If you’re like many, you can never have too many in-house resources to handle all the work you’d like to do. Hiring a marketing firm for short-term projects can make a lot of sense when you need to kick out an extra demand generation program before year-end, or handle PR for a new product launch.

It can be even more effective to hire a marketing firm on retainer—think of it as having your own marketing concierge.

Here are three reasons why hiring a marketing firm on retainer makes sense:

1. You get better results.

Doing one-off programs will yield results—but an ongoing effort that is sustained over a longer period of time gives you the opportunity to fine-tune it for optimal results. Whether you are generating leads, press coverage or industry recognition, the results improve over time.

2. Activities are strategic versus tactical.

A marketing firm on retainer will see beyond tactics (launching a product or creating a brochure) and focus on longer-term strategies that will pay bigger dividends. They can help you improve your competitive position, increase your industry credibility, expand your reach into new and existing markets—and develop the tactics needed to achieve your goals. In short, you’ll get more bang for your marketing buck.

3. The relationship becomes more effective over time.

One of the biggest reasons to hire a marketing firm on retainer is that the relationship grows over time, and your marketing advisor becomes more valuable to you as a result. The longer you work with a marketing firm, the better they understand your solutions, your target markets, and your uniqueness in the marketplace, and the better job they can do through richer content, compelling calls-to-action, and stronger connections to press and analysts.

If you are looking for a marketing agency, here are a few questions to ask:

• Have you worked on retainer before, and what were the results?
• What is your employee’s longevity?
• Who will be my main contact, and will I have a single point of contact?
• Do you have expertise on staff and strategic partnerships that cross many disciplines (website development/SEO, design, content creation, marketing automation, PR, etc.)?

If need help with your marketing projects, either short-term or on retainer, give us a call: 925.699.7921.