As a small business owner, you’re likely used to wearing a lot of hats. While this comes with the territory of running a small business, it can also result in things falling through the cracks. That’s why many small businesses opt to hire a marketing agency.
Marketing is both resource and time-intensive, requiring a lot of foundational work and ongoing vigilance. While agencies aren’t free, they can free you up to focus on your customers, brand, products, and more.
But what does a marketing agency actually do? That’s what we’ll explain here. Hold onto your many hats; we’re going in.
Contents
- What is a marketing agency?
- What services do marketing agencies provide?
- Why work with a marketing agency?
- When should you work with a marketing agency?
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What is a marketing agency?
A marketing agency is a provider that helps businesses find and attract new customers through marketing. Typically, a marketing agency will provide marketing services—email marketing, content marketing, paid search advertising, etc.—and deliver ongoing reporting and planning.
The best marketing agencies build relationships with their clients. They get to know the businesses, understand short and long-term goals, and ensure they accurately represent each brand.
Types of marketing agencies
Marketing agencies aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. There are numerous types of marketing agencies that do different types of work, such as:
- Full-service agency: A full-service marketing agency will handle virtually every facet of marketing, both online and off.
- Digital marketing agency: A digital marketing agency will also offer a wide range of services like design and strategy, but they focus on online marketing.
- Social media marketing agency: A social media marketing agency specializes in marketing and advertising on social media platforms, which may include both paid and unpaid strategies.
- Content marketing agency: A content marketing agency focuses on the inbound marketing practice of using content (usually blogs, but also social media) to attract new customers.
- PPC agency: PPC stands for pay-per-click, and a PPC agency manages pay-per-click ads (usually on search engines, but also on other platforms like social media).
A marketing agency will help you appear at the top of relevant Google searches.
The above is only a sampling of marketing agency types. There are countless types of marketing agencies, with some agencies falling somewhere in the middle. When in doubt, consider your budget and your short and long-term goals, then begin your search.
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What services do marketing agencies provide?
Much like the types of marketing agencies, specific services can vary, both in name and actual offering. In general, marketing agencies will offer a variety of the following:
- Content strategy/planning: This process involves a deep dive into your brand, audience, and competitors. From there, the agency will map out what topics you should cover, what SEO keywords you should try to rank for, and what kinds of content you should use.
- Content marketing: This is the actual execution of the above, and involves creating and publishing content that fits your brand and strategy. Some agencies will publish for you, while others may just hand over a draft. The same goes for design, with some offering design help and others not.
- Reporting: Most agencies will provide regular reporting on marketing metrics. Reporting services can vary, with some being focused solely on the marketing efforts of the agency and others being broad and company-based. In either event, reporting services should provide a look at how your efforts are performing, where you’re headed, and where you can improve.
- Paid search: With this service, a specialist will research which search terms give you a competitive advantage and speak to your goals. Then they will set budgets to bid for these terms on Google and possibly other platforms.
- Social media management and marketing: Many marketing agencies will manage your social media marketing for you, which includes planning and creating posts, monitoring comments and messages, and reporting the metrics.
- Market research: Market research is an in-depth process that involves looking at your brand, competitors, the market as a whole, audience groups, and more. From there, a market research report will typically include action items, suggested services, and points on taking your brand in a competitive direction.
- Video marketing: Video marketing services can include filming customers for case studies or creating Reels on Instagram. In either event, a video marketing service will often take care of equipment and production needs, requiring only your creative input and sign-off.
- Reputation management: Reputation management services are multifaceted and involve engaging anywhere your reputation is at stake. This can entail responding to online reviews and complaints about your business or product, and engaging on social media.
- Conversion optimization: Conversion optimization services involve taking a look at your existing lead generation strategies, such as landing pages or ads, and how you can get more customers from each. This often involves extensive A/B testing and competitive research.
Some agencies will help you optimize conversion opportunities, like improving your website’s landing pages.
Again, many agencies will offer similar services but call them a different thing. If you’re unsure about what it is you’re looking for, don’t fret over the name. Instead, look at your gaps or goals and ask yourself what kind of help would get you over the finish line. Then, reach out to agencies, share your story, and see who aligns the best with your needs.
Why work with a marketing agency?
Marketing agencies can help you grow your business and reach your goals while taking some of the promotional heavy lifting off of your plate.
But, the benefits of a marketing agency don’t start and stop there. As a small business owner, you can reap a number of benefits when working with the right marketing agency.
Marketing agencies free up your time
Time is everything when you’re running a business. Beyond the initial interviews and meetings with a marketing agency, a marketing agency should largely stay out of your hair. This frees you up to focus on customer service, training employees, and more.
Again, you’ll likely have several meetings with an agency right out of the gate as they get to know your company. On top of this, expect to have meetings at least once a month to go over the agency’s efforts and progress. But this should still pale in comparison to the time you’d spend on marketing yourself.
Marketing agencies provide a new perspective
It’s easy to get too close to your product, branding, audience, and so on. This can make it difficult to step back and gain a fresh perspective.
Marketing agencies can provide exactly that perspective.
When you hire an agency, you’re bringing in several eyes that have seen the big picture of how marketing works. This perspective brings innovative, fresh ideas on how to handle some of your content, branding, and more.
As an added bonus, a fresh perspective can even allow for some “aha” moments with your products or audience.
Marketing agencies make you competitive
Most worthwhile marketing agencies will perform competitor research, identifying what your competitors are doing better than you and the opportunities they’ve left open. All of this will allow you to be more competitive, filling in any knowledge gaps left by your competitors and really leaning into your strengths.
A marketing agency can analyze your competitors’ ads, pricing, and more to help you better position your products and services.
Marketing agencies help you provide consistency
When you’re juggling managerial duties, marketing, customer support, and more, it’s easy for consistency to fall by the wayside.
Because marketing agencies are hyper-focused on marketing efforts, they can deliver a more consistent experience across your marketing channels and materials. In turn, this can strengthen your branding, deliver a more consistent experience for your audience, and present your business in an even more professional light.
When should you work with a marketing agency?
Deciding when to hire a marketing agency is no small task. There’s no single “right” answer. Instead, there are several factors to consider.
When it’s in the budget
First and foremost, you have to ask if the agency fits your budget. If 90% of your business comes from word of mouth, and you won’t likely triple your growth through digital marketing, then hiring that type of agency doesn’t make sense from a budget perspective.
Look at what goes into your current marketing budget and use that to decide if paying an agency makes sense.
When a lack of resources is holding you back
Whether you have current marketing specialists or not, ask yourself if a lack of marketing resources is holding you back. For instance, if you want to launch a campaign to promote a new product, do you have the team you need?
If resources are the biggest hurdle in your way, an agency can make a big impact.
When you lack marketing expertise
You can waste a lot of money on marketing and advertising when you’re unfamiliar with how it works. The cost of a marketing agency can pay itself back quickly when it reduces wasted advertising budget.
Even a preliminary marketing assessment or competitive analysis from an agency can be a huge help if this is your situation. Equipped with a competitive analysis or assessment, you can decide what marketing services will make the biggest impact for you.
When you can spend a little for better results
If you’re already handling marketing internally, an agency may still benefit your company. Look at your current marketing expenses, whether it’s your own time or an in-house specialist. Then, ask yourself if spending more on an agency could yield better results.
If you’re handling your own marketing but seeing little in the way of results, money spent on an agency will likely be money well spent.
Are you ready to hire a marketing agency?
Marketing agencies are typically a large, ongoing expense. Because of this, it can be difficult to decide whether you need one or are even ready for one.
Review your budget, interview more than one agency, and set realistic goals with input from the firm you choose. These steps will help ensure you get the most for your money.
Still not sure what a marketing agency can do for you? Contact us, and we will show you how we help businesses unlock their growth potential.
