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Juggling all of the day-to-day operations of a small business while trying to handle marketing at the same time is a challenge that many small businesses face.
Working with a marketing agency can be a smart move that not only frees up hours of your time but puts your promotional campaigns in the hands of a knowledgeable team of experts who are laser-focused on getting you the best possible return on investment.
Now let’s take a closer look at some of the many benefits of working with a marketing agency as a small business.
When hiring a marketing agency for a small business, you’ll get access to professionals who deeply understand many different types of specialized marketing, oftentimes both online and offline.
For example, you may hire a marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, paid search ads, long-tail keywords, pillar content, brand awareness, influencer marketing, and more. Mastering even one of these marketing strategies is a job in and of itself.
Get access to expert knowledge, so you (and your team) can drive business growth.
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Hiring an agency is time-saving for small businesses or even solo entrepreneurs who are just starting to plan a marketing strategy.
If your small business already has an in-house marketing team, working with a marketing agency that complements and expands on their areas of expertise can help you level up your strategy.
Hiring a marketing agency also offers small businesses and teams the benefits of a wider talent pool, as many experts work remotely from all corners of the world.
When you’re a small business, the available capital for investing in high-end technology and tools may be limited. At the same time, you still need to generate traction with your ideal customer and bring in leads.
This is where hiring a marketing agency can help. Agencies use a variety of search engine optimization, content optimization, content marketing, and scheduling tools to help with automation, social media management and much more
Many of these tools also allow for detailed tracking and reporting, so you can know which initiatives are working and what’s resonating with your ideal audience. If something isn’t working as well as you’d hoped, the marketing agency can course-correct and make adjustments by split testing or trying out other angles.
Another great reason to work with a marketing agency is brand cohesion.
Even if you don’t have accounts on all of the major social media and content marketing platforms, a marketing agency, like a social media marketing agency, can help you create them so that you can broadcast your message to more of your target audience.
Additionally, a marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization can help improve your website’s visibility on Google and other search engines to boost brand awareness and build topical authority.
A reliable and experienced marketing agency can also help you better refine and strengthen your brand voice, aligning it with the values you want to project in a way that appeals to you and your customers. They can then set about aligning your messaging to suit different platforms and customer segments.
Example: Reaching out to your audience on Instagram takes on a decidedly different tone than reaching out to them on LinkedIn. Marketing agencies know this and can keep the underlying message intact while adjusting the strategy or approach to connect with these audiences.
Before a marketing company even launches a campaign whether online or offline, they’ll take the time to do market research first. This lets them better understand who your ideal customer is. They focus not just on demographics but other strategies as well, including:
Not all marketing agencies use or research all of these points, but doing so will give them a multifaceted view of your customer. Remember, when it comes to knowing your customer:
Think of it like a fascinating puzzle that, when completed, gives you the big picture of your target customer as well as detailed, granular insights.
So far, we’ve talked at length about the benefits of a marketing agency for small business, but how do you know that the company can actually generate results?
The answer lies in KPIs or Key Performance Indicators. These are goals that marketing agencies set to see how your content or strategies are performing.
Common KPIs for small businesses include:
For a brand new small business, this can sound like an alphabet soup of abbreviations, but knowing these key metrics and how they impact your bottom line as well as your brand recognition, is important to both the short and long-term growth of your company.
Marketing agencies seldom start with a completely blank slate. They’ve often worked with customers in the same broad industry as you, and some even specialize in particular industries like healthcare, food and beverage, SaaS (software-as-a-service), or technology.
At the same time, just because they don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel doesn’t mean they won’t dip into their creativity to design something uniquely yours. Oftentimes having this level of experience lets marketing agencies tap into a wealth of fresh, creative, and unique ideas.
The agency can then build on these ideas with high-quality graphics, professional-grade video, and other high-end media assets that truly make a professional impression on your target audience.
If you choose to work with an established marketing agency, you may find that they have connections to influencers, media outlets, and other businesses that can benefit your campaigns.
These kinds of collaborative opportunities let you work with businesses that are complementary and not competitive to your own for possible co-marketing ventures or similar promotions.
If public relations issues occur, some marketing agencies offer reputation management that takes a delicate yet strategic approach to help address concerns. Others will monitor your brand online for signs of potential issues before they escalate, taking a proactive approach.
Read more about fact-checking for businesses and how to avoid brand misinformation.
Last but not least, the best marketing agencies are those who can help you spot new opportunities and markets where your business can settle and branch out, giving you an edge over your competitors.
Keep in mind that this process doesn’t happen overnight. Working with a marketing company is a long-term relationship that’s built up over time.
Many marketing initiatives, like search engine optimization, take time to cultivate. As you continue to publish high-quality content and reach out to your ideal customers, they’ll start to notice, and take action.
Additionally, many marketing agencies also have pricing plans that start at a certain level and can then scale up or down depending on what the business owner needs and what their budget is. This means that as you see growth and a higher return on your investment, you may be able to spend more and increase your marketing budget without overspending.
In order to enjoy the best possible results when deciding on and then working with a marketing agency, here’s what to keep in mind.
First, be clear about your goals. When you define your objectives up-front, be they increasing sales, building better brand awareness, or increasing leads, the marketing agency has an easier time crafting a strategy that can make that happen.
Secondly, keep the lines of communication open. The marketing agency also has a responsibility to keep you updated and informed along the way, but if you have any feedback, concerns or specific expectations, it’s a good idea to share them sooner rather than later.
Then, set a realistic budget for your marketing initiatives. The agency will work within the parameters of your budget so it’s a good idea to set expectations accordingly.
Review drafts, reports, or campaign details quickly and give feedback to keep things moving along. The agency should set aside time to do regular check-ins with you so that you can all monitor your progress together.
Be clear about your brand and its values and identity so there’s no mismatch in the messaging. Then, be ready to evaluate and adapt as the data comes in.
With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to tap into a wealth of benefits that only a reputable, experienced marketing agency can provide. Research your options, create a shortlist and then take your first steps with confidence!
Complement your marketing efforts with a best-in-class suite of tools from Originality.ai including our Predictive SEO Tool, AI Checker, Plagiarism Checker, and Grammar Checker.
Then, learn more in our marketing agency guides:
