11 Key Points to Consider Before Managing Field Marketing In-House

Blog - 11 Key Points to Consider Before Managing Field Marketing In-HouseThere are many things you need to be prepared for before you decide to manage a field marketing, street team or mobile tour experiential marketing program in-house.  Below are several items you should consider before you decide to take on the challenge.

  1. Knowledge: Do you have a management team in-house who has extensive experience to lead the build-out, recruit and manage staff and logistics to activate your events?
  2. Brand Ambassadors: Where will you find Brand Ambassadors? Where will you find local talent?  What traits must these professionals have?  What happens when they don’t meet your expectations?  How will you cover when they have to leave the tour for a personal engagement or have an unexpected illness?
  3. Training: How will you train your field team?  What documents can you provide to set them up for success?  How many days of training is appropriate for your Brand Ambassadors?  What topics will you cover?
  4. DOT Compliance: Do you have a Federal Department of Transportation number? Do you know how to complete log books for DOT?  Do you know how to complete and file trip reports?  Have you completed fuel reports?  Do the drivers have the right licenses?  When was the last DOT inspection on the vehicles?  What are the 10 things a weigh station looks for on every vehicle?
  5. Risk Management:  Do you have the proper insurance to protect yourself while the vehicles are in the field?  General Liability?  Worker’s Compensation?  Automobile?  Umbrella Policy?  Do you have proper procedures for safe driving practices?  Safe setup and tear down procedures?  Have public safety issues and concerns been addressed?  Should you hire independent contractors or employees?
  6. Budget Development: Have you thought of all the costs you will encounter to be successful in field marketing?  What costs should you include to make sure you understand the liability?  What is your contingency plan?
  7. Production and Maintenance: How will you know if the displays have been designed and built to be setup and taken down several times per week?  Are they packed properly for travel so they don’t get damaged in transit?  What maintenance needs will you have and at what cost?
  8. Availability and Time:  How many staffers in-house do you have focused on this program?  Is it their only job everyday including nights and weekends?
  9. Murphy’s Law: How many field marketing experts on your team are a resource when the one thing you didn’t plan for happens?
  10. Reputation Management:  How much is your reputation and the reputation of your brand worth?  We assume your reputation and the reputation of your company is worth more than the total cost of outsourcing the program to a quality agency who can handle your program and make you look good amongst your peers.
  11. Hire a Reputable Field Marketing Agency:  Have you thought about the value of hiring a professional agency that does field marketing everyday all across the country?  One that has the knowledge, expertise and people to make you look good in the eyes of your company?  An agency who does this type of work every day and who has the time devoted to make sure you and your program is a huge success?  One whose processes are in place to make sure the program runs smoothly and who won’t be faced with a problem they haven’t seen and overcome before?  Do you think some of the largest brands in the world, Disney, HP, Energizer, Bosch, Campbell’s and CNN would trust you to run their event marketing programs?  Let’s face it, most businesses are more complex than they look from the outside and this industry has more moving parts than most.

Call Pro Motion to have the professionals help you bring your field marketing programs to life!