Contractors are tough stocks. But sometimes resistance can get you
in trouble.
Especially when you are too committed and need a little help.
Too often, new business owners decide they don’t need to hire
external services. You know how it goes … “I can do it myself.
difficult can it be? It’s just a simple direct mail campaign. “
Big mistake! Trying to do it all yourself … unless it’s your area of
experience … usually costs you more in the long run. And most of the time
the work seems quite unprofessional.
Here’s the stage …
You are starting a consulting business. You decide that you need business
cards, a logo, a brochure of some kind, and a website. Pretty basic. you
Think that you can hire the right people and manage these projects yourself.
You too. You brainstorm some names for the company and manage them a
few friends and select one for your business. Then you find a designer
whose job you like and meet her. Describe the services that
they offer and what colors you like and which ones you don’t like. Maybe you even have
some sketches of how you think your logo should look like.
Then the designer (working with minimal direction) begins to work. Unless
has provided you with detailed information about your target market, your niche,
how you see the development of your identity, this designer has no idea.
But he comes up with some designs. Once again, you go to some
friends and family for feedback. Based on the general
consensus, select a design (hopefully it will fit your company
name and what you do). Now you can leave it to the designer
for printing quotes for your business cards and stationery. Or you can
do it yourself and get some price comparisons. You will need to know
what kind of paper would you like, paper weight, quantities, etc.
Next, you want to start with some kind of brochure or flyer. You stick
with your logo designer? If so, better make sure you’ve seen some
samples of brochures you have made. Designers often specialize in one
product or other. I have worked with great logo designers who cannot do
other warranties.
And your website? Can your logo designer also do
site design? And the develop? Not all designers are
developers. In fact, most are not. The best developers I found started
like people on the web, while my best designers stick to what they do
best – graphic design.
You also need to decide how many pages your site will have, what
are (the menu), how you want the site to be laid out (sitemap), whether or
you do not need a dynamic or static site, what elements should be
included, etc.
Are you still happy with your decision? Better make sure you nail the
It costs all of this, so you won’t be surprised at the end.
Lastly, don’t forget about the copy. You need some for your brochure.
You need a different copy for your website. They are different types of
marketing tools and the copy should be written in a different style to
each. But everything must work together (be integrated) so that
don’t look like a fractured company. Your brochure and website should
they look the same … but the approach is different.
If you are still managing it yourself, congratulations. Especially if you have time
to carry out any type of sale, networking or research. Because you have assumed
I work full time as a marketing / project manager.
Thinking … you could have saved yourself a lot of hassle and time
If only I had called in a marketer at first. Later
you would have a person who could manage all the previous projects for you:
or work with the designer (or designers) and developers to make
sure everyone involved understood what you do and to whom you do it
or review, reject and / or approve designs before you see
them
o writing a suitable copy for each product
or proofreading
o monitor the various vendors to make sure the workflow is active
the schedule and work is correct
… and only calling you for screening, fact-checking or final decisions.
On the other hand, maybe you like a challenge. Or maybe you just need
micromanage everything. Because by the time you’re done, you’ll be
you will probably end up with a disjointed marketing “program” (for lack of a better
word). And when and if you finally call a marketing person to
check your marketing collateral, you will probably find that changing
everything to a specialist, who does this all the time, would
it actually cost you less than doing it yourself.
At least you’ll know better next time.
