PowerHouse Advisors

Q&A – Valuable Insight

What is outsourced marketing?
•    An outsourced marketing company such as PowerHouse acts as a single point of contact for all your marketing management needs, along with our in-house talent, we pull together other proven resources as needed holding costs down to save the client money.

How do we get an introductory meeting?
•    Feel free to email, phone or send a message to us through our website. We will set up a time for a complimentary introduction meeting, allowing us to both determine if there is a business relationship fit?

How is PowerHouse less expensive?
•    Hiring an in-house marketing manager can cost anywhere from $55,000-$95,000 annually. That is just salary, and does not include benefits, training, operating expenses and more. All include the expense can escalate to over $100,000 per year.
Keep in mind, an in-house marketing manager will need the resources of a graphic designer, webmaster, printer, etc. With PowerHouse you save the overhead, we handle all the strategy, management and execution and pass our lower resource cost to you. This approach is more cost effect and ensures world class quality.

What size project or company do you work with?
•    We service firms at all sizes and do accommodate projects based clients.

Can you help us with sales too?
•    Yes. We know sales and marketing are interrelated. We can assist with sales training, tracking, and lead nurturing.

How often do we meet?
•    With most of our clients we communicate weekly by email, phone or Skype for out of town clients.  In addition, we like to have regular monthly meetings to access progress and measure results. We customize based on each client and establish the frequency of communication at the beginning of each month.

Can you work in our office?
•    We would be glad to schedule office hours if that is your preference.

Who manages the marketing implementation?
•    Most often, we take that burden from our clients so they can focus on their business yet it depends on the client and what they need from PowerHouse.

Can you do an ala carte project or plan?
•    Yes, often we start with a smaller project or marketing plan and in the future when funds allow we return to work on a more consistent basis.

What should I allocate for a marketing budget?
•    This can be a tricky question; it truly depends on how much marketing you need and how aggressive you want to be in accomplishing business development goals. We will help you set realistic goals and work as aggressively as you wish.

How much should we budget for your fees?
•    If you were looking for PowerHouse to take the place of a full-time marketing director our fees will save you thousands of dollars. Yet if you were thinking more of a marketing assistant, we can accommodate our workload for this pricing structure as well. Prices are based on the level of professional expertise needed and time allocation. When you contact us for an introductory meeting, we will work with you and ensure you are comfortable with our fee structure.

I don’t have a marketing budget; can you help me establish a benchmark?
•    Absolutely. We have expertise in developing both your marketing budget and strategic plan.

What type of Agreement do you use?
•    With new consulting clients, we start off on a fixed-price fee per project to ensure that there’s a mutual fit.  Afterwards, we usually enter into annual monthly retainer contracts with our clients so that we can offer the most reasonable rates and the best possible client service.

How is PowerHouse different than an advertising agency?
•    Typically, an advertising agency will be more expensive and there focus is on mass media, collateral and other marketing materials and don’t want to be involved in the overall sales success or ROI.

Will you work with our staff?
•    Absolutely. Each client is different yet if you have staff who can be trained or have the time to work on tasks, we certainly accommodate.

Social Media Marketing is a hot button; do you do this for us?
•    Social media is a wonderful tool to include in our marketing mix yet on a standalone basis this doesn’t drive the kind of results that clients are looking to achieve. We utilize social media as part of an overall integrated marketing strategy and plan; using social media to drive traffic or to compliment other aspects of a results-driven marketing program can be effective.

Where do you work?
•    We are located outside of downtown Chicago, Illinois yet we have served many clients across the country. We use online tools for meetings and if needed we coordinate site visits to client’s markets. Again, for many of our clients, our location is not really a key factor; today so much can be accomplished through conference calls, email and video conferencing.

Do you have references?
•    Yes, we can provide a list of references at your request. Some of our clients prefer privacy and have posted their feedback on either on our website, LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media platforms.

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