If you're reading this, chances are you’re ready to elevate your marketing efforts. Maybe you’re considering hiring a marketing agency, or maybe you’re preparing for your first kickoff meeting with your new marketing team. As you’re preparing for your first marketing meeting, you might feel overwhelmed, nervous, or even uncertain of what lies ahead- and that’s okay!
To ensure that your first marketing meeting is productive and successful, we've prepared a comprehensive checklist for you. This checklist will help you organize your thoughts, gain confidence, and show that you are ready to take on the challenges of marketing with enthusiasm and skill. So, let's get started on preparing for a successful first marketing meeting!
Key Elements to Gather Before Your First Marketing Meeting
Define Your Company’s Marketing Goals:
Perhaps the most important thing you need to gather before your first kickoff meeting with a marketing agency is a clear understanding of your company’s marketing goals. Ask yourself:
Why am I seeking marketing help?
What problem(s) am I trying to solve through marketing?
What type of results am I looking for?
Do I have any key events or deliverables that my marketing team needs to work toward?
All of these questions will help to level set the conversation with your new marketing team. Defining clear goals and expectations from the beginning is crucial to developing an outstanding marketing strategy.
Understand Your Brand’s Target Audience:
In order to best prepare your marketing team, it is important that you take some time to research and understand your organization’s target audience. Knowing who you're trying to reach as well as knowing what you want to achieve will help guide the discussion with your marketing team. This will help shape your brand’s future marketing campaigns, content creation, and more.
Gather Data and Insights:
If you have any data or insights on previous marketing campaigns, bring those to the table in your first marketing meeting! Numbers don’t lie, and data can really help a marketing team understand your status, success, and popularity with your target audience. If anything, data and insights are a great launching point for your new marketing team to jump from. Remember, data-driven decisions are more likely to resonate with stakeholders.
Define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
KPIs are a great way to track the progress made toward a marketing goal. In general, KPIs are measurable metrics that are used to indicate the effectiveness of a marketing tactic. Your marketing team will appreciate a transparent conversation about KPIs so that they know what goals to work toward and the best ways to track campaign progress. Whether it's increasing website traffic, boosting conversions, or growing brand awareness, setting specific KPIs will keep your marketing efforts on track and provide clear insight on how well your brand’s marketing campaigns are performing.
Bring Ideas for Campaigns and Initiatives:
Don’t leave your marketing team hanging! If you have ideas for a marketing campaign or initiative, let your team know about them. Marketing is a collaborative and creative process, so creative teams will appreciate any ideas that you can bring to the table.
Assess Budget and Resources:
Before your kickoff meeting with your marketing team, it’s important to be prepared with an understanding of your company’s marketing budget. It's crucial to have a realistic view of what marketing initiatives can be achieved with the given resources. If your marketing team has a good grasp of the marketing budget available, then they can work to maximize the impact of their marketing efforts.
Analyze Competitors:
Providing your marketing team with an understanding of who your brand's competitors are will greatly advance your marketing team’s research and ideation process. Any insight you have on your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, and successful and/or unsuccessful marketing strategies will only benefit your brand’s future marketing initiatives.
Prepare for Possible Challenges:
Everybody likes a “heads up.” So, if your company has previously run into any obstacles or you predict challenges on the rise for your brand, the first marketing meeting is a great time to inform your team of your concerns. This not only gives the marketing team a “heads up” but also sets them on the right track to avoid obstacles in the marketing strategy.
Bring an Open Mind and a Positive Attitude:
The last tip that we have before you jump into your first marketing meeting is this: bring an open mind and a positive attitude. As mentioned previously, creative teams tend to be very collaborative and are usually receptive to marketing leaders that embrace “what ifs” and are encouraging of the team.
At EWISE Marketing & Communications, it’s not uncommon to find our team thinking up wild ideas! In our experience, we’ve found that creative brainstorming sessions lead to the best campaigns- even if it means suggesting and laughing at the idea of a branded blimp!
In short- you’re going to do great at your first marketing meeting. Bring an open mind and an encouraging spirit and simply watch the marketing magic happen!
Now You’re Ready to Meet with Your New Marketing Team
We know that attending your first marketing meeting can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. Our hope is that this checklist will help you feel prepared and more confident to begin your new marketing journey.
Looking for a marketing team who can elevate your marketing strategy and help you drive success? We’d love to talk with you! Contact us to learn more about how EWISE Marketing & Communications can help you achieve your marketing goals.