You’ve finally decided to focus on running your homebuilding business and leave the inbound marketing to someone else. Now, finding the right person or company is top priority, but you don’t know where to start. Does this sound familiar? We’ve all been there—looking for a service provider who knows their stuff, won’t rip us off and falls comfortably within our budget. Sadly, it’s something of a tall order to fill. It’s not impossible, though, as long as you go about searching scientifically and logically you can avoid the scammers and start what could be a beautiful relationship!
Walking the Walk
You wouldn’t entrust preparing your family meals to someone who doesn’t cook, would you? So why would you give your business blogging to someone who doesn’t blog, your social media to anyone who doesn’t – well, you get our drift. Online marketing is all about creating a strong presence in the digital space, and an inbound agency that claims to be able to do that for you needs to display its own presence to be credible. Look for a marketing partner who posts quality content on a regular basis, has active social media profiles and generates leads and email subscribers from its material. Then put it to work doing the same for you.
Focus, Focus, Focus
Research has proved that niche marketing is worth the extra dollars per lead that it typically costs. Why spend hundreds on marketing general home renovation projects when actually all you really want to do are kitchen remodels? Who is your valued kitchen remodelling client going to appoint for that extra-special project—the general contractor or the kitchen specialist? The same thing applies to you: look for an inbound marketing partner who focuses on what you need done. If it’s content marketing you need, find one that focuses on that aspect (or at least has a department/specialist who does).
Industry Inkling
As an offshoot of niche marketing, it’s essential for a vendor partner to know your industry. Regardless how top-notch an inbound agency’s knowledge of jewelry retail is, it’s not going to help you market your renovation projects. The client base is different, the product is different and the price point is probably pretty different, too. Sure, they’re both B2C, which is helpful, but it isn’t just about that. Look for an agency that has an inkling of what goes on in your line of business, and can prove it by means of a portfolio of former work.
Price Isn’t Everything
Don’t be suckered into accepting the lowest price. Remember, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys! Look for the inbound marketing partnership that is able to fulfill your needs, provide you adequate analysis and reporting and do so at a reasonable, middle-of-the-road price range. Then find out if the price is steady for a fixed period of time, or you might miss the small print that mentions introductory pricing or a special offer.
There’s nothing wrong with needing expert help, as long as you choose the right provider the right way.
