Christa Tuttle is founder and president of Launch Marketing, an Austin based marketing services firm, which works with technology oriented businesses to generate leads and drive revenue. Launch’s high impact and cost effective services range from developing and implementing integrated marketing plans to completing one time projects including company or product launches, demand generation campaigns, events, websites, collateral and more. Started in 2001, the firm has over 70 clients to date ranging from early stage to public companies. In 2004, Christa was a recipient of the Austin Business Journal’s Rising Star Award and in 2008, Launch received the Silver Award for Best Integrated B2B Tradeshow Campaign by Event Marketer Magazine.

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A Client’s Bill of Rights

Three Key Points to Consider When Selecting a Firm or Consultant

Typically, a company engages a firm or consultant when it lacks time or internal resources to accomplish certain tasks. While this reasoning is effective and can deliver results, the most significant value of working with a third party is the opportunity to gain an unbiased perspective and deep subject matter expertise. Once you’ve identified the need to bring in a third party, where do you begin? How do you ensure maximum value over the lifetime of your engagement?

Launch Marketing interviewed numerous executives to discover common pain points and successes experienced when working with a third party. After analyzing the results, the following are three of the top points:

• The Right to be Understood. It is often seen that some firms ramp up for a client pitch by preparing their resume of accomplishments instead of taking the time to do the homework necessary to gain an understanding of your company, products or solutions. The best pitches ‘feel’ like the firm is part of the company, so much so that it should be seen as extensions of your company’s internal team. The further the firm is along on that path of alignment in early stages, the better your odds are that it will add value to your team.

• The Right to Accountability. As a client, you have the right to receive work from a firm or consultant that is of absolute value to your company. If a firm is running up against obstacles on a project for a client, it is the responsibility of the firm or consultant to notify the client of the situation, and proactively provide an outline of alternative solutions to implement to help achieve projected goals.

• The Right to be Number One. Most importantly, you have the right to feel like you are the only client; the top priority. Regardless of how busy your point of contact is, he or she should always be responsive and accountable to your needs. If your point of contact can’t immediately start working on your request, he or she should at least respond with a phrase such as, “I can’t get to this today, but I can do so tomorrow.” A quick response to let you know they received the message and will work on it as soon as possible is priceless.

Know Your Rights

Make sure whichever firm or consultant you choose can meet these and any other needs specific to you, your internal team and your company. The expectations you outline up front can help you build a successful and long-lasting relationship with the third party you engage. To read the expanded version of this article, visit www.launch-marketing.com/company/articles.aspx

About the Author

Christa Kleinhans Tuttle, a TAB member since 2004, is founder and president of Launch Marketing, which acts as a virtual marketing organization primarily for technology companies, and offers a range of services from developing and implementing integrated marketing plans to completing one time projects including launches, conferences, tradeshows, Web sites, print materials, online campaigns, direct marketing and more.

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