What to Expect
We've been helping companies - large and small - with their marketing for many years. It's provided us knowledge of which clients will succeed and which, well might need to work with someone else. Most clues come during our pre-engagement meetings. While you are deciding if we are the right fit for you, we are doing the same.
Below are two lists: one of the qualities we know will create successes, and the other qualities that are sure to cause grief for both parties. We don't print this to be snobby. We honestly want every client we work with to be extremely successful and we know the qualities that help expedite that when working with a marketing firm. When our clients succeed, we suceed.
| Successful |
Potentially Unsuccessful |
| Client understands they need to provide any information requested in a timely manner or there will be process delays |
Client thinks their part is complete after hiring us |
| Client and key personnel are available for strategy calls |
Client and/or key personnel do not make time for strategy calls |
| Client responds to our Project Manager's requests |
Client ignores our Project Manager |
| Client makes decisions quickly or directs us to decide rather than delay |
Client needs input on each and every process, makes multiple edits |
| Point of contact is the decision maker |
Point of contact reports to others who want constant input, but are not directly available to us |
| Client honors our time lines - doesn't rush the process or results |
Client wants results on their schedule |
| Client trusts our knowledge on each marketing element |
Client second guesses our knowledge. "My friend who knows SEO says you should..." |
| Client works through processes with us, providing access and logins when requested |
Client wants to keep relevant data and logins private |
| Client accepts that most of the marketing tasks we perform are done a specific way for a reason (that we are happy to explain) |
Client keeps performing some tasks themselves becasue they are fun |
| Client accepts the deliverables of their contracted level |
Project clients want strategic retainer deliverables |
Expectations by Task
Each service we provide has different levels of exploration and benchmarking before and during the initial engagement. No one likes surprises, so we’ve compiled our general process flows for onboarding a new client for each service. There are always exceptions based on our initial conversations, but use this as a general guide.
Social Media Management
We will gather your existing account information and content then set up the automation in our systems. We will manage the posting process across all platforms weekly. You will need to communicate any special events we might not be aware of that need to be incorporated into your posting schedule.
Blogging
All blogging projects require learning your preferred writing style and some topic direction. We determine this best through trial and error. For the first few blogs, we will work with you to get the right tone and style. If your product is complex we may require information outlines and documentation to write intelligently on your topics. "Authors" need to be identified and a comment monitor from your company available to answer intelligently.
Content Creation
For large content: webinars, videos, white-papers; you need to have all team members available for strategy calls. Background data must be provided and key sales personnel will need to be available to help guide targeting. Since content like this is used to drive conversions, sales must be involved to work through precise targeting.
Small Business Consulting & Implementation
You will first receive a comprehensive questionnaire that will provide us with background on your company and marketing activities to date. This questionnaire is required even from start ups. Next, you will schedule your regular consultations with Paula Pollock, depending on the service level you have chosen. During the first consultation, your additional marketing implementation needs will be determined. Those skills that fall within your service level will be assigned and implemented with progress posting on our 24/7 project dashboard. Additional projects which require vendor proposals will be managed and bids presented for your approval. New projects/vendors will be managed within the scope of your chosen service level with progress also posted on our project dashboard.
Virtual Marketing Services – Qualification Call
During our initial call, we will ask about the marketing you have done in the past year and what goals prompted our conversation. If we determine we can deliver results and you agree to move forward, we will send you a thorough questionnaire which will determine the size of your engagement. A final quote will be sent and upon signing contracts your Virtual Marketing team will begin.
Virtual CMO
An initial strategy session will be scheduled. You will receive a login for our 24/7 project dashboard. All your current vendors will be set up so progress can be monitored by everyone. New strategic and administrative assignments and projects will be entered according to needs determined from our strategy sessions and questionnaires. Follow up sessions will be scheduled as needed. If you require your VCMO to attend a particular meeting, please give us as much notice as possible – preferably two weeks. If travel is involved, terms should be discussed one month in advance. Please note that time sheets are not provided as all our engagements are billed monthly never hourly.
Virtual Marketing Department
In addition to the VCMO tasks, projects will be divided amongst our department professionals as determined in our strategy sessions. Project managers will maintain milestones regularly to keep you informed of all progress. Additional professionals may need to be hired (E.g. website developers, specialty writers, graphic designers) and their contracts executed. The Pollock Marketing Group will oversee their work and will bill for their additional services.
