How Can A Marketing Agency Help You?
While digital marketing spends is expected to reach $306 billion, global marketing spend is projected to be above $1 Trillion. That leaves the question, where should you invest your marketing funds for the greatest impact?
Well, many midsized and small businesses find their answer in marketing agencies. With this tactic, they could be maximizing their campaign’s return. However, it isn’t as simple as just choosing a marketing agency to be your partner. You have to know exactly what these agencies do and the purpose they serve.
With this post, you will learn what a marketing agency is. Also, you will receive tips for how you can choose the best agency for your business’ campaign.
What A Marketing Agency Does
In order to know what a marketing agency does, you need to know the definition of it first. These agencies are also known as marketing firms, or companies and they help clients develop and implement their marketing strategies in order to reach their goals with their businesses.
Since the definition explains what a marketing firm can do, we have provided a more clear explanation of their process for helping businesses:
- Market Strategy Identification- These agencies will help clients identify and pinpoint strategies that can help drive their business to greater results while maximizing their return on investment (ROI).
- Marketing Solutions- Marketing campaigns are managed and executed with these firms.
- Marketing Results Evaluation- Marketing companies will use data to elevate campaign results while monitoring the marketing efforts.
That is Marketing agencies in a nutshell. However, now you are left to wonder what the major difference between a firm and an agency is. Keep reading to find out!
Agency vs. Firm: Knowing The Difference
While some companies will call themselves a firm, others will refer to themselves as a marketing agency. It can seem confusing when you are blindly looking for an agency/firm to manage your campaign. However, they are essentially the exact same thing. Both work with clients to create, manage, and plan campaigns for marketing. You will see the two marketing terms interchanging throughout this article.
Now, you may be asking, “How do I choose between an agency and firm if they are basically the same thing?”
This question is easy to answer with the right information. What information you need can be found right here. When you are picking one of the various agencies/firms, you want to pick the one that is experienced in the services that you require.
The Types and Services of Marketing Agencies
Now we will take a look at the services provided by the three main types of agencies.
Full-Service Digital agencies should offer you a wide range of services, such as:
- Review Management
- CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)
- Content Marketing
- E-Mail Marketing
- Website Maintenance
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay-Per-Click Advertisements (PPC)
- Web Development and Design
- Social Media Management
- Social Media Advertising
- So Much More!
The services listed above are also commonly offered by the second type of marketing firm, Specialized Marketing Agencies. Boutique, or specialized marketing firms, can be SEO agencies or web design agencies. These two classifications of specialized marketing agencies will focus on their respective specialization while driving your company from their perspective.
You can also find a Full-service agency that will specialize in service areas such as PPC, SEO, and others. Sometimes, getting a full-service agency will cover more bases than several specialized agencies.
Lastly, we have Traditional Marketing Agencies. Unlike digital firms, these focus on services that are more traditional, such as:
- Television or Radio Broadcast Marketing
- Public Relations
- Print Marketing
- Brand Management
When it boils down to it, your budget, needs, and goals for your business will be the deciding factors on the agency that you need to choose for your small or midsized business.
3 Benefits of Marketing Firms
If you are still on the fence about working with a marketing firm, then consider these three benefits that you should be looking at to make the correct move for your business:
Result-Driving Strategies
You could be wondering which services and channels would be best for your company, well a top marketing firm will help you create a marketing strategy that will drive excelling results for your company. A more sound strategy will allow you to better evaluate the impact it has on your marketing campaign. The channels that you need to contribute to your goals the most will be revealed this way.
Implement and Manage Your Campaign
Not every business owner has the technical expertise to manage or even launch marketing campaigns. However, marketing firms mostly specialize in that aspect. When you work with an agency, you are given access to experts in the industry that are able to effectively manage your marketing campaign while allowing you to focus on the management of your business.
Not only do you save time, but you are able to have your small or midsized business positioned for long-term success thanks to the leverage provided by an agency.
Optimize Campaigns and Monitor Results
When a marketing strategy is launched, it requires continuous monitoring and optimization in order to deliver the ideal return. Marketing campaigns keep a close eye on your campaign, making sure that there is life in it. If you are dissatisfied with the specific channel results, an agency is able to aid you in adjusting your campaign or channel spend in order to add some contribution to your goals.
Why Should You Choose a Full-Service Marketing Firm?
You may be wondering which type of agency is ideally suited for your needs. Well, wonder no more. We will start with Full-service Marketing Agencies Benefits:
Streamline Your Campaign with a Full-service Marketing Agency
Put simply, a full-service agency is a one-stop-shop. Whether it be PPC or SEO, full-service marketing agencies make sure to cover their bases, even working with web design, social media, and more. They streamline your marketing so you can make sure all your campaigns are in one place and being managed appropriately.
Get the Best Results with Integrated Strategies
If you are interested in investing in multiple services, then a full-service firm may be ideal for you. You will get access to the experts in several channels that will bring their expertise together in order to drive your business further for greater results.
These full-service agencies are able to keep your marketing campaign agile. If a particular strategy isn’t helping bring in the results you desire, they are able to switch it up and channel the marketing spend into tactics that will bring in the best ROI.
Bundle Services to Save Money & Time
When you decide to go with a full-service company, you are given the opportunity to save money and time. They do this by bundling services and offering major discounts for those who decide to invest in many different services. You also save a lot of time, only having to work with a single team to manage your multiple campaigns.
The Cost of a Marketing Agency
After learning what a marketing agency is, most people wonder about the cost of hiring their services. Depending on the agency and services, the cost will greatly vary. It is like hiring a lawyer, you get a flat rate with some, but then you have those who charge strictly by the hour. So, what can you expect to pay for services through a marketing agency? Here are some rough numbers to help answer that question:
- E-Mail Marketing- $300-$2,500 Monthly
- Social Media- $250-$10,000 Monthly
- Website Design- $2,500-$100k
- Content Marketing- $1,000-$20,000 Monthly
- SEO- $500-$20,000 Monthly
- PPC- 5-20% of Ad Spend Monthly
6 Quick Tips For Choosing A Marketing Firm
Now that you have an idea of services and pricing, here are some excellent tips you should think about when choosing a marketing firm:
Do Your Research
It should go without saying that you shouldn’t blindly jump into bed with the first marketing agency that you come across. You need to research their services and then determine whether or not they will be right for you.
If you are looking to redesign a website and also increase your SEO, then you are going to want to look for a full-service agency.
However, if you just want to manage your magazine ads, or create a television commercial, you will need to use a traditional marketing firm.
Either way, make sure you take the time to review their websites and services and compare them to your needs.
Investigate Their Pricing
Every business has a budget, and more than likely, you want to stay within it. However, the old saying “You get what you pay for” rings true in today’s market. So if the service seems too good to be true, and the fee is ‘cheap,’ then chances are you won’t get the quality you need. But this is why we review agencies.
Some companies will offer transparent pricing. With this type of pricing, you are able to know how much you can expect to be paying for the services of a firm.
Location of the Agency is Important
Believe it or not, location still matters, even for digital marketing campaigns. Sometimes, you want to have face to face with the representatives or team that is handling your campaign. So if that is the case, investigate the location and make sure the company you choose is reasonably close to your business. Many agencies have multiple offices in different locations, so make sure you check out each one to find the best site for you.
If you would rather have your meeting virtually, most agencies offer that option. That eliminates the need for a closer location, while still expanding your campaign off the services you pay for.
Their Results Matter
The results that a company provides is important, obviously. When you choose one as your partner, make sure they are able to deliver on the results that they offer. Take the time to review their portfolio, client testimonials, and case studies. The customer reviews for a company are equally important, primarily because they can provide solid evidence of an agency’s results in the past.
It should go without saying that a company without a published portfolio or reviews is a red flag. You want to consider this when you are looking to make a final choice for a partner in your marketing campaign. You want the company to drive excellent results for themselves as well. Take SEO services, for example, you want the SEO company to be top-ranking. If you search the keywords “Best SEO Agency” and the company you are thinking about isn’t in the top rankings, they most likely can’t get your rank to improve.
Experience Matters Too
You want the chosen agency to have the experience in the services you require. They should also be experienced in the industry you are working in as well. There are agencies that market themselves as full-service when really, they don’t have the expertise to follow through with that label.
How do you verify their experience? Simply just look over their website, social media mentions, reviews, and other evidence they can offer of their expertise in your field and the field of service you need.
Contact The Team
You need to take the time to get to know the team. Meet with them, talk with them, figure out how they operate. Are they friendly, knowledgeable, and driven? Do they listen to your needs, the needs of your business, and your business goals? If they aren’t able to meet these requirements, then it is probably not going to work with them.
You get a better idea of what to expect when you contact the team. You need to be able to like the people you are putting in charge of your campaign. They need to work closely with you while driving your business to the results you desire.
