What do you need to know?
Take your time to read through our most commonly asked questions, and if you have any other questions please use the form at the bottom of this page or drop us email at declare@declaration.co.uk
What makes Declaration unique?
We have a mix of skills, experiences, marketing tools and processes that are simply not found in any other agency.
We have worked in a variety of advanced engineering sectors in technical positions (in engineering departments), as writers (technical journalism) and as communicators (PR and marketing).
All three components are essential if B2B technical marketing is to produce better and more qualified leads.
In addition, our engagement model is flexible and scalable. Whilst we have standard services, none require much customisation to meet your exact needs; and that means we’re responsive. Also, we provide an indication of what it will cost to engage our services. Why wouldn’t we be open about our pricing? These days you shouldn’t have to phone any service provider to get an indication of costs. If you’re in discussions, with another agency and they have not put pricing on their website, you need to question why.
What do I get for my money? / What does my company get from its investment?
Better and more qualified leads, reduced costs, reduced risk and a better overall ROI.
Let’s discuss each here:
Leads. The content we create and, if applicable the communications we make and the campaigns we manage on your behalf, give you an enhanced presence in the industry. You’ll become a voice of authority and a go to company.
Cost reductions. We make you more productive and your engineers too. Re’ the latter, they might currently be putting aside the occasional half or even full day to help you create your technical marketing content. That is time they are not spending on product development or your supporting a customers. Thanks to our engineering backgrounds and interview skills we’ll keep your engineers’ valuable time to an absolute minimum. That’s a promise.
Reduced risk. All marcomms activities involve risk because results aren’t guaranteed. For example, sending out a press release is one thing but achieving good coverage is another. Ditto award applications. You could invest a lot of time and not even be shortlisted. We have an excellent success rate when it comes to activities that need to be approved by others (e.g. editors and award panel judges) before they can reach their intended and wider audiences. Risk cannot be avoided. We will greatly reduce it though.
Better ROI. This is really the sum of the other three points. Your entire marketing engine will be leaner, slicker and more successful. Also, our services start at less than you’d pay for a Marketing Assistant -someone you’d have to bring up to speed with your products and markets – but with us you get an experienced technical agency that’s already familiar with your markets. What’s not to like?
How can you help me, personally?
As a minimum we can create some of the more technically focused content you need for your inbound and outbound marketing. For example, let us be the ones to liaise with your engineers. Keeping their time to a minimum, we’ll translate technical features into marketable benefits. This will save you a great deal of time and free you to play more of a strategic role in your organisation; which is where you add most value. In addition, we enjoy producing what is generally regarded as the hardest to create content, but which is most engaging, and that is technical articles, white papers and case studies.
We’ll also make your job more enjoyable as, with an experienced agency by your side, you’ll have far greater confidence in your campaigns, knowing that risks have been minimised.
We can also manage entire campaigns for you if a big project comes up. And we can provide cover if you need to be away from work form an extended period of time.
Most importantly we’re a conduit to your markets. We know your customers. We’ve been where they are we know what they need from their suppliers. We know how the technical/trade press works and we have hundreds of trusted editorial contacts if you want to improve your media communications. Lastly, we appreciate the pressure you’re under to attract and convert leads.
What guarantees do you give?
Trust us to do what we do best, and you WILL benefit from better and more qualified leads coming in. It’s as simple as that. However, we need some guarantees from you in return.
You’ll need to convince us, as qualified engineers and former journalists, that your products and/or services employ (or are introducing) cutting-edge technologies. Indeed, you’ll need to make us believe in your products and services as much as you do, and that you’ve done your market research.
In essence, it’s the four Ps of the Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. If you have a good product, have priced it well and have identified the right place (market), we can certainly help promote it.
Also, we’re not a Yes company. We will never make promises we cannot keep and if we have concerns about your marketing strategy or the plans you have in place, we will tell you.
In essence, the guarantee we make is that we are 100% committed to supporting companies that are themselves 100% committed to growth and prepared to place their trust in us.
How long is a service contract?
Our Content Creation, Media Communications and Campaign Management services are, strictly provided under annually renewable contracts. This is standard practice for most agencies.
Longer term contracts, up to 24 months, are available upon request and are discounted by 5%.
Our Marcoms Accelerator service is delivered over an six-week period.
Can I upgrade/downgrade from one service to another on the fly?
Yes, and many clients engaging us for the first time do upgrade. For example, some have started with our Content Creation service and, once content is in place online and ready for distribution, upgraded to our Media Communications service.
Switching does though mark the start of a new contract. For example, you can’t have seven months of Content Creation followed by five months of Media Communications. Instead, it would be seven months of Content Creation, followed by 12 months of Media Communications.
Similarly, some clients have upgraded from our Media Communications service to Campaign Management. They’re seeing great results and trust us to get on and do what we do best; attract and convert leads.
Downgrading is possible too, but you must give us three months’ notice. This is because you will be downgrading from a service in which commitments (to editors, for example) have been made months in advance. We will not let editors down or anyone else to whom we have made promises on your behalf. That would be bad for your reputation and ours.
Note: the new credit pool will be credited or debited in relation to how many credits are in your existing pool.
Can I adjust the content of a service and, by extension, the fee I pay?
Yes, adjustments can be made to any of our on-going services – Content Creation, Media Communications and Campaign Management.
We can ‘reset the clock’ on any of these services if you require us to be doing more or less for you. You must give us one month’s notice and we will submit a proposal for the same type of service (to which you are currently subscribed) but with more or fewer activities provisioned. The fee will adjust accordingly.
The new service would commence from the first day of an agreed month and run for one year.
Note: the new credit pool would be credited or debited in relation to how many credits are in your existing pool at the time of transfer.
What happens if I need to terminate the contract?
Don’t worry, that’s covered in our T&Cs. In short though, you can buy out of any service (Content Creation, Media Communications or Campaign Management) at any time.
Our services are also covered by a ‘non-performance’ termination clause (in the T&Cs). It has only ever been exercised once in our 20+ year history… and it was exercised by us on a client for their failure to fulfil their obligations.
We have never been served a termination notice as a result of us not delivering on our commitments.
As for our Marcoms Accelerator programme, which is delivered over the course of six-weeks, you can opt out at any time, but all fees would be payable in full. No one has ever opted out of the programme, and most subsequently engaged us for ongoing services.
CONTACT US
If you have questions about how we can help grow your business and make your job easier, please complete the form below and we will be in touch shortly. Alternatively, you can book a free and confidential consultation with us here.
+44 (0)1522 789 000
declare@declaration.co.uk