When Should Your Clients Be Advertising?

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By: Mike Krass

Here's the double-edged question that every client is bound to ask their marketing agency:

When Should We Be Advertising?

As someone who owns an agency, the answer I immediately want to shout out is "ALL THE TIME!" Unfortunately, that's not exactly the right way to respond to ensure that the client's needs are being met.

With a question like this, the client is looking to you (their agency) to play the part of "the expert" and provide an answer that will help them shape their marketing strategy for the foreseeable future.

And even though it can be a bit of a scary, open-ended question, it's really a question that every agency should love to hear from their clients. A question like this, from client directly to agency, shows that the client trusts your advice and values your opinion to the point that they want your input to help guide their companies vision moving forward.

So Take Advantage of the Situation and Look Like a Superstar!

In order to do so, I'd recommend asking the follow questions:

Peak Seasonality: Historically, which time frames have you seen the best sales figures? How much sales data do you have to support this historical framework?
The "Off" Season: The "offseason" hasn't historically been a prime revenue generator for your company...could the same be said of your competitors? If yes, is this a time frame when you could step in and steal some market share from them?
Big Announcements: Whether these are product or company-wide announcements, these are great opportunities to remind the world about your brand. A great example of this is when Verizon advertises product launches weeks or months in advance, almost as if they're building up the buzz like a blockbuster Hollywood hit.

Remember that the questions above are just a start, but they should provide you (the agency) with a strategic framework to intelligently kick off the conversation. In fact, these are the same questions that my company, MKG Media Group, uses when presented with the question above.

So next time you hear this question, make the most of your opportunity to play the part of superstar in front of your client.

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About the Author

Mike Krass is the founder of MKG Media Group, a Bay Area digital media shop that specializes in measurable media solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. When not walking his puppy or sky diving around the US, his personal musings can be read on Twitter at @mikekrass.

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