If you are a smart business leader, you recognize that sometimes you need help from an expert. Finding a great strategic partner to help you build your brand is one of those crucial times. But finding one that fits your budget can be a tricky process. Our experts at Phase 3 understand that. We've been there ourselves.
The one critical piece of advice we would offer those companies embarking on a search for a marketing agency is to be transparent about the budget from the beginning. Of course, not everyone is comfortable talking about money, but leaving budget discussions off the table is a bad idea. It leads to miscommunication, misalignment, lost time, and sometimes worse.
Not convinced? We get it. Here are six reasons we think you shouldn't hide your budget when searching for a marketing consultant or partner.
#1: Reasonable Recommendations
We can't give you an excellent solution to your problem without knowing what you want to invest in it. There is no such thing as an unlimited budget. We want to provide you with a fair and objective proposal that solves your marketing problem and works for your business. Even a budget range would give us a better idea of how much of an investment you want to make. This is especially important right now with supply chain issues causing higher materials and shipping costs.
#2: The Right Solution
There are often many creative solutions to the same problem, and each may have a different price tag. With a budget to work with, our marketing experts can propose an innovative, creative solution that solves your problem, all within your budget.
Asking to "just see what it costs" is usually not possible given the complexities of most marketing projects. However, we can offer several solutions at different costs within your budget range if you like — a good, better, best menu of packages.
Also, Phase 3 can allow clients to engage our services a la carte or as a complete strategic project to achieve their specific goals. So we can offer a range of solutions, brands, and products.
#3 Save Everyone Time
This is especially true if you are embarking on a competitive RFP process. If you don't tell your prospective partners your budget, they will make their own assumptions. Each agency will read, understand, and assess your RFP differently. So, even if your RFP is comprehensive, you will probably receive wildly different proposals that will be difficult to compare. You will need to go back to each of them, ask more questions, clarify details, and most likely start the process all over again. You will probably lose some of those agencies along the way because they've either priced themselves out of your consideration or they've just given up. Telling us the budget at the beginning saves all of us time. We will craft an appropriate proposal for you the first time.
#4 Trust Us to Know How to Spend Your Money.
Good marketing agencies want to be your partner, not your money pit. So don't worry that we'll spend all your money if we know your budget. Any trustworthy agency worth considering will admit that the most expensive solution is not always the best. We will provide you with the best solution to the problem you've outlined in your RFP. Sometimes the best solution will be under your budget, and sometimes it may be over. We will make sure you know the reasons why either way. But we are not about to nickel and dime you just to spend every last cent. That's not how we work. In our view, transparency and trust are of the utmost importance in the consultant/client relationship.
#5 Set Your Own Expectations
Many clients just don't know what they should invest in, which is ok. But they probably know what their company's total monetary limit would be. And most leaders will have a gut feeling about what they think they should spend. That is an excellent place to start. As we said in reason #4, we are not out to spend every single penny. Let's work together to find a budget that sets expectations for results and maximizes every dollar spent.
Setting expectations means understanding how each marketing channel or solution can perform for your business and the investment required to make that happen. It may mean setting priorities within those solutions that fit your budget tolerance. We can help you do that with real-world samples and guidelines on how much particular marketing solutions cost. By thinking strategically and working with a marketing partner like Phase 3, you can find that perfect budget amount that accomplishes your goals and brings your company a return on investment.
#6 We Want To Be Your Partner
If you are looking for a vendor, negotiating power may be important to you. However, if you are looking for a partner with expertise in the solutions you need to drive your business, transparency will get you farther than negotiating power. We are marketing consultants at Phase 3, and our mission is to find the solutions that will deliver the results you want. We will always be fair in our pricing, and you'll find that our prices align with the rest of the industry.
We hope we've convinced you that sharing your budget when looking for a marketing agency is essential to finding the best partner and the most optimal solutions for your business needs. We believe that maintaining a solid consultant/client relationship starts with open and honest discussions that ensure everyone is on the same page from concept to solution.
The experts at Phase 3 connect business intelligence with creative innovation and strategic thinking with tactical execution to help companies like yours define their brand and tell meaningful stories about their products. Contact us today to find out how we can help your company achieve its goals.