It’s tough to get your name out there without marketing. From your brand and logo to social media and traditional marketing – you’ll find it difficult to pull ahead of the competition without a consistent strategy. Unless you’re a large firm already, chances are you’re going to need to outsource that work to someone with more expertise. So, is it better to hire someone for ad hoc work only, or to have a marketing firm on retainer? The answer will depend on your unique needs and requirements, and it’s important to keep this in mind as you consider it.
Sometimes you’ve got a design in your head, and you just need someone with the right skillset to execute it properly. If that’s the case, then Ad Hoc work is an easy choice for you, since the advantages offered by keeping a firm on retainer aren’t as applicable. If you only need a few projects completed, or already have enough knowledge of branding and marketing to be going on with, then you won’t need the sage advice offered by an expert that retainer would provide.
So, if you aren’t looking for more than two or three items of work and know what you want to get out of them, then the price of keeping a firm on retainer isn’t as justifiable. As always, business decisions come down to cost – and unless you have the money to spend, paying for unneeded extras just isn’t worth it.
Consistency is crucial to ensuring your brand has a recognisable face and clear message. If you cart your design needs to different firms all the time, that consistency can easily get lost and obscured. If you keep a firm on retainer, it’s easy for them to maintain a deep and coherent understanding of your needs and requirements, and put them into action throughout your materials.
Through this, it becomes easier to foster brand recognition and loyalty. It also means you can pull ahead of competition that doesn’t have as defined a brand as you do. All of the world’s most famous brands maintain consistency, and you’d be losing out if you didn’t too.
Branding and marketing is a very multifaceted industry, and there are a number of skill sets involved in creating and designing a successful strategy. As with any skill, it takes years to become proficient and develop expertise – which is undoubtedly why you need to outsource it in the first place. By keeping a firm on retainer, you maintain access to this knowledge and skill whenever you need them.
It can be difficult to anticipate when your business might encounter trouble, but with personnel on hand to help you through, overcoming those challenges becomes much easier. If you option for simply bringing a company on for ad hoc work, you lose the chance to have those skills available at your convenience.
Even if you have pretty-looking brand materials, for effective marketing you need a coherent strategy to follow. One of the big benefits of getting a firm on retainer is that you can pivot that strategy to address unexpected changes in the market. Adapting your strategy is key to staying ahead, and your business otherwise runs the risk of becoming stale.
Even if you bring someone on ad hoc to help you re-evaluate your strategy, you lose the more intimate understanding a firm on retainer would develop for your brand. Being more familiar with you, they can use the knowledge they’ve developed by working alongside your business to create more innovative and bespoke approaches to your marketing.
While bringing a firm on board for ad hoc services can be useful for just a couple of quick pieces of work, if you need a more consistent and competitive marketing strategy it’s better to keep a firm on retainer. The closer a marketing agency works with your brand, the easier it will be to deliver truly memorable and impactful materials that resonate with your audience while remaining truly representative of your brand.
If you’re in need of ad hoc or retainer services, we’d be happy to help.