Who’s Taking Care of Your Brand?
Entrepreneurs and marketing-service providers…everyone listen up.
It saddens me that I have to write this blog, but in the last 48 hours, too much of this have been brought to my attention, and - you know me - I can’t let it slide without saying something.
There are many entrepreneurs that DON’T want to manage their marketing…I get it. It’s a complex field with lots of options, and having someone else “just take care of it” for you is REALLY enticing.
Here’s the thing; if you’re looking to outsource your marketing, you’re in essence telling someone else that it’s THEIR responsibility to take care of your brand. And there are a lot of marketing-service providers - I’m looking at you ads managers, copywriters, social media managers, graphic designers, and even VA’s - that will do a great job. BUT IT’S NOT A GIVEN.
More and more, people selling a “marketing solution” are selling you a template that they’ll squish your brand into without any knowledge of what actually makes you unique. I’ve seen ads managers using software templates for service providers, and it makes me so furious that they would even sell that as a solution.
SO, BUYER BEWARE.
I’m not saying that you can never outsource your marketing. You just want to make sure it’s to someone who is going to be responsible with your brand.
Here are some of the types of on-boarding questions your provider SHOULD be asking you:
What is your brand voice?
What problem do you help your customers solve?
What makes you unique in your market?
What are your brand values?
How do you want your customers to FEEL after an interaction with your brand?
If you’re an entrepreneur and YOU don’t know the answers to these questions, we should chat.
If you’re an entrepreneur and you are currently using a marketing provider who HASN’T asked these (types) of questions, take another look at what they are doing for you. It is adding to your brand? Or confusing your brand identity?
And if you’re a marketing service provider and you’re not currently doing any kind of brand identity onboard questionnaire, I have something for you.
Taking care of your personal brand starts with you. And it should be supported by EVERY vendor you do business with. Remember that.
