A marketing agency says you need a marketing agency! OK, we admit that’s about as surprising as a Premier League manager saying their star player didn’t deserve a red card, but hear us out.
We know that it’s tempting for many businesses to think that they can handle communications and marketing using in-house resources, especially in times like the present when there are added financial pressures. But successful businesses know that outsourcing marketing to the experts is a cost-effective, essential investment in their growth strategy.
Here’s some food for thought.
Specialist marketing skills = better results
A football manager wouldn’t put Megan Rapinoe or Lionel Messi in goal, so it doesn’t make any sense for businesses to put marketing and communications in the hands of employees that don’t have specialist knowledge, skills or experience. In this digital age, customer behaviour is becoming increasingly complex with an ever-increasing range of influences, and that increases the need for a specialist marketing expertise. It’s not easy to keep up to speed with this rapidly changing landscape, and for many SMEs, it’s simply not practical or cost-effective to have a dedicated communications team in-house that have the skills and experience to match the best communications agencies.
Even those companies that do have that level of in-house resources face a constant battle to retain staff. Achieving the very best results from investment in a marketing campaign might require the expertise of a copywriter, brand strategist, graphic designer, website designer, media planner/buyer and social media expert to name just a few of the professional services that might be needed. The cost of hiring and maintaining an in-house team can therefore prove to be very expensive, especially for smaller businesses – and then there’s the question of how effective all of these people will be when they’ve never worked together as a team before? While it is possible to create and implement a campaign with fewer resources, the results usually fail to live up to expectations. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.
A different perspective
Sometimes when you bring together two ideas from differing points of view, instead of creating a third idea, you create a star. When it comes to marketing, two heads are definitely better than one and a fresh perspective can often produce a flash of brilliance that simply wouldn’t have happened if a management team had not been open-minded and ready to accept new ways of thinking about old problems.
Getting a fresh perspective from a marketing agency that has experience outside of your own industry is the best way to generate new and better ideas. Whether it helps with social media, digital communications or design, the best agencies take the time to understand your business and use that understanding to inspire new ideas and strategies.
Consistent communications
One of the key elements of any marketing and communications strategy is consistency. That’s always been a challenge for businesses with in-house resources that are often stretched beyond their limits – but it’s even more of a challenge in the digital media age with its insatiable appetite for content. Engaging and consistent social media messages play a vital part in increasing brand awareness and gathering intelligence about customers’ interests, opinions and behaviour.
Generating content day after day, week after week will always be a challenge for in-house teams, especially if their communications and marketing duties are in addition to other responsibilities. Again, this is an example where buying specialist skills will prove to be a wise investment.
Scaleable budgets
All reputable agencies can offer solutions to suit a range of budgets. At the lower end of the scale that might be a one-off project to promote the launch of a particular product or manage communications about a specific announcement to the media. At the other end it could be a long-term retainer covering a full service spanning marketing, internal and external communication and 24/7 readiness to respond in crisis situations.
Within those two extremes, there’s always scope to work out a deal that allows the agency to provide the best, most cost-effective service within the available budget.
Freedom to focus on what you do best
The time and resources of you and your employees or colleagues are best used by focusing on running the business. Just as outsourcing services such as IT is a cost-effective investment, so is choosing to work with a reputable marketing agency. The best agencies, such as MMC, offer a ‘plug in and play’ solution because they are used to working in partnership with clients. Our team can very quickly become part of your team, giving you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your marketing strategy is in safe hands, and leaving you and your colleagues to focus on their areas of expertise.
If this blog has made you consider working with a marketing agency, we would love to continue the conversation – contact us today
