So you have decided that you need to hire a marketing agency and want to work with TopLine, and we are absolutely thrilled!
But you should know, hiring TopLine for B2B PR or inbound marketing services is not like working with other agencies. Sure, our wicked sense of humour and office dog differentiate us, but that’s not the full extent of it. At TopLine we also approach marketing differently. Some people might find it strange that we do not, for example, tend to take on project work. But we certainly have our reasons, and would love to share them with you.
1. TopLine is a profitable business
I am really proud of TopLine’s great track record helping companies grow into hugely successful global businesses.
This track record generates us loads of inbound leads and companies often approach us looking for three months of PR support, or integrated comms around a specific project they’re working on. These companies often promise that if the project is successful it could turn into more work – and I genuinely believe that most of these promises are made in earnest.
If this is you – unfortunately, we have to turn you down. But why, you ask? The reason is simple: TopLine is a solid, profitable business and, like most businesses, our long-term objectives are all about growth and profitability.
These objectives mean that we absolutely have to focus our time and energy on the clients that we will be working with in three years’ time. When we take on a new client, we have to be able to see ourselves working successfully with them long-term (we’re into our eighth year with some already). Because the most successful agencies are the ones with long-standing clients.
But it’s not just about revenue.
2. We put in the hours
In the first few months after signing a new client we put disproportionate effort into getting the account off the ground.
We will spend hours speaking to your salespeople, introducing you to the media, reading all your collateral, attending meetings and learning all we can about your business. All of this takes time, and we always over deliver on our client hours during the first couple of months, which means that we never make a profit during this time.
But, we do it gladly, because in the long term it is so worth it! We see this process as an investment in the future of the account. We don’t believe a genuine comms strategy can be designed or delivered successfully without first laying this foundation – there are no shortcuts.
And for your company to benefit from this groundwork and knowledge we build, we have to work with you for longer than a couple of months.
The initial learning phase can be messy, but once we get through it, we know that we can deliver great results that impact your bottom line (and we have loads of case studies to prove this).
And when we’re helping you grow, you’ll stick around. That’s good for us. Good for you. Bad for your competitors.
So, while projects are often great fun, we tend to turn them away so we can focus on the work that will drive this business forward.
It’s our strategy. And having a real strategy means we’re prepared to say no to good opportunities and will wait patiently for the perfect ones to come along (helped of course by our own highly strategic integrated comms activity). If you think you might be that client then drop me a line. Either way, best of luck!
Speaking of TopLine’s unique offering and approach, did you know that we are also a video company?