Maximize the Partnership Between Your Marketing Manager & Marketing Vendor

By working closely together, they can develop and execute cohesive marketing strategies that effectively target and engage your customers, enhance brand visibility, and maximize ROI. Plus, a strong partnership fosters mutual trust and commitment, leading to more innovative and impactful marketing initiatives that set your company apart in a competitive market. 

Looking to hire an internal marketing manager? Here are tips for maximizing the partnership between your marketing manager and your marketing vendor.

Marketing Managers should:

• Own the development of the annual marketing plan and lead plan in alignment with your company's business plan and goals 
• Create an annual campaign calendar complete with a promotional plan, particularly for shoulder seasons
• Share your marketing plan, campaign calendar, and goals with your marketing vendor in order to align on the marketing mix, strategies, and budget that are right for your business goals
• Have the authority to execute your company's marketing plan, approve budgets and campaigns
• Discuss and align expectations for channel performance with the marketing vendor
• Engage, engage, engage! Show up to regular meetings, ask questions, provide feedback, and do the homework. You are half of the partnership. Don’t expect to set it and forget it. Be an active contributor.
• Set up tracking systems and make sure you understand the data/results
• Build trust. Define who is responsible for what and let each party be responsible for delivering on what was promised. 
• Proactively communicate changes to promotions, services or service areas, company information, etc to your marketing vendor. They are the marketing expert, but you are your company’s brand expert. 
• Always communicate with your company’s owners and key stakeholders so everyone is aligned on the plans, results, and expectations. You, as the marketing manager, may have the autonomy to make all marketing-related decisions but it’s critical that key stakeholders in your business are still in the loop.