Some of your
Frequently asked questions
Quite the opposite. Consultants often come in to offer specific advice or come in to handle a specific project. Empartner Marketing is really all about enabling small businesses to have an experienced marketing professional working for them almost as part of their management team but just without the full time commitment. So depending on the capacity that’s required, a dedicated marketing expert will commit to understanding the business, learning and journeying with the business as we support the marketing efforts of the business. What small businesses really need is a marketing partner.
The ideal process we take with our clients is to firstly plan an audit or a workshop to understand and develop their business and marketing strategy. From there, there is a clearer understanding of goals and targets and priorities. Empartner marketing will then create a marketing framework which will determine the focus for marketing to support those priorities and goals, and that will also determine the marketing requirements.
Clients will then continue to engage us on an ongoing basis to develop a marketing plan and execute on that marketing plan at a level that suits both budget and also targets. This involves strategy, monitoring, designing campaigns, working with your sales team and more, and on top of that we offer expert advice as part of your management team.
Furthermore, based on the requirements of the plan, there may be a need for marketing services like SEO (as an example you might be familiar with), and those services can be included as part of the ongoing relationship too. If there is a requirement for services we don’t provide, we can help to manage vendors/agencies to ensure you’re getting the best bang for your buck and seeing results.
You certainly can, but we don’t encourage that because that’s more about completing a task and that can remove the ownership of the effectiveness of the task you employ us for. The key reason we started this model is so we can actually challenge the agency model and really help smaller businesses by offering marketing management and partnering the business, helping to translate business objectives to marketing plans and tactics.
That said, we use industry-leading tools for all the services we provide and have the experience and expertise to ensure the services cater to your needs. But you won’t get a list of industry jargon from us, everything will be explained in transparent language, without the smoke and mirrors.
So in summary, we are a complete, end-to-end partner. Your marketing department but only for what you actually need.
No, we do come in for meetings occasionally and if and when execution requires, and we will set up regular meetings but we don’t need a desk or any IT equipment. We might require access to files and integrations but generally we won’t need any additional equipment. However, depending on the level of support, we might require some desk use during the month, however time spent in location is generally not to ‘execute’ but to build cohesion, learn, launch, present, collaborate or instruct.
They’re indeed similar and often used interchangeably. How we approach the process is a business strategy or plan determines the marketing strategy which is the approach, or what we prioritise and which gaps to address for which audiences etc, and that then influences which campaigns we run.
Thus, a campaign plan is the ‘how’ for a specific campaign – who, what, which, when. It can involve a range of tactics and some plans may not even require promotional spend while others have a mix or demand more resources depending on the objectives and environment. It differs based on factors like objectives, budget, resources, timeframe etc, but generally, you’ll get a plan that breaks down the channels, vehicles and tactics, and the approach as well as timing and budget.
We can work with all sizes. We work with single operators to companies with over 100 employees. Do we have a preference? Not at all, but naturally it would help if you are looking to grow and have a focus on marketing to drive that growth.
Many ways. Clients can engage us just for our marketing services, like website optimisation or SEO for example, however, the fundamental reason we exist is to change that model for small businesses. So we encourage partnering you instead of just ‘taking your money’ for tasks we have not ensured would even help your business. We are not transactional and the very reason we exist is to fill that gap.
Ad-hoc or project-based work is rarely effective for small businesses in the long run. Having a partner embedded in the business and working for the business, allows marketing to be more effective by planning for what you actually need and being dynamic. And with all marketing strategies, it also always takes time for compounded and sustainable results. While there are some activities that are like turning on and off a tap for leads (for example promotional campaigns), it takes consistent and dedicated planning and execution to be able to build a marketing engine that continually improves cost effectiveness and sets the business up for years to come.
So the Empartnering as we call it, is actually what we believe will truly help to empower your business.
It’s not a sales tactic, but our entire model is built on tailoring what your business needs according to the stage you’re in and your goals. We sit down with you then work out the requirements together and plan what type and level of support works best for your plans. And that forms the relationship and thus the fees will be according to that.
We suggest terms of at least 6 months because, using an electric fan analogy, it takes more time and energy to get the fan going before it becomes easier to just keep it going. Anything below a six-month terms becomes a bit ad-hoc. Six months also allow time to execute different phases and establish stronger foundations and realise some of the benefits. The relationship can last for years and we also have annual terms. We think empartnering is long-term and we’ll be your partner even as you scale up and get to where you want to be. We’d love to be part of your success story.
That really depends on your strategy and plan so we’re not going to sell a promise to you we can’t yet understand.:)
But you’ll generally get to see progress towards some benchmarks even from the early stages but sustainable and ongoing results are usually only achieved after you’ve set up a marketing ‘machine’.
All experts will have at least 10 years effective experience with proven success in a range of marketing disciplines while specialist knowledge is shared amongst the experts.
Of course! We love working with in-house marketing teams. We can help in a few ways. We can provide strategy, planning and guidance and work with in-house marketing staff to execute and monitor, or we can also execute and allow them to focus on other key projects, or really just work in full partnership with them as another part-time expert resource.
Reach out to us, and we’d be more than happy to address your query or clarify anything. We never ‘sell’ our services so don’t worry you won’t get a sales pitch for reaching out!