FAQ

The 16 month Program is organized to provide you with strategic guidance, ongoing training for your staff and mentoring so that the marketing plan is implemented. The program is delivered in 2 phases through workshops, one-on-one meetings, reporting, training sessions and online project management tools.

Phase 1 - Intensive (4 months) 

This covers Strategy, Branding, Messaging & Content and requires greater investment of time and energy from both the client and Harbren.

Phase 2 - Implementation (12 months) 

This includes monthly marketing management meeting, weekly mentoring phone call with marketing staff, monthly training and ongoing guidance with implementation

Contact us to find out more.

The program works best for established small businesses that have

• a turnover of $1.5+ million and 8+ staff members
• are willing to listen
• frustrated with their current results
• want to take control of their marketing and develop their own expertise.

We charge a flat rate for the 16 months, payable monthly, so there are no surprises or bill shock.

The 16 month program is divided up into 2 phases and each phases is priced differently to reflect the input required:

Phase 1 - Intensive (4 months) 

This covers Strategy, Branding, Messaging & Content and requires greater investment of time and energy from both the client and Harbren.

Phase 2 - Implementation (12 months) 

This includes monthly marketing management meeting, weekly mentoring phone call with marketing staff, monthly training and ongoing guidance with implementation

Contact us to find out more.

After the initial two phases covered over 16 months, if all is going well, we can graduate you to Phase 3 - Performance.  Only those companies that meet the following criteria will be accepted into this level:

• able to provide ongoing support for marketing
• they need to be doing what they say they will
• committed to achieving results
• willing to co-pilot marketing and continually improve

As the business owner, you’ll need to be available for a recorded interview and a workshop to deep dive into your business as well as monthly meetings. In the beginning during Phase 1, there will be more regular sessions to gather information needed to create a strategic plan. The extent to which you need to be involved will depend on the number and availability of your team.

If that is the case we can work with you to recruit a staff member as part of the program. Just know that this will slow down the program, depending on the person’s experience and the time needed to induct a new team member into the way your business operates.

No, we don’t. We’ve found that is not a productive way to do business. Our focus is on outcomes, not the clock.

Good point, I’m glad you’ve raised it! Typically a marketing agency will do a lot, if not all, of your marketing for you. That works well for some businesses. However, the main problem with this model is that there is no up-skilling within your business when you use an agency. All the doing happens elsewhere and there is no detailed knowledge transfer taking place. This means that marketing can be a weakness for your business rather than a strength for the following reasons:

1. As marketing is removed from the business of dealing with and servicing customers, the ability to react to changes is slower.

2. The market intelligence gained from trying different activities isn’t passed onto the business in any meaningful way. There maybe reports about what happened but the focus is usually on metrics rather than a narrative around what worked, what didn’t and why.

3. If you decide to change agencies then all the knowledge, experience and systems are gone, often meaning that a new agency is starting over from the beginning again which isn’t a great use of your limited resources.

You will be allocated a Marketing Coach when you join the program. The role of the coach is to set the strategy for your business, to train your staff, and mentor and coach them. There is no set amount of contact hours that you receive as part of the service. There will be weekly meetings with your marketing staff member and the Coach will be contactable via phone, email and through the online project management software that Harbren uses. Training sessions will be arranged each month and example content provided to assist with knowledge transfer.

The aim of the program is to provide you with a more senior marketing resource that can help guide the direction and growth of your business. This is done through the creation of a strategic marketing plan, action plan delivered through online project management software, a content plan and other strategic guiding documents. The role of the Coach is not to directly implement your marketing activities but to guide your staff so they can learn and take control of it.

The Strategy Session, takes around 2 hours, and is typically carried out at your offices. The session is recorded so that you can review it as many times as you need to. It follows a set format but is customized for your business. We cover your top issues, what the roadblocks are and what can be done to solve them.

You will come away with a one-page roadmap for your business, a better understanding of the top issues that need to be addressed and an audio recording allowing for unlimited reviews.