Tips for Starting a Marketing Business

Finding your niche will make your marketing business have a clear roadmap to success

By Jenni Simcoe, Writer

There are marketing firms that do it all—from event marketing to search engine marketing. Chances are once you’ve found your niche, you will gain loyal customers who want more marketing services than your niche requires. They key is to create your niche first and then broaden your approach to serve existing clients. Otherwise as a startup company that offers a huge menu of services, it may be hard to sell yourself as an expert in any of them. The other side of the coin however, is if you are starting a small business as an outsourced marketing department for a small to medium-sized client who needs a whole suite of marketing services. It all depends on your target market. The primary steps to starting your marketing services company include:

1. Marketing your company effectively, by starting with top-notch marketing materials that show your expertise in marketing to businesses.
2. Scouting the marketplace to see what services are lacking or in-great demand in your area, (geographically or in your specialty).
3. Setting up business relationships with good printers, list brokers, graphic designers, video production companies and event planners.

Find a niche for your marketing business

Focus on one primary marketing skill and offer other services as add-on benefits.
Try:

Research the pros and cons of creating a niche versus full-suite marketing at MarketingProfs.com. Study the different niches of the marketing world at MarketingPower.

Study the habits of other marketing businesses

By joining industry associations, you can keep up-to-date with the latest marketing trends and events.
Try:

The American Marketing Association provides information, products and services to help marketing professionals in their field. The Business Marketing Association, the Direct Marketing Association and the Promotion Marketing Association provide customized support, news and suppliers in each of their specialized fields.

Subscribe to trade journals

Trade magazines provide information on suppliers for specific marketing niches and news for the industry.
Try:

Target Marketing Magazine provides insight on subjects such as list-buying, branding and print buying. The publications of the American Marketing Association encompass Marketing News, Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing and Marketing Management. Creative, The Magazine of Promotion and Marketing provides information on Point-of-Purchase Display, Trade Show Exhibit and Sales Promotion Programs.

Hang a shingle

If you don’t have a big client to start up with, bid on small marketing projects through listing services.
Try:

Elance.com and Guru.com post listings on marketing projects that are out for bids.

Write a business plan for your marketing business

Your roadmap to success should include a great business plan, clear and concise objectives and goals and possible obstacles that you might find along the way.
Try:

Check out the marketing pricing calculators, case studies and get a free marketing idea kit at GiveToGetMarketing.com. Check out a list of business plan software at Business.com.

When starting a new business, there is always a juggling act of time spent on existing customers’ accounts and time spent acquiring new accounts. Plan how you will balance the two, before you hand out your first business card.
Always ask clients for referrals to other clients. Their suppliers, business relationships and clients are the best word-of-mouth clients you can find, if your client can give a great referral.
Don’t give ideas away for free. Many times a company will request a full-fledged RFP so that you show your hand before they’ve chosen the company. Make sure you include past results in your proposal and past case studies, but only include the goals and objectives and general information of how you will accomplish it. This way you ensure your time spent on the proposal doesn’t go to the person who bid the lowest on the project without your work receiving a cent.