How to Know When to Hire a Digital Marketing Consultancy Firm

It is funny, but we aren’t always clear when we need help in life. This applies to many both personally and professionally because when you’re in the throes of life, it can be difficult to stop, breathe, and assess the situation. It is almost as if you don’t have time to see what is actually happening, determine the cause or evaluate what needs to happen to resolve. Nonetheless, to achieve a moment of clarity, calm and action is exactly what is required. 

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At Think Media, we often see this when people hire us as their digital marketing consultancy firm. They have come to realize that they need an outside or fresh perspective because they’re being consumed by their current environment, and it has resulted in a paralysis of sorts. They simply aren’t clear on what is needed to move their business forward. It makes sense doesn’t it? So often we’re surrounded by well-meaning people in the organization that champion the status quo. At the same time, there are others in the organization who play the role of naysayer about every new idea or approach. Don’t get me wrong, every organization needs a cynic because they challenge the organization to have a critical eye, but if this voice drowns out every opportunity than they aren’t serving their role.

At Think, we focus our efforts on assisting health and wellness businesses grow through innovative digital marketing strategies and tactics. We have been planning, executing and overseeing multimedia digital marketing initiatives for two decades which means that we’ve seen our fair share of amazing companies who are simply stuck. As a result, we thought a checklist of the questions to ask when contemplating moving your business forward by hiring a digital marketing consultancy firm is warranted. After all, we aim to provide value so here is our list of must ask questions:

Is your brand awareness non-existent or low? 
Let’s face it, there is no shortage of brands on the market in virtually every category. Take the snack category as an example, one look at a Whole Foods shelf, and you quickly see that there are more products than you can possibly imagine. What is the end result of a product category that is bursting at the seams? Your brand had better have exceptional brand awareness or your product will be viewed as just another energy bar. If your brand suffers from low or no brand recognition, it is time to hire a brand and digital marketing consultancy firm.

Is your brand maximizing shopper marketing tactics? 
In the natural products channel, many brands are new to ecommerce marketing. They’ve been focusing their efforts on brick and mortar stores such a Vitamin Cottage for so long that they have become completely dependent upon retailers to sell their brand and products. Unfortunately, that is not where the industry is going. In fact, ecommerce sales in Q2 2018 were up 15.4%. That is because more and more shoppers are choosing to purchase online. It is for this reason that having an ecommerce strategy is no longer a nice-to-have but rather a must have. If your brand isn’t thinking about, planning and tactically executing a unique online shopping experience that speaks to your customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey than it is time to hire an ecommerce digital marketing consultancy firm.

Is your brand trying to connect with a new customer? 
While the core natural shopper is still of absolute importance based on their spend and loyalty, we know that many natural products brands are trying to reach the cross-over consumer too. The challenge is that you can’t apply the same tactics to this consumer as you apply to your core shoppers. Your brand needs to speak to them in a way that is unique to them. If you don’t know where to begin or if your ideas feel a bit outdated, this is a great time to contact a digital marketing consultancy firm.

Is your brand trying to do it all? 
Do you have your team managing paid and organic search campaigns? Is another team working on social media and content marketing? Which member of your team is managing your ecommerce strategy? How about affiliate marketing programs? What about your email marketing efforts? Is the same team doing it all? Or are you one of the lucky brands who hired specialists than turned them into generalists because of the volume of work they have? If any of these questions apply to your brand, then your team is doing too much. The truth is that even seasoned experts need to focus on an area of expertise to be truly effective. You need a team of experts in today’s multiplatform digital marketing environment in order to provide a holistic, omnichannel approach. Let a digital marketing consultancy firm fill in the areas where your team is the weakest. This gives your brand the focus it needs, and allows your team to concentrate on other efforts.
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There is real value in hiring a digital marketing consultancy firm. The difficulty is knowing when it is needed. The good news is that answering these questions will help you determine the next step. Let us know if we can help.
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