No matter what kind of business you own, marketing is essential. How you advertise and promote your products and services can make or break your success.
You might have the best products on the market, but if you’re not reaching your target audience, they won’t know you exist.
You know you need to market. The question is whether you do it in-house yourself or hire a marketing agency.
Both options have their pros and cons. If you’re straddling the fence about which way to go with your business, consider these four benefits of working with a marketing agency.
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1. They’re the Experts
Have you ever come across someone who doesn’t own a business but still tries to tell you how to run yours?
They may have great ideas and good intentions, but they don’t know the ins and outs. The same principle applies to marketing.
Companies that offer marketing services are the experts on what they do. They know the nuances that go with each action step. They understand the butterfly effects of choosing or skipping something, and they can help you make informed decisions.
A marketing agency has the tools to follow up on whatever plan you put together with them. They have analytics software (and they know how to read it).
You have thousands of other tasks on your plate. When you hire an expert to do their job, you can focus on building and expanding your business.
2. It Can Be Less Costly
There are two main ways most companies handle their marketing. They either hire someone in-house as a marketing coordinator, or they hire an agency.
Sure, you can do it all yourself. But when you add up the hours you spend planning, conducting, and analyzing marketing, it’s even more expensive this way. You’re losing a lot of time you could be using to grow and work on your business.
Intergrowth breaks down the costs of a marketing coordinator’s salary versus that of hiring a marketing agency here. The information can help you decide which way is more cost-effective and a better return on your investment.
3. They Focus on Your Niche
By now, you’ve found your niche for your business. This is the distinction between you and other companies who offer the same products or services.
It can be difficult to find exactly the right promotion methods to reach your target audience, especially if your niche is very specific. A marketing agency knows how to take these specialized features and make them stand out.
Major companies like Entrepreneur.com know that to reach large markets, you have to begin with a niche audience. There’s a hefty learning curve along the way that can get pricey if you’re doing the marketing on your own.
Niche industry targeting involves intensive research, special tools and resources, and a knowledge of the competition. A marketing agency has all of this, saving you hundreds of hours and a lot of money trying to learn the ropes.
4. There’s Less Long-Term Risk
Hiring an in-house marketer means dealing with all the employee costs yourself. From onboarding to benefits and taxes, it’s all in your lap.
Selecting a marketing agency, on the other hand, gives you more control over what’s happening with your money. There are no “sick days” or problem employees to deal with.
If you’re unhappy with the agency, when your contract is up, you don’t have to renew it. In some cases, all you need to do is provide a 30-day notice of termination and pay your outstanding invoices.
But if you’re not thrilled with your employee’s performance, you now have to deal with documenting everything they do wrong.
You’ll have to meet with them to come up with a growth plan. If that doesn’t work, you can fire them. Then, they get to collect unemployment, which increases your taxes.
It’s a lengthy hassle. In the meantime, they’re not marketing correctly, which is costing you potential clients and a lot of revenue.
This problem doesn’t exist when you use a marketing agency. Before you decide who to use, you can thoroughly review the company.
Calling a previous employer for a review doesn’t always result in honest feedback. The employer may be concerned about how their review will come back to haunt them. Past clients are typically honest about their experiences, both good and bad.
Conclusion
To grow and compete with the big dogs, you have to market your business. Whether you choose to stick with in-house employees or hire a professional marketing agency is up to you. As you’re making your decision, keep these four benefits in mind.
