If you're at the stage where you're considering bringing marketing help on board, that's a good sign. It usually means your business has grown beyond what you can manage on your own. But rushing into a hire without the proper preparation can lead to frustration on both sides, wasted budget, and marketing that doesn't quite feel like "you."
Here's what we've learned from working with Irish SMEs and startups over the past decade.
When Is an Irish SME Ready to Hire Marketing Help?
You might recognise the signs. Your social media has gone quiet because you're too busy with client work. Your website copy hasn't been updated in two years. You know you should be doing more, but there simply aren't enough hours in the day.
For most Irish businesses, this tipping point comes when marketing shifts from "nice to have" to "holding us back." You're losing opportunities because you can't keep up with the visibility your competitors have. Or you're winning work but struggling to build the brand recognition that would make sales easier.
The instinct to get help is correct. The question is whether you're ready to make that help effective.
What Brand Foundations Should Be in Place First?
Here's the thing: a marketer can execute tactics, but they can't invent your brand for you. Before you bring someone on board, you need clarity on three fundamentals.
First, your brand strategy. This means knowing who you are, who you serve, and what makes you different from the other options your customers have. It's the "why us" that your marketer will communicate in everything they create.
Second, your visual identity. At minimum, this includes your logo, colour palette, and fonts. These basics ensure everything your marketer produces looks as if it belongs to the same business.
Third, your messaging and tone of voice. How do you talk to your customers? What words feel right for your brand, and which ones don't? A marketer who understands your voice can write copy that sounds like you, not like generic marketing speak.
Think about brands like 3fe Coffee. What started as a single coffee shop on Grand Canal Street has grown into multiple Dublin locations plus a wholesale operation supplying cafés across Ireland. Yet their marketing has stayed remarkably consistent throughout that growth. The minimalist aesthetic, the quality-focused messaging, the understated confidence: it all feels like the same company whether you're sitting in their Ranelagh café, browsing their online store, or spotting their beans in your local independent. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because the brand foundations were solid before the team grew.
In our experience working with Irish SMEs, business owners who document their brand foundations before hiring marketing help see faster onboarding and more consistent output from day one.
How Do Brand Guidelines Set Your New Marketer Up for Success?
Brand guidelines are simply a document that captures everything we just discussed: your strategy, visual identity, messaging, and tone of voice. Think of them as a reference guide rather than a rule book.
When a new marketer joins your team or you brief an agency, brand guidelines development gives them a running start. Instead of guessing what colours to use or how formal your emails should sound, they have answers. Instead of producing work that needs multiple rounds of revisions because it doesn't "feel right," they get closer to the mark the first time.
The cost of not having guidelines is hard to see, but very real. It shows up in inconsistent social posts, marketing materials that look like they came from different companies, and that nagging sense that your brand is being diluted every time someone new touches it.
For growing Irish businesses, guidelines are an investment that pays back quickly in time saved and quality gained.
Should You Hire In-House or Work with an Agency?
This is a common question, and the honest answer is: it depends on your situation.
Many Irish SMEs find that a combination works well. They work with an agency to build their brand foundations and strategic assets, then hire someone in-house to handle day-to-day execution with those tools in place.
The key is being realistic about what you need and what you can support. A junior marketer without brand guidelines or strategic direction will struggle. An agency without clear briefs and access to decision-makers will also.
What Questions Should You Ask Before Making the Hire?
Before you write that job spec or brief for that agency, run through this quick self-assessment:
Do I have documented brand guidelines they can work from?
Can I clearly articulate our brand's voice and values?
What does success look like for this role?
Have I defined which channels and activities are priorities?
Am I ready to give them the access and authority they need?
If you answered "no" to more than one or two of these, it might be worth pausing to lay those foundations first. The hire will go better for it.
Ready to Set Your Marketing Up for Success?
Getting your brand foundations documented before you hire isn't about perfection. It's about giving your future marketer, whether that's an employee, freelancer, or agency, the best possible chance of producing work that genuinely represents your business.
If you're approaching this milestone and want to make sure your brand is ready, a conversation with a brand strategist can help clarify what you need. We're always happy to chat through where you are and what might come next. Click here to get in touch today.
