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Guest post by: Helen Dowling Become an Author

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For many small companies, the thought of doing marketing could definitely be classed as hard work! Where do you start? What should you do? Have you got enough time to do it? So the thought of using a marketing company to do the work for them sounds like the best answer in the world. Here are my top tips to getting it right:

1. Be very clear on what you want the marketing company to do for you - is it telemarketing; is it developing your website; is it creating a brand? Too often, client will say "we just want more customers", but that involves marketing and selling - what do you want the marketing company to do?

2. Make sure that you or your marketing company put in place a structure to have regular catch up sessions where you can make sure everything is working for you or voice any concerns. Working well with a marketing company is all about developing that relationship.

3. Don't forget to give marketing a chance with your marketing company - marketing often takes a while to work. Having said that, make sure that you give it chance to work within reason, bearing in mind point 4 below.

4. Test and measure. What I mean by this is monitor what is happening with your marketing company and if what you're expecting to happen doesn't happen, stop using them. I have known people to be very unhappy with the company they've been using from very early on in the relationship and yet they're still using them 15 months later! If it isn't working (after a trial period) then stop.

5. Get references and testimonials. Check out the marketing company you're planning to use before you use them. Find out who they've worked for and what the results were. If possible, try to speak to their referees over the phone.

6. Voice any concerns early in the relationship - it's much better to get small issues out of the way before they build into bigger problems.

7. Make sure that you get everything in writing so that you are both clear on what's going to happen. This is particularly important if you have monthly meetings - get the marketing company to send you bullet points about what will be done or do this yourself. Communication as always is key and if you both know what will happen in advance, so much the better.

8. Remember to take their advice - after all, you took on a marketing company to get their expertise didn't you? Don't forget to use it.

9. Don't just leave the marketing company to it - respond to things they send over and return their phone calls. Remember that they'll need managing too - if you leave them to their own devices, who knows what you'll end up with.

10. And finally, don't forget to have fun and be creative - your marketing company should have ideas they can give you to drive your marketing forward - remember to pick their brains!

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