Please take a moment to read this interview before hiring Hoeck Associates.

Q. How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a marketing and branding expert?

A. I opened Hoeck Associates, Inc., my marketing communications and branding firm, in 1984. Since then, I’ve helped regional, national, and international organizations generate millions of dollars in revenue and save millions of dollars in costs by focusing brands and targeting and integrating communications. How do I know the amount? I asked clients for results and added it up, but after it got past the “millions” mark, I stopped counting.

What did I do before 1984, before I started my marketing communications firm? I didn’t start out thinking I wanted to own a business — in fact, I’d probably still be in a corporate marketing position if my last employer hadn’t moved halfway across the country.

I started as a graphic designer in design firms and ad agencies, and also put in a few years at a high-quality printing company, working in the pre-press department, making proofs and preparing files for printing. That experience was invaluable when I returned to agency work and could actually understand the print end of the business — something not all designers do. Later, I took a job in the marketing department of a large corporation, and worked my way up to marketing manager. I was then in a position to hire and work with marketing communications firms, advertising agencies, and printers, directing the marketing for the organization, and I didn’t like what I saw from the other side of the desk. A lot of agencies were really into chest pounding and winning awards — great for them, but I had to produce sales.

Q. What was it like, being on the client end of things?

A. It was in this corporate position that I gained my real marketing chops, traveling with the sales force on customer visits and working the trade shows. “The integrity of the design” and expensive photo shoots can lose their allure really fast when you have to stand up and report your department’s progress against plan.

The company offered me a moving package when they left, but it just wasn’t the right thing for my family at the time. I had to make a quick decision! Since by that time I’d been in several levels of marketing positions and could see the industry from many perspectives — from the agency side, from the print production side, and as a client (the most valuable perspective) — I decided to hang out my own shingle. From my agency years, I knew how agencies and marketing firms worked from the inside, and having been a client, I had learned the client perspective of working with agencies, and saw how they presented themselves to clients. From my print shop experience, I knew the production side — the efficiencies and inefficiencies. This represented a pretty well-rounded view of the marketing communications industry. Most importantly, I had learned what not to do.

So I know what it’s like to be a client — I’ve been there. I’ve worked with agencies and had lots of frustrations when they missed deadlines and went way over my budget, then tried to fast-talk their way into getting me to accept late and overpriced work that didn’t begin to solve the problem had I hired them for in the first place. I knew that when I started my own company, I had to do it differently.

Q. So what did you do differently?

A. I built my company, Hoeck Associates, around my combined experiences. I brought along my agency knowledge, the good stuff I had learned, adding a good dose of reality after having been a client for a few years. I had honed my marketing skills with in-the-trenches corporate time, and knew my way around production for cost efficiencies. But mostly I knew my work had to really answer client needs in a transparent, authentic way that showed my dedication to their success, deadlines, and budgets. Our work has always been focused on supporting our clients’ businesses in terms of producing sales and profit, not on creating fantastic campaigns that look wonderful and win awards. We understand business, plain and simple. My no-nonsense approach to marketing has come from this circle of experience, and it’s what makes me, authentically me. And it’s what makes Hoeck Associates, and everyone who works for me, authentic, too. Being authentic is big with us.

Q. What if you haven’t yet worked with companies in my field?

A. We’ve worked with all kinds of businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to local not-for-profit agencies, and we’ve gotten to know all of their industries really, really well. It’s important to remember that marketing is about building relationships and communicating, and that is our strength. And it’s interesting to note that many times the best ideas come from outside our own industries, by taking an idea that is common in one industry and applying it to an industry that hasn’t thought that way before. For this, you need experience in varied industries — sometimes it’s not helpful to be too focused in limited areas. Some of our best successes have come from our work with clients in industries that are new to us. Rest assured that our expertise is in helping you be successful in connecting with your customers, whatever field your company is in.

Q. How are you different from other “marketing experts”?

A. We come at it from a different angle. Instead of focusing so much on promoting products and services, we believe that organizations need to start revealing more about “who” they are as an organization and how that relates to the product or service, so that customers can connect with them on an emotional level. It’s that authenticity again. You see it in the marketplace — the best known brands with the most loyal customers share their authentic characters and personalities with their customers, creating raving fans, standing out in the marketplace, and demanding premium prices.

Customers are smart. They can smell when a company isn’t being authentic, and they react by staying away. They’re much more comfortable with brands that show something of their personality, something to connect to. That’s what we do — we help our clients uncover that personality, so their customers can connect with them.

Q. What types of people do you work best with and what is expected of me?

A. Because we work closely with our clients to help them build relationships with their customers, we work best with companies and individuals who value relationships. Our work is highly strategic, so we work best with people who value strategic thinking. In order for us to do our best, most successful work for clients, our clients should also be committed to their business, and be knowledgeable consumers of marketing services. It’s important that the person we work directly with be a decision maker in the company, someone who values time (both ours and theirs), has realistic expectations about what can be achieved and by when, is collaborative, responsive, and open to learning new ideas and ways to accomplish objectives. We also expect our clients to pay their bills on time, just as we deliver our commitments on time.

Q. For what type of company or professional is your system not going to work?

A. Our marketing programs and processes will not work for clients who expect too much too soon. Marketing and branding are powerful tools that will help profitability in very big ways, but they do need time to work. Our advice and recommendations also do not work for clients who insist on watering them down, making unnecessary changes to them, or directing us in their own plan — we recommend programs based on sound principles, and when clients deviate from our recommendations, results are often less than successful. We also are not a good choice as a marketing partner for companies or individuals who are not committed to their businesses, who are not truthful or reliable, who do not trust us to have their best interest at heart, or are not financially stable. Marketing is an investment, and the financial commitment should be carefully considered before hiring any agency.

Q. Can I contact some of your clients to see what it’s like to work with you?

A. Of course! Please email me at marcia@hoeck.net for a list of clients you may contact directly.

Q. What are my options for getting started with you?

A. You can contact Cindy Rossman, cindy@hoeck.net, or 480-634-7677, and she’ll be thrilled to get you started.