There are dozens of marketing agencies out there, so it can be difficult to pin down the right agency for your business. Choosing the best marketing agency is a lot like marriage — if you want the relationship to stand the test of time, you need to be compatible. Otherwise, a very costly separation may be in your future.
We’re going to break down how to find a marketing agency that will work well with your business so that you can generate more leads and ultimately grow your bottom line.
What is a marketing agency?
Marketing agencies specialize in finding businesses leads through optimized marketing campaigns. This is done through extensive market research, building relationships with potential customers, and increasing sales and profits. At the core of it all, marketing agencies are in the business of communicating with target audiences. It’s their job to position your business in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
What does a marketing agency do?
It’s wrong to think that all marketing agencies are the same. Yes, most marketing companies implement marketing strategies to generate business leads, but each agency may go about this process in their own unique way. Furthermore, many marketing firms only have a single area of expertise.
In some instances, businesses will hire more than one agency to ensure all their marketing needs are handled. Though this method may be necessary on occasion, it’s far more cost effective to hire a single agency that can handle all of your marketing needs.
Types of Marketing Agencies
Let’s look at the most common marketing agencies.
Telemarketing
These agencies provide marketing services via telephone. In a sense, they act as a call center for your business. Agencies that specialize in telemarketing often make calls to follow up with prospects. They will also take customer service calls to answer questions and provide information about your products and services.
Digital marketing
Agencies that specialize in digital marketing promote your services across a variety of online platforms that include social media, email marketing, and online ads like PPC. These agencies can help you optimize your website and create online funnels to attract and convert leads. Many businesses end up choosing a digital agency because online promotion is one of the best and most affordable ways to attract customers in today’s modern world.
Traditional marketing
Traditional marketing agencies provide tried and tested marketing techniques that have been alive and well for thousands of years. Traditional marketing leverages the use of flyers, brochures, billboards, radio spots, and TV commercials to market products and services. Though traditional marketing services have essentially become overshadowed in the battle between traditional marketing vs. digital marketing, businesses can still benefit greatly from an effective traditional campaign that’s run by an experienced team.
Full-service marketing
Full-service agencies offer an entire range of services that include branding and design, digital marketing, and traditional marketing. You can think of a full-service marketing agency as a “one-stop-shop” where you can meet all of your outsourced marketing services via a single source.
Contact MARION today to learn more about how our full-service marketing firm can help your business grow!
How to find a marketing agency that’s right for your business
Now that we’ve defined the various types of marketing agencies out there, let’s focus on what you should look for in an agency to ensure that it’s the perfect fit for your business.
1. Do they understand your business goals?
A marketing agency needs to understand both the short term and long term goals of your business. Understanding your goals will ensure they can help you meet the needs of both your business and your customers.
2. Analyzing the team
How qualified is the team working on your account? How much success have they had in the past? How many customers have they worked with? How many years of cumulative experience does the team bring to the table? Questioning the team behind the agency is crucial. You want an agency that has a well seasoned crew standing at the helm.
3. Can you work together?
Sure, it’s great to find a marketing agency that knows precisely what it’s doing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the easiest to work with. There are thousands of capable marketing agencies out there that are more than qualified to work on your account. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will get along. We’re not telling you that you have to make friends per se, but your business relationship would be more productive if you’re able to work with someone you can actually hold a conversation with.
4. Curiosity
Even the most qualified marketing agencies should show some curiosity when it comes to learning about your target audience. Marketing expertise can only take you so far. If you don’t know how to connect with and speak to the people you’re marketing to then all of your efforts will be wasted. Good marketing agencies understand this and strive to learn as much about your business as possible. Otherwise, their chances of success will not be very high.
5. Adaptability
If a marketing agency has worked with enough businesses, they should recognize the fact that not every marketing campaign works the same for every business. Adaptability is an essential skill for any successful marketing agency. You should rest assured that if you run into any issues, your marketing agency will be able to adapt and adjust accordingly.
6. Good communication
Any marketing agency worth their salt will tell you one thing — communication is key for success. It’s certainly your choice if you want to work with an agency that claps their hands together and works their marketing magic from behind the scenes with no questions asked.
However, you should strive to work with an agency that openly communicates with you. That doesn’t mean they have to share their trade secrets with you. Good communication can be as simple as seeking client input and giving regular updates on marketing campaigns.
Questions to ask before choosing a marketing agency
As you’re going through the marketing firm selection process, you should ask yourself a few crucial questions:
- Where does my business need the most success?
- What can the agency teach me?
- Does my team have any strengths that could be leveraged by the agency?
- What are my company’s most pressing needs?
- Where do I see my business in the future?
- Who will represent my business when it comes to communicating with the agency?
Questions you should ask marketing agencies before partnering
- What results have they achieved for past clients?
- What do they specialize in?
- What is the full range of their services?
- How extensive is their client list?
- What is their client retention rate?
- What vision do they have for your business?
- Do your plans for your business match up with their plan?
- How qualified is their team?
- What tools do they have at their disposal to help them achieve success?
Skip the long search for a marketing agency
Knowing how to find a marketing agency that’s the perfect fit for your business is more difficult than you may think. Save yourself the hassle of a long search and work with our team at Marion. Marion is a full-service marketing agency that offers a wide variety of services that cover state of the art website design, online business marketing, and traditional marketing.
Contact us today for more information on how we can help your business grow!
