How to hire a marketing agency, with Alicia Williams and Chris Viscomi

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Business growth requires a sound marketing plan so your company can thrive, survive, and stay successful - and relevant -  in fast-changing trends and technologies. But if you don’t have the time or workforce to focus on marketing, an external marketing agency can do the heavy lifting for you. Their marketing experts can help you expand your client base, improve branding, and boost revenue. At the same time, you attend to other business matters like developing new products and services and closing sales.But the process isn’t as simple as doing a quick Google search on “marketing agencies near me” and choose the one on top of the list. Hiring the right agency takes time, patience, and a lot of vetting, as well as taking a hard look at your business to see what you need and what needs work.In this episode of Help! My Business Is Growing, my guests Alicia Williams and Chris Viscomi and I discuss how your business can benefit from hiring a marketing agency to how you know if it’s time to say goodbye and part ways if things are not working.Alicia and Chris also demystify the entire hiring process, providing tips on choosing the right agency to match your business needs, and what red flags to watch out for. They also share what you can expect when your actual working relationship begins and touch on your agency’s scope of work. Alicia Williams is the CEO, and Chris Viscomi is the Co-Founder of Aliste Marketing, a boutique marketing agency that helps companies build tactical marketing plans consisting of out-of-the-box marketing techniques, cutting-edge videos, and social media strategies that give brands a voice to attract new clients.In this week's episode, we discuss:02:30  Why would a business choose to obtain the services of a marketing agency over hiring an in-house marketing person or working with a freelancer?07:42 What are some of the common mistakes that you see people make when they're vetting potential marketing agencies?08:53 Should a company do any pre-work before they hire a marketing agency? Should they hire someone who's focused on brand strategy first? 11:06 What would be a realistic expectation for any marketing activity or strategy to start working?11:24 What are the signs that the marketing agency you hired is doing a good job, even though all your marketing activities or strategies are still in development?15:10 How often do you need to align or have conversations with your marketing agency? 16:11 How involved should your marketing agency be during strategic planning? Where do they come in during these planning processes?18:14 Can a marketing agency help you with your long-term strategy? 23:34 How do you decide on which marketing trends to try? 30:39 What is the next tangible step someone can take in the next week to get them closer to hiring the right agency for their business?Resources:Alicia Williams & Chris Viscomi, Co-founders and Marketing Experts, Aliste Marketing:https://alistemarketing.com/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/aliste-marketing/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alistemarketing/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisteMarketing/Kathy Svetina, Fractional CFO:https://www.newcastlefinance.us/Blog post | How to Hire a Marketing Agencyhttps://www.newcastlefinance.us/post/how-to-hire-a-marketing-agencyIs your growth causing financial headaches? Sales up, but profits lagging? Financial practices stuck in entry level mode?Don't worry, it's not you—it's your financial setup.Introducing NextGen Finance Blueprint by NewCastle Finance. This CFO-led roadmap: • Brings fuzzy finances into focus • Gives you a clear money picture • Creates a step-by-step action planReady to level up? Visit newcastle.finance/blueprint