A marketing agency is a business that is dedicated to providing a menu of options to meet your marketing needs. There are a variety of agency types––internal vs. external, specialized vs. full-service. Understanding the different types of agencies will help provide clarity when deciding which option will be the best one to meet your specific marketing needs. Internal agencies are marketing departments within a specific company that only support and develop marketing materials for that one company. External marketing agencies are a team of creative experts that support the marketing efforts of multiple companies across various industries. External agencies can be specialized or full-service firms. Specialized agencies focus on servicing one specific area of marketing, whereas full-service marketing agencies offer expertise in multiple areas such as social media, search engine optimization, ad management, graphic design and more. Businesses who don’t have developed marketing departments can utilize external agencies as a one-stop shop for their marketing needs. Why you should choose an external agency Take five minutes to peruse your favorite businesses and you will notice that a majority of them have a strong digital presence. Per Statistica, U.S. online marketing spending in 2021 made up approximately 240 billion dollars, with forecasts of spending to continue to rise. Since the onset of the pandemic, companies have resorted to investing more into their digital marketing needs because of reduced store traffic, public access restrictions, and most importantly, to ensure the safety of their employees and clients. As digital marketing continues to increase, having a strong digital strategy will be important to ensuring your marketing reaches and engages the correct audiences. Working with an agency can help you tackle the necessary steps that are needed to reach your goals. In addition to providing the convenience of a one-stop shop, there are additional benefits to working with an agency:
Experience Marketing agencies are a collection of individuals with significant marketing experience in social media management, branding, content creation, website design, marketing strategy and more. These agencies have the necessary experts to assist with your company’s marketing needs.
Creativity External agencies offer their creative services in an unbiased way. The objectives of your marketing needs are taken into consideration through an integrated approach. Additionally, experienced professionals help come up with solutions targeted to your specific audience. The collaborative effort of the agency is to come up with techniques, strategies and materials that best suit your organization.
Efficiency Working with an external agency creates an effective partnership because your financial investment is pooled into one place and is utilized collaboratively by the agency. The agency effectively and efficiently utilizes time, money, staff, and other resources to support the specifics of your marketing goals and ensure deliverables are met on time. Marketing agencies can help you monitor strategic initiatives.
When do you know you need marketing agency support?
It is important to evaluate all your options before deciding to utilize marketing agencies as a resource. There may be several reasons why you would need marketing agency support, but here are two important reasons:
You are a new business or small company that does not have the capacity to implement all the services needed to accomplish your marketing goals. In this case, you could hire specialized hourly associates, but sometimes this can prove to be costly. Utilizing a full-service marketing agency can provide multiple services, offering convenience at a reasonable cost.
You are constantly seeing lower than expected results. At times it can be difficult to step back and analyze why your business's marketing efforts are not producing the desired results. A marketing agency's experience can come in handy by offering ideas and solutions on how to get the results you are looking for. In addition, they can offer feedback that can help you better understand any issues and what can be done to overcome future obstacles.
How to choose the right agency?
When choosing an agency, be sure to do your research first. This will allow you to determine the company’s overall service, previous performance, and whether the agency can meet your current and future marketing needs. When possible, book a consultation to get a feel for them. The Hopkins Creative Group is a full-service creative firm providing dedicated and customized solutions for all your marketing and communications needs. Our experienced and diverse team of creatives provides a convenient, streamlined approach that unifies your strategy, brand, design, website, and social media.
Book a free consultation today.
Comments