Marketing agencies—buzzword or business essential? Let’s break it down.
Dav Nash
12 min read
All brands need to market themselves to their target audience, but they don’t necessarily need to undertake those marketing efforts themselves.
In many instances, it can be more effective to work with a marketing agency, which offers an array of advantages over hiring an in-house marketing team.
From increasing brand awareness to improving marketing ROI, working with a marketing company can be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes, ultimately helping to earn more customers and boost bottom line.
There’s much to know about marketing agencies, how they work, and what they can do, so we thought it would be useful to put together a helpful guide that outlines exactly how they can help your brand reach the next level.
What is a marketing agency? What is a marketing company? These are questions that we get asked all the time.
While both marketing agencies and marketing companies are similar in scope, there are some subtle differences to be aware of.
But let’s first focus on how these two are aligned.
They’re both involved with helping businesses boost awareness of their brand, reach new customers, and drive sales. And in many cases, they’ll do so using the same tactics — both marketing agencies and companies can utilise SEO, PPC, and other common marketing strategies, for instance.
Where they differ is in scope and who they work with. Marketing agencies tend to be a bit more specialised, typically offering a few marketing services. They’re a bit more niche — so for instance, they might focus on SEO, web design, and PPC campaign services. They won’t be able to do everything.
So what does a marketing company do? The same things, generally, but just a bit broader. You could hand all of your marketing needs over to a marketing company, though it’s important to keep in mind that what you get might be a little more ‘cookie-cutter’ compared with if you worked with an agency. If you’re looking for customised work, then an agency will be best.
As we just mentioned, there are subtle differences between a marketing agency and a marketing company, but they’re not radically different. In fact, many people even use the term interchangeably, and that’s because, ultimately, marketing agencies, firms, and businesses all ultimately have the same goal: to help boost their clients’ brands.
And they do that via a variety of different strategies. Let’s take a look at some of the services that are offered by marketing firms in more detail.
In this hyper-digital age, ensuring that potential customers can find your brand on Google (and other search engines) is paramount. After all, some 87% of shoppers begin their product-buying journey by searching online.
It’s your website’s SEO — Search Engine Optimisation — that ensures that it’s your brand, and not your competitors, that consumers see.
Marketing firms offer SEO services to ensure that every facet of your website is engineered to be as search-engine-friendly as possible, including the following:
PPC — Pay-Per-Click — campaigns can be a highly effective way to quickly reach your target audience, ensuring that your brand appears on search engines, social media platforms, and other websites.
Marketing firms utilise an array of strategies to ensure they put together paid advertising campaigns that get results, including:
Some 60% of the world’s population — and more than 92% of all internet users — use social media. This is another way of saying that it’s highly likely that your potential customers can be found there.
Marketing firms put together social media campaigns that help to build brand awareness, share your message, and connect with your audience.
Your website often serves as the first opportunity to wow your audience. Marketing agencies can help ensure that your website is visually appealing, memorable, optimised for the user’s journey, and runs smoothly. They can also provide copywriting, blogs, and other inbound marketing strategies.
Email marketing is regarded as one of the most effective marketing strategies on the planet — but only if it’s done correctly. Marketing firms utiilise their experience and expertise to put together email marketing campaigns that get results. If you’re finding that your marketing emails are being left unread, then working with a marketing agency may be just the solution you’ve been searching for.
A dynamic, well-thought-out marketing strategy can yield outstanding results. Marketing firms can help develop strategies that target the right people, communicate your brand’s message effectively, and drive sales.
You don’t necessarily need to hire a marketing agency to handle your marketing efforts, but there are significant advantages to doing so. In an age when digital marketing is more complex than ever before, ensuring that you’re ticking all the right boxes is essential for ensuring that your marketing budget delivers as much bang for your buck as possible.
Let’s take a closer look at just some of the advantages of hiring a marketing agency.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or the products/services you provide: you’re going to have a lot of competition for customers.
Ensuring that your brand is successful is dependent on your target audience knowing that you exist. A marketing agency can help ensure that your brand’s identity, products, and services are not only seen by as many people as possible but are seen by the right people. They’ll do this via social media advertisements, content marketing, or even partnering with influencers — whatever gets the job done, basically.
It’s not how much money you throw at your marketing efforts that counts — what matters is how much money you get in return. All too often, brands blow their marketing budgets on ill-thought-out strategies that yield poor results.
You’ll need to spend money to work with a marketing agency, but if you work with the right one, then it’ll be with it. They’ll know exactly where and how to spend your marketing budget to ensure that the ROI is as high as possible.
A great marketing agency doesn’t deliver outstanding results by accident. They do so by drawing upon their extensive experience and expertise. Marketing agencies are made up of marketing professionals who have years of experience working in the industry.
By working with a marketing agency, you’ll get access to world-class expertise at a cost that’s a fraction of what you’d have to spend to hire marketing specialists to form an in-house team. In this sense, you can think of outsourcing your marketing needs to an agency as a way to level the playing field with brands that have bigger budgets. You may not have the budget to hire world-class marketing specialists, but you can still get access to their expertise.
Running your own in-house marketing campaigns can be effective, but there’s usually a point when the ideas begin to dry up. If you’re no longer getting the desired results from your campaigns, then working with a marketing agency can be an excellent solution. For a relatively low cost, you’ll get access to a team of professionals from a variety of backgrounds, who can offer a new approach to your marketing campaigns. They can spot strategies and approaches that you may not have considered.
There was once upon a time when digital marketing was relatively straightforward, but those days are long gone. Successful marketing campaigns require significant time and effort, which many businesses are not in a position to give.
By working with a marketing agency, brands can spend their time working on other value-adding tasks, secure in the knowledge that the all-important marketing work is being taken care of to the highest industry standards.
Working with a marketing agency can be beneficial even for businesses who are considering hiring their own in-house marketing team, given the time and expense involved in the recruitment process.
Marketing agencies are there to support your marketing efforts in any way they can. Whether you need a little bit of help with your website’s SEO or you’re looking to launch a full-scale PPC campaign, marketing agencies are there to provide the help you need. Most agencies offer high levels of flexibility, allowing you to utilise their services on an as-needed basis. Their services are also scalable, allowing you to decrease/increase your marketing spend depending on your needs.
A good marketing agency won’t just talk the talk; they’ll also walk the walk. They’ll provide measurable results that show exactly how your money has been spent, as well as detailing ROI.
Ultimately, marketing agencies help brands to gain a competitive advantage. In today’s hypercompetitive world, ensuring that your brand’s voice is heard online is more difficult than ever before. Marketing agencies deploy a wide range of strategies that ensure that you get the attention of your target audience.
By now, you should have a clear understanding of the value of working with a marketing company. And if you’ve decided that your business would benefit from working with marketing specialists, then the next step will be to choose the one that’s right for your needs.
As you might expect, there are countless marketing agencies, firms, and companies that you can choose from, and not all of them will be right for your business. Indeed, you might have to work with a couple before you find the one that helps to take your brand to the next level.
There are a few things you can do that’ll increase your chances of finding the right marketing company at the first time of asking. Follow our tips below, and you’ll be on your way towards having a marketing strategy that gets results.
As we’ve seen, marketing specialists can offer a wide range of services. But it’s important to keep in mind that not every marketing agency offers every type of marketing service.
Some will focus on SEO and PPC; others will focus on influencer marketing; others will specialise in video marketing. Some marketing firms don’t deal with online marketing at all but rather focus on print, radio, and TV advertising. You’ll need to figure out, first, which services you need, and then take a close look at what services the company you’re thinking of working with provides.
Most marketing agencies offer digital marketing services that most brands need (SEO, PPC, Social Media, Email Marketing), but it’s always best to check!
Experience and expertise count for a lot in all industries, and that includes digital marketing. The agency you work with should have a proven track record of success. You can normally find this information on their website; what brands have they worked with before? Do they provide any case studies that outline the success of their marketing strategies?
Expertise is more important than experience, so don’t be totally put off by an agency that doesn’t have an extensive list of past clients. So long as they can outline what they do, how they work, and how they can help your brand, then it’ll be worthwhile having a conversation.
Some businesses will find it beneficial to work with marketing agencies who have specific experience in working within their industry, especially if it’s a hyper-competitive field. If you’re a law firm, for example, you’ll likely get more benefit from working with a law firm marketing agency, rather than one that offers general services.
There’s no such thing as the perfect marketing strategy; only the one that’s perfect for your brand. The best marketing agencies will offer custom marketing plans that have been designed with your brand’s objectives in mind. They should take the time to get to know who you are, the audience you’re trying to reach, and the scope of your current marketing efforts.
A good marketing agency will be transparent about how they work, how they’ll use your money, and the results you can expect. They should also be communicative and open to your input and feedback. If you find that they’re passionate about getting to know your brand, your marketing pain points, and what you hope to achieve from the very first meeting, then that’ll be a good sign that you’ve found a marketing agency that will ultimately prove to be a good partner.
Unless you’re one of those lucky cash-filled companies, you’ll likely probably have to work with a pretty tight marketing budget. While you’ll need to spend money to work with a marketing agency, how much you spend will be within your control — most agencies are happy to offer tailored packages that work with your budget while still ensuring that you get top-notch results.
Though keep in mind that you do have to spend money to make money, so it’s best to be realistic about how much cash you can allocate to your marketing budget! Ultimately, if you work with a good agency, then you should benefit from a handsome ROI.
With that said, remember that not all marketing agencies are as transparent as they should be, so be sure to ask about any hidden charges/costs that may be added to your bill, as well as get a clear breakdown of what you’re being charged for.
Things not going as well as you’d planned? Realising that the marketing specialists you hired aren’t so specialist after all? It can be tough to acknowledge that you’ve made a mistake, but that’s nowhere near as tough as continuing to spend money when you know, deep down, that the ROI won’t be as positive as it could or should be.
If things aren’t working out, then don’t be afraid to pull the plug and look elsewhere. Most marketing agencies have flexible terms, which means you should be able to drop the agency relatively quickly. Remember: as with most things, it can take time to find the perfect marketing partner, but once you have, you’ll get the full benefit of just what an awesome, specialised marketing campaign can bring.
Ultimately, marketing agencies can have a profoundly positive impact on businesses, offering high levels of expertise and experience at a cost that won’t break the bank. If you’re struggling with your marketing efforts, then consider getting in touch with a marketing agency today. Your business will thank you!
