Let us be your “outsourced” marketing department.
In this arrangement we help develop a strategic and tactical marketing plan for your business and help implement that plan with your organization. SMG functions as a company department, working with your employees to implement the plan, negotiating with vendors for the lowest prices and best work, and passing on the savings to you.
This is the perfect situation for a company where the owner is too busy or doesn’t have the skills to be the marketing director. Maybe your company is too small to need a full-time marketing director or your marketing is stuck and you’re looking for a fresh perspective.
I have included below a copy of the general contract I use for customers of this service. As one client recently told me, the contract was a very accurate representation of the services we offer as your outsourced marketing director.
Strategic Marketing Group
Outsourced Marketing Director contract:
Pricing is at the end of the contract.
OBJECTIVE OF THE MARKETING SYSTEM
The objective of this strategic marketing system is to develop and implement marketing strategies that will result in sales increases according to the Client expectations. We will increase sales by maximizing the effectiveness of every part of your marketing process, including generating leads; closing leads into customers, and increasing the average worth of clients. We will accomplish this through developing these five separate areas.
1. Research and Building the Case for the Client: We will research and create a case that separates the Client from the rest of the marketplace. The points of this case will be used to create marketing that instantly communicates the advantages and compels prospects to take action. We will do this by researching your business, your target market, and your competitors; then, we will build a case for the Client that quickly, clearly, and concisely communicate your advantages. To develop the case we will do the following:
- Analyze all current sales and marketing materials
- Create and conduct an in-depth staff survey
- Create and conduct a competitive survey
- Create and conduct a client survey
- Create the master strategies, including selling slants
- Gather all needed evidence
2. Lead Generation: After the research is done and the case has been constructed, we will write marketing materials that build the case for The Client. The objective is to create marketing that will qualify the prospects to some extent (to reduce time wasted on non-prospects), and spur the prospects to take immediate action. We will create whatever marketing materials that we determine will be effective (determined during the research phase, above). This could include any of the following formats:
General Lead Generation Advertising:
Mailers / Flyers / Postcards / Emails
Content for Website
Content for Social Media
Letters
Other Tools as Necessary
3. Closing Business: We will create sales tools and materials and (including overhauling existing sales and marketing materials) so that they will increase your conversion ratio and drop your cost per sale. This will include several types of marketing materials (listed below), and scripts and dialogues for sales people to use as well as follow-up materials to convert prospects that don’t immediately convert.
- Brochures, reports (could be printed, or on audio/video/multimedia)
- Sales letters
- Sales scripts
- Internet Content
- On-Hold messages
- Social media marketing
- Google Ad Words, Bing, Yahoo search
- Online directories
- Videos created for search engine optimization
4. Systemization: An overall marketing plan will be generated that coordinates all of the lead generating and follow-up activities. This plan will give an “at-a-glance” view of what has happened, what is currently happening, and what will be happening next.
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
In addition to the steps of the marketing system listed above, the Strategic Marketing Group will also do the following:
- Conduct marketing training on an as-needed basis to ensure proper implementation of marketing materials.
- Implement a lead tracking and reporting system to monitor results based on current customer database.
- Attend any executive meetings pertinent to the marketing process.
- Coordinate the production and execution of all mailing, emailing, and faxing activities.
- Multi-media development including interactive CD-ROMs
- Graphic design work as needed.
THE CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES
- Pay for all costs associated with creating marketing materials and implementing the program (i.e. postage, printing, copying, fax broadcasting, etc.)
- Devote staff time / resources where needed.
- Implement customer database tracking system such as ACT! to manage the customer development process.
TIME FRAME
We will immediately begin the process of researching and building the case so that the first marketing pieces can be ready to go within the first 30-60 days of the partnership. Due to the nature of this project, it is impossible to create a timetable for writing ads and sales materials before we start. We will however, create a timetable as specific objectives become clear. We will work earnestly to meet deadlines and speedily create materials as needed.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Our objective is to be a long-term player with the Client; therefore, we desire to carefully track all results of the marketing system to measure our effectiveness. As the project progresses, we will provide detailed tracking reports of all advertising dollars spent, and results from those expenditures in terms of both leads generated and clients closed. Goals and results will be discussed on a monthly basis with the Client management to ensure everything is on the right track.
COMPENSATION & INVESTMENT
The Client’s investment in this Strategic Marketing System is ($1500 and up based on the size and scope of project) a month for six months. 10% discount if paid in advance – $XXXX.
The first payment is due upon commencement of this agreement and then monthly on the ___ of the month for the duration of the contract.
Chris Ripley
Strategic Marketing Group
301-638-4755
