Don't talk - do

Common sense suggests that if one is set a task, the logical thing is to complete it as well as possible in the shortest available time, and in that way all parties involved are happy. Indeed, most businesses are dependent on this level of efficiency, including us. But therein lies the problem; not just for marketing, but seemingly for bought-in external services as a whole. Clients, in some cases, know that they need outside expertise to complete a task they cannot do themselves, yet appear unwilling to commit to its implementation.

The process of marketing can be likened to passenger flight: an airliner uses most fuel getting off the ground, but when it reaches its cruising altitude, the fuel-burn is greatly reduced. Getting a brand established into the subconscious of the target market is an expensive business – which is why the strategy has to be right from the outset – but once the marketing plan is in place, the momentum needs to be maintained, at less effort, otherwise the ‘plane will descend’, to continue with the analogy.

While the launch if a new brand or product can seem to consume many resources, the financial outlay must be seen as an investment. Marketing is not something that delivers an immediate return, and indeed it is often hard to quantify its contribution to sales results. Many large consumer oriented organisations in fact have the sales department as part of the marketing function, which resolves this dilemma.

So while we can’t expect you to re-organise your business on our say-so, we do appeal to you to think of marketing as a necessary investment rather than an optional purchase. The Big Red Moose is here to provide marketing support rather than your having to hire someone full time. Now isn’t that the kind of investment that’s on your terms?