From start-ups to large organizations, companies are looking for ways to create more positive customer journeys and increase revenue. Regardless of your company’s size, your marketing plan and branding efforts will be your roadmap to achieve these goals. And, even for small companies with yearly revenue under $20 million, hiring a marketing consultant or marketing agency may provide the direction you need.
Of the many reasons to outsource marketing for a small business, these 6 are among the top benefits:
1. A marketing agency can give you access to a new network of experienced marketing professionals.
When working with a marketing agency, you often have access to a team of marketers or marketing consultants with different areas of expertise. This may include designers, writers, social media experts, and other highly-experienced marketing professionals. You will save time vetting individual vendors and building relationships with them separately. Plus, in many cases, you will benefit from a single point of contact. Your consultant knows your business and has the marketing knowledge to ask the right questions, keeping your projects on track.
Even larger organizations won’t have experts in every area of marketing. Leverage your marketing agency’s staff and professional network to turn an area of need into an area of strength.
2. You can gain a fresh, outside perspective on growth opportunities.
Every business can benefit from an outside perspective. And, this is especially true when marketing for a small business. With smaller companies, a single individual or a small group of key decision makers often wear multiple hats within the company. Because you are so familiar with your own business, you can become clouded by your beliefs and assumptions. Unfortunately, this can have an effect on growth.
Even with the great in-house talent you may already have on your team, internal employees can become obstructed by some level of bias. When you engage an outside marketing agency, your team enters with a fresh perspective, evaluates and reports things clearly, and can breathe new life and opportunities into your marketing approach.
3. Outsourcing marketing for a small business can free up your time for other priorities.
As with anything else, the old adage “time or money” holds true. Trying to keep up with the latest marketing trends and tactics is a full-time job in itself.
When you bring on a marketing agency to support your marketing strategy, you will be able to spend more time taking action on business-critical priorities. As a result, you will potentially be able to address problems more quickly and prevent small issues from becoming big problems that could eventually require even more of your resources.
4. A marketing agency can help you prioritize your efforts.
Sometimes we put off addressing what makes us uncomfortable. But in business, that may not be what’s best for profitability and growth. An experienced marketing agency can steer you toward the right marketing tactics, not toward those that are easiest.
Business owners can get off track when they try to manage things alone or when no one is around to point out potential missteps. Consulting with an experienced marketing team helps you stay focused on the strategy and tactics that matter for your business.
5. Keep your small business marketing on the right track with the ABC’s of KPI’s.
Depending on your business and your role within the company, you likely have metrics like production rates and sales targets at your fingertips. You may even check numbers like email response rates and website visits.
However, you may not be looking at key performance indicators such as return on marketing investment for specific campaigns, the cost to obtain a new client, or your conversion rate by marketing activity. These and more are important metrics that can help you grow your business more efficiently.
The right marketing agency will meet you where you are, building from your current marketing initiatives. Then, they help you define the key objectives, performance indicators, and metrics that matter for the long-term growth of your company.
6. By hiring a marketing agency for your small business marketing efforts, you can often get more bang for your marketing bucks.
Many business leaders find themselves in a dilemma between hiring a full-time marketing employee and bringing on a marketing agency. One of the biggest benefits of doing the latter is flexibility in cost and timing. When hiring a marketing agency, you get the broad experience of a seasoned marketer (or seasoned marketing team) with the ability to pay for only the hours you need without the associated costs of a full-time employee.
And, it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. A marketing consultant or marketing agency can function as your marketing manager or full marketing department. Or, depending on your situation, the same agency could partner with your in-house marketers, adding expertise to take your small business marketing to the next level. The right marketing agency can even offer the flexibility to grow incrementally with your company, scaling marketing services as needed.
Last thoughts on why hiring a marketing agency can be helpful for an organization, especially when planning marketing for a small business.
No one rises to the top alone. Successful business owners surround themselves with experts in areas where they are less experienced. A marketing agency can provide the perspective you need, can free up your time for core business pursuits, and can help you stay focused.
A marketing agency can bring a holistic, long-term approach to marketing versus the piecemeal approach that can occur when working with a variety of different vendors. The best marketing agencies will always begin by evaluating your current approach. Then, they will flesh out the marketing tactics needed for growth, based on the performance indicators important to your business.
To learn more about how your business can benefit from these top 6 reasons to hire a marketing agency, contact Stratos Marketing Group today or call us at 303.818.9316.