3 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Agency

The flexibility of hiring for marketing expertise makes me think of LEGO creations. You can follow the instructions or mix and match sets and make something unique, just as you can hire internally, outsource to freelancers, or establish an agency relationship to build your business.

Whichever strategy you use, the three variables you need to consider are cost, work efficiency, and brand identity. You will want to keep costs low while maintaining work efficiency and remaining true to your brand and values—often what feels like having too few bricks in the right colors.

We may be biased but working with a digital marketing agency is the best way to account for all considerations without feeling like you’re at loss for any of your bricks. One of the first questions people ask:

Can I Do it Myself?

In short, yes you can do it yourself—but should you? Evaluate your strengths in relation to the considerations I mentioned above (cost, work efficiency, brand identity) as well as your time. Throughout the day you’ll need to perform a series of tasks to maintain high online presence. Some of these are crucial to your business while others are not, writer Perry Marshal breaks these down nicely:

$10/hour tasks:

• Cold calling
• Running errands
• Tweaking your website

$10,000/hour tasks:

• Building sales funnels
• Speaking engagements
• Improving you USP

For those looking to spend more time doing $10,000 / hour tasks, here are three reasons why building your business with a digital marketing agency is your best bet.

Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

1. Cost of Hiring a Marketing Agency

One of the first variables to weigh is cost—which strategy is most cost-effective?

When working with an agency, fees will fluctuate based on the size and scope of your business. Your market and competitors are different depending on whether you are a local, regional, or national brand. Each requires a different amount of effort and bottom line.

For simplicity, say you are a regional business wanting to develop a well-rounded online presence. To accomplish this internally, you’ll need a team of at least three to be effective (salaries based on Glassdoor):

Digital Marketing Manager – $73,709/yr.

Digital Marketing Specialist – $60,138/yr.

Junior Web Developer – $77,567/yr.

For this lightweight internal team, you be spending at least $200,000 annually, not factoring benefits, vacation time, training, and turnover. When working with an agency, you can expect to pay roughly half this cost.

At MODintelechy, our clients have access to our entire team of integrated experts specializing in everything from PPC and SEO to copywriting and data analytics. Of course, expenses aren’t the only factor to weigh, but this should give you an idea of it.

2. Benefits from an Outside Perspective

Having someone outside of your everyday who is well-versed in recognizing patterns, identifying opportunities and implementing solutions is invaluable. This removed perspective may keep your business from making a costly error, due merely to overexposure.

As an agency partner, you will not only have the benefit of this renewed perspective but will be kept up to date with the latest tools and trends in digital marketing to keep you on the cusp of change. Being able to see around the corners is crucial to staying competitive and agile.

We have garnered a wealth of insight from our more than decade experience managing millions in ad spend and numerous partnerships with some of the most recognizable brands.

3. You Can Easily Scale Up Your Marketing Efforts

As you continue to grow, when working with an agency, you will only need to renegotiate your contract. Whereas, if managed internally, you’d instead have to develop the job listing, post, recruit candidates, interview, negotiate salary, establish HR documentation, and onboard. Yet another reason to work with an agency at scale.

How to Hire a Marketing Agency

Aligning with Your Marketing Agency

Don’t work with people who don’t have your best interest at heart. Not every agency will be the right fit. You should feel aligned and supported in every way to effectively establish a partnership. For growth, your agency should demonstrate that their focus is sales, conversions, and leads. There’s an infinite amount of data out there, don’t be distracted by the vanity metrics an agency may tout to sell their service.

To know if an agency will serve you well, you’ll need to do your homework:

• Identify KPIs (key performance indicators): What metrics will you use to judge progress? Scroll depth? Time on-page? Conversions and leads?
• Set KPI Benchmarks: Know your numbers and what a good and bad month looks like.
• Assign one person to be your point of contact with the agency to ensure quick updates and reports.

Trust is essential within the agency-client relationship. Preparing for the partnership will help each party know where they stand and build trust.

Review Case Studies

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio uses a reverse 360 Review approach when working with new people, relying heavily on conversations with those who have previously worked with his potential new partners. We recommend reviewing an agency’s case studies of past client work to get an idea of their approach, results, and professionalism—and then possibly following up with that client to get an idea of their experience.

Wrap Up

In the end, whichever LEGO bricks you lay are up to you. Only you know the context of your circumstance, but we hope this helped to clarify your options.

If you’re interested in the agency route, reach out! You can review case studies here or use this page to contact us.