Hiring a marketing agency can be a wise investment. It can save you time, money and hassle and can produce great results in a much quicker time than you could achieve yourself.
However, with so many options, it can be a little overwhelming and when it comes to marketing it’s not a case of ‘one size fits all’. You need to find a company that’s a good fit for your business and what your goals are. Here are some things to bear in mind when you’re building a shortlist and deciding who to work with.
Identify your needs
If you’re outsourcing your entire marketing department to a third party company, then it makes sense to choose one which offers a wide variety of services. However, if you’re outsourcing as a way to fill a skills gap, it could be worth finding one that specializes in one area.
For example, if you keep your marketing in-house but just want to outsource blogger outreach, then you could go with a company that focuses on just this. It helps to identify exactly what you want a marketing agency to be able to do ahead of time, so you can rule out and narrow down options.
Find a company that specialises in your industry
Marketing is an incredibly broad topic. With so many different kinds of businesses out there, the way you promote and the market can depend massively on what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to. For this reason, one way you can narrow down your choices is to choose a company who specializes in marketing for your industry. Or at the very least, has the ability and experience to do so.
Take healthcare, for example, https://vomela.com/healthcare promotes by using personalized communications, graphics and other techniques. This is likely to be a lot different to the kind of marketing used for retail or industry. Do your research, find a company that knows your business area well, and what the unique challenges and issues are that will need to be overcome in order to promote it. You’re likely to see far better results.
Choose based on knowledge and expertise
The reason you’re outsourcing to another company may be because you’re lacking the skills or expertise on your own team. And so it makes sense that you’d choose a company who have proven experience and have delivered excellent results to clients. Read plenty of reviews, ask questions and ensure that the company is able to produce the work and results that you’re after. It’s not to say that an up and company marketing business can’t be great, but if you want to ensure you’re getting the most for your money and don’t want to wait around for any kinks to be ironed out then choosing one that’s established could be the best option.
Look at pricing
When it comes to outsourcing, the price always has to be right. You need to be able to pay the company you’re hiring, as well as have enough money left over to be making a profit. For this reason, the rates that a company is charging is always going to be important. It won’t always make sense to choose the cheapest, but do a search around and find out exactly what’s on offer for the money.
You could choose the best agency ever, but if they’re charging more than you can afford to pay then the results won’t be worth it if you’re being left with no profit. On the other hand, paying low prices for a rubbish company that’s not giving you any results is a complete waste of money. You need to get the balance right so that you’re spending the right amount while getting the results that you want.
Marketing really is the be all and end all in business. It doesn’t matter what you sell or do, if you’re not getting the word out to the right people then you simply won’t make any sales. Many companies have failed before they’ve even begun because they’ve underestimated just how important marketing is.
Whether you’re outsourcing your entire department, regular projects or just one- off jobs, you need to find a company that’s a good fit for your business.
Do you outsource any of your marketing? What tips would you give to anyone looking for the perfect marketing agency?