Disputes in marketing businesses can be easily resolved before the start of a project. How, do you ask? With a marketing contract in place.
Whether you are the customer or the marketing specialist, you need to have a marketing agreement that will outline the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved. This will provide you with protection in the case of a dispute.
In our line of work and experience, we have seen cases of clients simply forgetting the terms of the agreement. Terms and conditions are often underrated, but do you know what happens if you don’t have everything spelt out? You are going to be playing a daring and endless game of he-said, she-said.
So before taking on the next big marketing project, you better make sure you have the right documentation in place.
The importance of a marketing contract
More often than not, the results of any marketing campaign are often relying upon so many external factors. It’s, therefore, essential to clearly set out the parameters and scope of work so that the client is aware at the outset of the limit of your liabilities and responsibilities.
How do we do this? By having a marketing contract in place with clear terms & conditions. A marketing contract is an agreement between marketing professionals or marketing companies and an individual or company that wants to promote their goods or services.
Having a marketing contract in place means all the parties involved know their roles and responsibilities, and if any disagreements occur, all the parties are protected by the contract.
You will need to have such a contract (but not limited to) in the following situations:
- You are an agency or a business looking for a contractor to do general, social ordigital media marketing for an agency client or their own business. You are looking to promote your products, services or goods and need a marketing professional to do the job.
- You are a marketing professional who promotes products, goods and services.
What to include in a marketing contract
In either case, your marketing agreement should outline the following:
- Insurance.
- Scope of work. Define the scope of work and be as specific as possible.
- Term. Clarify the start and finish of the project. Set dates, weeks or months.
- Terms of payment. Specify payment terms.
- Non-compete clauses.
- Billable tasks.
- Provision of Services.
- Client’s obligations.
- Confidentiality. Refrain from publicly discussing the scope of work or require a non-disclosure agreement.
- Termination. Clarify the requirements for terminating the contract and how the parties should provide notice.
- Liability.
- Intellectual Property. It’s hard to establish ownership of marketing content. Confirm who owns the copyright to the Intellectual Property produced during the project.
- Marketing permission which allows you to use the work in your own marketing materials.
Final thoughts
All too often, the lack of time and resources leaves many business owners without a marketing agreement or one that is poorly drafted. But drawing up a contract like this doesn’t have to be complicated. The bonus is once you have one formulated, you can repurpose it and utilise it in your marketing business with all of your clients.
If you are a start up or a small business and are planning on a new marketing strategy, we advise seeking the help of industry professionals to create a marketing strategy contract. This way, everyone involved will know their roles and expectations should something go wrong.
For that reason, we have drafted a downloadable contract template with a handy step-by-step guide for General Marketing with a Digital Marketing Strategy Contract with Terms and Conditions that covers, in terms of services, Copywriting, Digital Marketing and Strategy.
So whether you are just starting or a more established business that needs a contract, we have you covered.