Business without marketing does not exist today. Business without marketing does not exist today. According to research, without advertising activities, brands record an average 16% drop in sales after a year, and as much as 36% after 3 years[1]. Of course, there are exceptions, but if you want your business to grow, then marketing is essential and marketing agency can be a perfect partner to help with it. How to choose the right one? We write about it below.
Why does a company need a marketing agency?
One of the most important reasons to hire a marketing agency is that it allows you to focus on your business. Agency is a partner in your development, regardless of whether you are looking for someone to take care of social media, record video content or develop a marketing strategy, it is important to be sure that you are in good and expert hands and with someone you can trust.
So how do you choose the right partner?
Here are some tips:
- Your needs
Before you start Googling the “best” marketing agency on the Internet, stop for a moment and think about what your expectations are – consider the specific needs of the company. Ask yourself some sample questions: How big is the company? What industry? Do you need a partner who will comprehensively take care of your marketing, or maybe only help with some activities, e.g. running social media? Answering these questions will make it easier to refine your search and you will certainly save a lot of time.
- Analysis of a potential partner
Check and analyze what projects a given company has carried out in the past and what the results were. Try looking for opinions on various forums or among your friends. You may be able to talk to former employees or co-workers to find out what it’s like working with the company. Also, take care of the security of your business and check whether your potential partner is not in arrears with payments or whether there has been any information about its financial/image problems in the past.
- Shared vision
The mission, vision, values and business goals must be similar so that the company’s path of development and growth goes in the same direction and does not cause conflicts in decision-making. Analyze your potential partner’s company values to see if they align with yours. This will enable you to achieve long-term success. A marketing partner that will fit the company is also important, because a large part of marketing activities takes place mainly on the so-called behind the scenes, so having a trusted marketing services provider is essential to take care of the company’s good image.
- Everything written down
By establishing clear and written foundations for cooperation at the beginning, you can avoid unnecessary tensions and uncomfortable situations in the future. When establishing cooperation with a partner, it is worth developing an operating agreement that defines the rules and roles of each partner. In this way, we clearly define obligations and rights. We also cannot forget about adding ways to resolve possible conflict situations, for example: the departure of one of the partners or mediation, etc.
- Questions
It is important to ask your potential partner many questions before and during cooperation, so as not to have any doubts. Make sure you understand their process, schedule, cost estimates and any additional services they offer that may impact the project. You can also arrange a small, trial project at the beginning to have an idea of what the cooperation would look like. You can also ask for sample projects showing how potential partners have achieved results for companies similar to yours. This will tell you whether they really understand their audience, their challenges and needs.
- Measurability of results
Even the greatest effort and sincere commitment will not matter if it is not accompanied by satisfactory results. Creating content is only half the success. An ad that accumulates countless views but no conversions is not doing its job. When starting cooperation with a company, it is worth agreeing on a system for reporting work results, especially since today we have many tools at our disposal that enable quick and inexpensive analyzes and reports of marketing activities.
Types of partners
The above tips will certainly be helpful when choosing a marketing partner, but it is also worth knowing what the example types of marketing agencies are that cooperate with companies. Below are some categories.
Network agencies – operate globally, within groups and larger “parent” companies, very similar to “chain stores” in other industries, e.g. fashion. Individual branches of the entire agency are united by brand, strategy, service standards and logo. Typically, such agencies do not accept small orders. Their price rates, which is not surprising, are among the highest on the market, but cooperation with them is certainly a great prestige and a guarantee of success and professional service.
Independent agency with a full range of services – also an important player in the industry. Their service quality may vary, but when operated effectively, they are a full-service partner for businesses of all sizes, providing access to a full suite of marketing services at a competitive price. Such agencies offer an individual approach to the client and more intimate terms of cooperation, and they usually try harder because they have to work for their future on their own. Their advantage of independence is that they respond much faster to current trends and changing market requirements, because in the case of larger, network agencies, more important decisions are usually made at the headquarters and their implementation usually takes much longer.
Niche agencies – this type of companies employ from several to several hundred employees. They usually specialize in very narrow, specialized areas and focus on the latest trends in marketing communications. They may, for example, be leaders in the production of video content, but they will no longer offer, for example, a newsletter service, which means that you will have to hire another company for other types of services than those offered. When marketing projects require many areas of knowledge (e.g. content creation and advertising), this type may turn out to be ineffective.
Freelancers– recently, the freelancer sphere has been booming, and according to analyses, almost half of social media users rely on brand recommendations from influencers[2]. Freelancers can bring a lot of value, including fresh energy, to a company’s marketing, but the main disadvantage in this case may be that a freelancer often lacks the full range of capabilities and specialist knowledge needed to comprehensively service companies’ marketing needs. Freelancers can meet needs in a narrow scope, such as generating posts on social media, but they will probably not be able to provide comprehensive marketing services in every area. Their rates vary greatly and are usually hourly – you pay for the time the freelancer spends on your project.
Summary
Today, marketing is an essential and necessary investment in every company. However, like any investment, it requires research, understanding and a bit of intuition, which is why choosing a marketing partner for your company is not that easy and requires an analysis of expectations, needs and budget. However, we hope that the above tips will make this decision easier.
[1] https://marketingscience.info/about-us/annual-reports/2021-annual-report-cover/
[2] https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2022/04/19/digital-marketing-statistics
