Your marketing policies can make or break your business. In fact, poor marketing techniques account for a significant percentage of all failed startups.
The only way to prevent your company from joining the statistics is to take your product and brand promotion campaigns seriously. And the best way to go about that is by engaging a professional marketing agency.
This article looks at the ultimate guide for picking the right marketing agency for your business.
Introducing Marketing Agencies
A marketing agency is a company or team of trained individuals whose primary mandate is lead generation. These entities help generate interest in your products and/or brand by recommending relevant marketing strategies and placing advertisements in various media, among other roles. You can check out the marketing agency blog on Hype Factory to learn more about the roles of marketing firms.
It's important to note that marketing agencies differ from advertising agencies despite the terms commonly used interchangeably.
Advertising agencies are firms that specialize in ad placement. They may purchase ad spaces and advise on the best media for displaying your content.
On the other hand, marketing agencies oversee various aspects of a company's product promotion, from the inception to the execution of marketing ideas. SEO agencies are another specialized type of agency that focuses specifically on improving a company's visibility and ranking in search engine results.
Benefits of Marketing Agencies
Time efficiency is the primary reason to engage a marketing agency. These companies can help you save on the time usually involved in personally formulating marketing policies from scratch and overseeing the campaigns. You can invest that time in other equally demanding aspects of your business.
A marketing agency also eliminates the hassles of learning the technical aspects of product promotion.
Lastly, engaging an experienced marketing firm is an ingenious way to spur growth in your business. These professionals are knowledgeable and experienced enough to adapt the right marketing solutions to your business. Swiftly acting upon their recommendations can help you gain a competitive advantage even in a cut-throat business environment.
How to Pick the Right Marketing
Agency Define Your Goals
The process of sourcing the right marketing agency for your business begins by understanding your business goals.
Start by defining your target audience by age, location, and shopping trends. The firm will analyze your target demographic and prescribe a marketing plan that works for your business.
It's also important to understand whether you're seeking to generate interest in a new product or ramp up sales of an existing product. As you shall find, the techniques used will vary considerably in each case.
Know Your Budget
Experts recommend allocating at least 8% of your revenue to marketing. Apparently, this should cater to various aspects of product promotion, from staff remuneration to funding ad placements.
However, the actual expenditure to commit to marketing will differ from one business to another. It also depends on whether you're dealing with a new or preexisting product.
Most importantly, remember that marketing agencies charge differently depending on the services offered. Some of these firms specialize in specific aspects of product promotion, while others are pretty much jacks of all trades. Ultimately, your budget must meet the agency's quotation to engage them.
Pick Your Preferred Marketing Technique
A professional marketing agency will carefully analyze your business before recommending the best product promotion strategies. That said, having a rough idea of the best marketing interventions your business requires is essential.
Determine whether you prefer traditional product promotion methods, digital marketing strategies, or both.
For instance, you may benefit immensely from local search engine optimization (SEO) marketing if you're targeting your local town.
Sift Through Recommendations
There are two major ways of getting recommendations from marketing agencies. You can go the traditional route of asking for word-of-mouth referrals from your fellow business proprietors or look up these firms online.
Whichever route you prefer, be sure to carefully sift through the recommendations. That entails asking additional questions to help you zero in on the right marketing agency for your business.
If searching for an agency online, spare some time to review client reviews. Such feedback can paint a clear picture of the quality of services to expect from the company.
Inquire About Professional Qualifications and Work Experience
You've already narrowed down to a few marketing agencies based on verbal and/or online recommendations. But don't pick a company just yet. Not before asking about their professional qualifications.
The agency must provide proof that its staffers are duly trained and certified in marketing or related fields. Affiliation with relevant marketing associations is a bonus.
In addition to professional qualifications, be sure to inquire about the duration of the firm's existence. Besides, the company should happily furnish you with a list of some of their previous clients. You can contact these referees for more insights into the agency's competency.
Check for Any Red Flags
The final step in choosing the right marketing agency entails checking for red flags. Among the tell-tale signs of a potentially unreliable marketing agency include;
- The company pitching itself purely based on affordability
- The company guarantees specific results by certain deadlines
- A lack of enthusiasm for learning more about your products or brand
- Glaring typos and grammatical flaws in their communication
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Wrap Up
Searching for a professional marketing agency can be an arduous task. But by implementing the above-listed tips, you can quickly hone in on a company that caters to your business needs.
