Why We Work So Well With Marketing Managers

At Repeat, marketing managers are the people we work with most. Over the years we’ve partnered with more than 50 of them, and we’ve shaped how we work around what they actually need from an agency.

To explain why, it helps to start with what the role really involves.

They wear every hat

PPC, SEO, email, social media, events, print, design. Marketing covers a huge range of disciplines, and in many businesses one person is expected to cover all of them, switching between channels several times a day.

They’re expected to grow the business

It’s easy to assume growth comes from the sales team, but a lot of it starts with marketing. Without a clear marketing plan, a business lacks direction, and growth becomes slower and less predictable.

Targets go up, budgets don’t

A familiar story: leadership raises the lead target but the budget stays the same. A more useful conversation is what strategy will hit the new target, and what spend it needs. For example, if you’ve identified 400 target companies, aiming to reach 10% of them each month over a year gives everyone a realistic, measurable plan.

It can be a lonely role

In smaller businesses, the marketing manager may be the only person who really understands marketing. Colleagues often look at cost first and strategy second, which makes it hard to get support for good ideas.

They don’t always get the credit

When targets are missed, marketing is often first in line for the blame. When deals close, the credit usually goes to sales, even when marketing nurtured the lead from the start.

Everyone thinks they know marketing

Business owners and colleagues from other departments often have strong opinions on marketing, which can leave the person actually responsible for it with less influence than they should have.

Marketing is first to be cut

When times get tough, marketing budgets are often the first thing to go, even though businesses that keep investing tend to come out of downturns stronger.

How We Support Marketing Managers

We act as an extension of your team

We don’t want to be an outside supplier that just runs your PPC and SEO. We want to understand your business and goals, share the load when things get busy, and celebrate the wins with you.

We start with your KPIs

The first thing we ask is what your marketing KPIs are, so everything we do is aligned with them. Our reports lead with those KPIs rather than pages of statistics that don’t matter to you.

Regular meetings that are worth your time

Many of our clients have a weekly check-in, but we’re happy to meet fortnightly, monthly or as needed. Every meeting follows the same simple agenda: results against your KPIs, why things performed the way they did, what we’re doing next, and any questions.

Quick answers when you need them

Alongside meetings, many clients have a WhatsApp group with their account managers for quick questions. We use it to share good news too, and because we keep an eye on incoming leads, we’re often the first to spot when a campaign is flying.

Direct access to the people doing the work

We hire technical specialists who are also good communicators, so you can speak directly to the person running your account rather than going through a middleman.

We test new ideas

Standing still means missing opportunities, so we’re always looking for things worth testing. For Navitas Safety, switching to Facebook lead form ads brought their cost per lead down to £20 to £30, compared with £50 to £60 from standard image and video ads.

We help you understand the work

We train clients on tools like Google Analytics and walk them through their accounts. Marketing managers who understand what’s happening are in a stronger position when they report to the board, and in our experience the campaigns perform better too.

We’re honest when things go wrong

Not every campaign goes to plan. When something doesn’t work, we tell you plainly, explain why and agree what happens next, so everyone learns from it.

Looking for an Agency That Understands In-House Marketing?

If you’re juggling every channel with a target that keeps creeping up, we’d love to help. Claim your free audit and we’ll show you where we can take some of the load off.