we know it takes an incredible amount of time and dedication to launch and grow a small business. We’ve worked with many clients in your shoes, which is why we’ve designed a business starter package based on our most-requested services in this area. You worry about the operations, hiring, and physical set up of your new space. Leave the branding and design to us.
myth 4: design is all about making websites attractive
Design is not just about making a visual impression, it’s also about form and function. When designing a website, one of our first tasks is defining the “bones” of the site, such as the navigation and user experience. While the website’s colors, typography, and photographer are important, designers also have a hand in user research, prototyping, testing, user experience, and navigation.
Another thing to consider is creating a mobile-friendly website. With an average of more than 50% of website visitors visiting a site from a mobile device, it’s imperative that your site be maximized for mobile visits. A main criteria of mobile-friendly web design includes creating index pages that allow visitors to scroll down the page to easily locate your main content. It also should include mobile-friendly navigation options, call-to-action buttons, hyperlinks to your phone number and email address, and images/videos that re-size appropriately and load efficiently.
myth 5: website updates are not necessary
Remember, a website is often a potential client’s first impression of your business, and your site has less than 1 second to make a good impression. So, it is imperative that your website design be appealing, engaging and entice people to act. A few questions to ask yourself if you need a website update: Has your business grown? Does your branding no longer fit with your product/service?
Businesses evolve over time as markets change, new opportunities arise, expansions of team, and reconfiguring their goals and mission statements as they face new exciting opportunities. In addition, a period of growth is a great time for rebranding as your business is changing and expanding. This should all be reflected on your website through new staff bios and contact information, updated addresses and google links, and having a web aesthetic that better reflects the business you have grown into. And, often, the look and feel of a business’s branding that worked so well in the past can be tweaked to better serve the business in the present. Your website should completely integrate your brand. So, if it is time for a branding refresh, it is definitely time for a new website.
We would love to discuss how we can help your business grow. You can browse more of our social media, branding, web design, and package design examples on our portfolio page.
