As the leader of your marketing department, you are working hard to create a versatile and engaging marketing program for your business. Sometimes, though, you need a fresh outside perspective to show you where your marketing has room to grow and improve, to bring your marketing program to its ultimate potential.
Knowing when to ask for help is an important professional skill. But how do you know if it’s time to ask for the experienced assistance that an independent marketing agency can provide?
You know your company’s products and services better than anyone, but pairing with the right agency can empower you to do more with your marketing than you could ever do alone. Partnering with an agency means you will always be on top of changes to the digital marketing landscape- where things can evolve quickly. Don’t get left behind!
Make sure your marketing program is fresh and up-to-date by working with a team of experienced professionals- they can be a valuable asset not only in the short term, but also in building capacity within your department for the future.
Consider these three signs that your marketing department needs to outsource:
1. You Want More from Current Digital Marketing Efforts
As a business in 2021, you probably are already engaging in some digital marketing methods to get your product or services out there. Both B2C and B2B brands need digital marketing to connect with audiences, share their value, and drive leads. You might be looking at your year-end results from 2021 and wondering where you could have done better, and what you should do in 2022 to reach new, more ambitious goals.
Over the past few years, major lifestyle changes have affected how we shop and discover new brands. New research reveals that digital marketing is more important than ever, and an agency can help enhance and optimize your current marketing efforts throughout your organization.
Website
Nowadays, a consumer will most likely encounter your brand online at some point in their buyer’s journey, and their online experience is going to impact their purchase decisions. Your website is the center of all your digital marketing efforts- make sure it is giving the best first impression. You know your site is giving an impression, but is it really the best you can do?
Amazon recently conducted a survey to learn more about customer preferences and shopping habits. The results: nearly 2 out of 3 respondents discover new brands online! And over half of respondents will research products online before making a purchase. Depending on your industry or niche, your audience may be even more dependent on online research while shopping; nearly 70% of electronics consumers mainly use the internet to learn about a new product.
What this data should tell you is that your digital presence is very important for informing consumers of why they should choose your product or service. Your website should be a main priority in your marketing program, as many consumers will go to it to learn more about who you are and what you offer.
A marketing agency can create a customized, optimized website that converts leads and drives organic traffic. Although there are many free programs that make it easy to use templates to create attractive sites, a professionally-designed website will stand out among the noise of your industry and work to convert your unique audience.
Your email list is a trove of prospective buyers, repeat customers, and dormant leads. You know you should be sending targeted, segmented emails, but you’ve settled for indiscriminate blasts because you lack the time or resources to give your email marketing program the attention it deserves.
A marketing agency can not only take the time to graphically design visually-stunning emails, but also segment your email list so that content and calls-to-action can be tailored to each type of contact
There are a myriad of segmenting options available through email marketing software like MailChimp and Constant Contact. Having a marketing team dedicated to sending emails that speak directly to each segment of your list will help you make the most of this valuable asset.
Advertising
Digital advertising can help get you to the parts of the internet you struggle to reach with unpaid digital marketing methods. Paid advertising online can drive site traffic with targeted leads, to direct a more curated audience to your site.
Digital advertising is more than creating a few ads and leaving them to run; if you have left your digital advertising program to fend for itself, you are not going to see the same results you would if you continuously update and optimize your ads to reach specific audiences with relevant, value-driven messaging.
The Google Display Network reaches 90% of internet users, meaning you can connect with your niche market using digital ads. According to HubSpot, “ad placement and audience targeting are the top optimization tactics used by advertisers today” and “68% of marketers stated that paid advertising is ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’ to their overall marketing strategy.”
Paid advertising is only effective when it is properly optimized. To make sure you are always hitting your mark, partner with an agency with experience reaching your niche and delivering results to companies like yours. Advanced industry experience is one of the greatest advantages of partnering with a team of professionals at an agency; they can identify what strategies are working best for your brand and show you where you are failing to meet your audience, so you can make informed changes to bring you closer to your goals.
2. You Lack Bandwidth for New Initiatives
Your marketing program might be working, but there are always ways to improve and enhance your current strategy. Perhaps you’ve researched the way inbound marketing attracts and nurtures business leads and you are interested in developing a program- but you look around the office at your hard-working staff and can’t imagine who could take on the task.
Don’t let your marketing become an afterthought, thrown to the wayside for when you have spare time. If you ask busy employees to take on new projects, like undertaking an entire marketing campaign, you are not going to get the results you could if you had a dedicated team giving your campaigns the time and effort they need to deliver results.
Inbound marketing takes consistent effort over a period of time, but it will pay off in increased lead generation and conversions. Because of its time-intensiveness, inbound marketing is a perfect function for a dedicated independent agency to tackle.
When you expand your marketing department to include a team of inbound marketing professionals, you’ll gain a staff that will look at your brand identity and digital presence to craft a custom marketing strategy that maximizes your ROI.
3. You Want to Expand Your Social Footprint
It’s tough to be simultaneously active on all the social media channels consistently, especially when creating original, optimized content for each platform, but having a presence on multiple platforms can help to build your social media and overall digital presence.
Unfortunately, businesses with limited marketing resources may struggle to create a presence on social media, especially across multiple platforms. Creating a strong and effective social media marketing program means having a regular posting schedule, creating high-quality original content, and remaining consistent in your social interactions.
If you’ve had success with Facebook, for example, and are ready to delve into LinkedIn, you may benefit from an agency with a strong social media marketing portfolio that can take your business to the new platform with an understanding of its unique norms and conventions.
From content creation to digital advertising, partnering with an experienced marketing agency means you can create an in-depth and branded social media marketing campaign that works to engage your unique audience and increase traffic to your website.
Partnering with an independent marketing agency can bolster your marketing program and build long-term capacity for your in-house team. Consider these signs to stay alert to the fact that your marketing strategy must grow with your company in order to continue driving results.
Thanks for stopping by,
Crystal
Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in October 2017 and has been edited and updated in December 2021.
