Would you allow someone without any experience to service your company's vehicles, fix the electrics in your office, or produce your corporate accounts? Probably not. After all, they could make a costly error or even get your business into hot water from a legal point of view.
However, many manufacturing companies let inexperienced staff members carry out their marketing activities. Let's look at why this is a bad idea.
How SMEs Cut Corners – And Why It Doesn't Work
When I ask my prospective clients who are responsible for their marketing, they often tell me that the Managing Director looks after marketing. More often than not, that means that their marketing is falling by the wayside because the MD is tied up with other tasks – through no fault of their own. Alternatively, they tell me that a junior member of their customer support or sales staff has been given that job, sometimes alongside another role. While this staff member may be keen to take the responsibility, they often have no marketing qualifications or experience. They usually act as marketing administrators and lack the knowledge needed to design and implement an effective marketing strategy.
Marketing is a complex subject area, and is actually both an art and a science. It’s a legitimate business discipline. To become a professional marketer, you need in-depth knowledge of marketing strategy, campaign planning, data analysis, advertising, digital marketing, social media marketing and more. Without the appropriate level of expertise, you won't be able to identify your dream customers and persuade them to sign on the dotted line. You also won't be able to put processes and systems in place to ensure that you're marketing your business consistently and cost-effectively. You could even make an error that actively damages your company.
The Benefits Of Working With A Marketing Professional
An experienced marketing professional and advisor will be able to create and deliver a marketing strategy that suits your company's needs. They'll also be able to help you work out what your potential customers want, craft messages that appeal to them and attract them to your company. They'll usually take time to benchmark your offering against those of your competitors and help you to see where you can gain the upper hand. What's more, they can streamline your marketing processes, ensure that you're collecting the right data and analysing it properly, and help you to plan for your customers' changing needs.
You don't even need to take on a costly in-house marketing team to improve your performance. Simply hiring an external advisor to work with your current marketing administrator could get you the results you need.
Next Steps
To learn more about why working with a professional marketing advisor could be a cost-effective solution for your manufacturing company, check out "The 7 Classic Marketing Mistakes Made by Manufacturers & How To Avoid Them". You can download this e-book free of charge from my website today.
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