Find the right marketing outsource partner for your business by asking specifically about strategy development, industry experience, and more.

More and more supply chain companies are choosing to outsource their marketing, giving them the flexibility to focus on their core business, while leaving marketing to trusted experts. But before you jump into a partnership, it’s important to remember that not all marketing firms are created equal.

To help you decide if a marketing firm is right for your business, here are 10 questions you should be asking potential marketing partners — and what to listen for in the answers.

10 questions to ask marketing outsource partners

1) How do you develop a strategy?

The word you should be listening for is: individualized. Your marketing partner should build a strategy specifically tailored to your business, based on data, analytics, and your company’s goals.

2) What would my account team look like?

When you outsource your marketing, look for a team of experts that work together to improve the various aspects of your marketing strategy. For example, the person running your social media presence should have specific social media expertise.

3) Do you know my industry?

It’s vitally important that your marketing partner has a deep understanding of your company, your industry, and your customers. Don’t be satisfied with a surface knowledge, or with a marketing firm that doesn’t have personnel that specializes in your industry.

4) How do you measure success?

Your marketing partner needs to have a plan in place to provide you regular and frequent reports showing designated metrics that match the goals of your strategy. For instance, if one of your business’ goals is to increase brand awareness, web traffic and social impressions are two metrics you should be getting reports on every month.

5) What other services do you offer (even if I don’t need them yet)?

Many of Fronetics’ clients start off wanting only one of our services (like social media management), but quickly realize a multi-channel digital strategy would better help them reach their goals. You want to know that, if you need to expand your scope of work to include more services (such as social advertising or video creation), your partner can handle those.

6) Do you offer training?

We’ve all heard the old adage about teaching a man to fish. While it can be hugely beneficial for your business to trust your marketing strategy to the experts, part of a well-rounded strategy includes educating key members of your staff, such as sales personnel, on how the rest of your business’ operations can dovetail with your marketing strategy. A partner who offers workshops or other types of training is a plus.

7) What is your philosophy for content creation?

Listen for a partner who listens to you. If you’re going to outsource content creation, your partner needs to be ready to learn every aspect of your business, its goals, and its philosophies — and to create content that reflects those things.

8) Do you have videography capability?

Even if you don’t think your business needs video content right now, chances are, this new wave content platform will be something you need at some point. You want to find a partner who can easily help you make strides in this area — whether the partner handles video production in house or will manage a third-party vendor for you.

9) What are your goals for my business?

You want a partner who shares your company’s vision. But it’s a bonus if you can find a partner who offers you goals you hadn’t even considered but that make sense for your business.

10) What’s the first thing you’re going to do when I hand over my business’ marketing strategy to your firm?

While it might be exciting to hear an answer like “revamp your entire web presence,” the savvier business listens for something a little different. A partner who assures that they will first seek to analyze, research, and understand every aspect of your unique business will ultimately be more likely to guide you to your goals. Once they know the ins and outs, then it’s time for the revamping!

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