So, you’re ready to call up a marketing agency to help your business succeed in whatever its trying to succeed in (professional cheese sculptors, I’m looking at you). You understand that while in-house marketing has its perks, nothing satisfies a hungry company tummy like well-rounded, highly-specialized, experienced individuals that agencies have to offer. I mean, that is what makes hiring an agency appealing. Though, before you swan dive gracefully into the pool that is a marketing agency, there are a few things you should consider about yourself, and your company.
Know Your Budget
For starters, what’s your budget? No really, what’s your budget that you have set aside for hired help? A simple website redesign could run you thousands of dollars, and that’s just the start. You can’t just have a pretty website anymore either (especially if you’re looking for droves of new customers), you have to market it too. I mean, what’s art if nobody is going to look at it? SEO (search-engine optimization), PPC (pay-per-click), social ads are just a few ways to get your brand-new website in front of the people who need to see it most. Now, before I give too much away, just take a step back to realize how many steps involved just your website. From what I count, it’s 4 (to start), and each of these parts is going to cost you big time. If you have unlimited budget, then by all means, do whatever you want (and frankly, I don’t know why you would be reading this if you did). But if you don’t, like the majority of readers, then map out your budget effectively and know what you want before you pull the trigger.
Is Your Product/Service Ready?
Second, you do have products or services right? I get it, you want all the help you can get right off the bat, but is that a wise decision? It might be intimidating to enter a market with a brand-new product or revolutionary service, and that’s what the point of hiring an agency is. Though,if this product or service is still on the drawing board, you might want to tug on the reigns a little bit. The reason why is that you don’t want the agency completely taking over on the development side of things. For you lucky unlimited budget people, be my guest, and do what you please. For those on the other side of the fence, however, this is a massive budget drainer. You’ll be exhausted of your funds before any of the actual marketing begins. My advice, spend on development before you determine that you need an agency.
Do You Have Time to Hit the Books?
My third reason might sound like a jab at some of the older folk reading this, but are you ready to sit down and accept the new way of doing things? I’m not going to sit here and tell you how “radical”, “groovy”, or “gnarly” it is (but it is really neat). What I am going to tell you, however, is that digital marketing is a different beast than traditional marketing. Both have their perks, but they are two sides of the same coin, and it takes time to fully understand the differences, the pros, and the cons of each. If you’re set on your ways and don’t believe in any of this tech jibber-jabber, or you’re dead set on being resistant to the ideas and suggestions of a digital marketing agency, then maybe you’re not ready to take the plunge.
Reality-Check
My last reason why you may not be ready to hire an agency; we’re not miracle workers. Actually, let me backtrack a second. We do perform pretty incredible tasks, get your product/service in front of the right people, drive conversions, yada-yada-yada; but we can’t make every single person on the planet visit your website, that’s an impossible task. We are great at what we do, but we are bound by the laws of time and space just as much as the next guy or gal. So, my suggestion, realize reality before you sit down at the conference table to negotiate a price. Just be realistic, and your agency will do the best they can do (and the best that you want).
Don’t fret! This may be intimidating or disheartening to some, but that only means you’re just beginning your journey. You’ll get to the point where an agency matters to you, and Netrocon will be there. As always, leave your questions/comments/concerns below in the comments section. I’ll talk to you soon.