Why choose a marketing agency?

What is a marketing agency?

A marketing agency is a company, or service provider, that works with various clients in one or more areas of marketing. They will assist companies with planning, creating, and executing specific phases of their marketing strategies and goals.

What are the functions of a marketing agency?

It is said that the functions of a marketing agency can be divided into three categories:

Identify opportunities in the market that match your specific business goals.
Execute marketing strategies and particular tactics.
Carefully analyse the correct reports and data of said strategies and tactics, and make the necessary changes.

In this post, we'll take a look at why we believe working with a marketing agency can only be to your advantage. We'll also look at ways of helping you choose the right agency to work alongside and, at the end of the day, what makes a good marketing agency.

Why choose to work with a marketing agency?

These are just some of the reasons why we believe you should be working with a marketing agency. We've tried to pick what we believe to be the most important, but obviously, there are many many more out there.

Cost-effective

Working with a marketing agency, especially when you're just starting out, is the most cost-saving and cost-effective way of running a successful marketing campaign. With small teams and even smaller budgets, businesses will also often lack the necessary marketing knowledge amongst the team. Working with a group of specialised experts, whose sole focus is on your specific needs and goals, will be invaluable to your company.

Expertise

It's possible that you have the basics down. And that things like your tactics, trend-watching and day-to-day strategy are all well understood amongst the team. But what if a specialised project or campaign needs to be executed? Something that your in-house team has never worked on. Again, this is where working with a marketing agency can become extremely beneficial.

Lower commitment required

When you work alongside a marketing agency, things like hiring an in-house team, recruiting, conducting interviews, onboarding and training new employees are not your responsibility. It is also generally a lot easier to hire (and fire) a marketing agency than it is an employee. Working with a marketing agency will free up time for you and your business to focus on other important goals and projects.

Large networks and technology-driven

Good marketing agencies will have built up large networks of channels and connections that can only be useful to you when partnering with them. They will also have access to a wide variety of tools and resources that either aren’t practical or are just too expensive for only one company to have. When it comes to technology, top marketing agencies will always be up to speed on the latest trends in technology and will have systems in place to collect and analyse all the data that they require. They'll use analytical reports, data, and specific software to target the right customers, with the right products, at the right time.

Creativity

One of the best things about working with a marketing agency is that they will bring fresh and creative ideas to the table. They'll also bring objectivity, which is vital! You need people who are impartial and uninfluenced by any internal biases. It's never a bad idea to get a fresh pair of eyes to look at any given project or campaign, and working with a marketing agency will open you up to new perspectives that you may not have thought about or seen before.

How do I choose the right marketing agency to work with?

Know your goals

This, truly, cannot be stressed enough! And just like every business is different, so is every marketing agency. It's vital that you define your specific requirements and your own logical and achievable goals. Also, take into account things like the size of your term, what your in-house setup looks like, are you entering a new marketplace? And things of that nature. Doing this will allow you to make an informed decision when it comes to choosing the correct marketing agency partner to work with.

Know your budget

This might sound obvious, but before you even think about approaching marketing agencies, you should work out and break down your budget. Do you have an overall budget for everything? What percentage will you be spending on certain, more important, aspects of the campaign? The more of these types of questions you can answer, the better position you'll be in when working out what kind of marketing agency you can partner with and who will best suit your needs.

Know your key performance indicators (KPI)

It's important to set KPIs before partnering up with a marketing agency, and the reason for this is that it sets concrete expectations, demands, and accountability. This goes hand-in-hand with knowing your goals, and if you have specific targets, figures, and costs in mind beforehand, then you and the prospective marketing agency can agree on a number of things straight from the off. It'll also greatly help the agency to tailor their strategy to your needs, and give realistic indicators based on your available resources.

Know who you'd like to work with

Again, this is possibly an obvious sounding item, but it is often overlooked when companies choose marketing agencies to work with. Don't forget that you're essentially entrusting large parts of your business to this agency, so it's crucial that your teams are able to work together and there is a good culture fit. Ask yourself things like, "Do you they have a good track record?" "What are their company ethics?" "How many team members will be working with us?" This will, once again, allow you to make an informed decision when choosing the right marketing agency to work with.

What makes a good marketing agency?

Passionate and skilled employees

I suppose this is true of any business, but it feels even more relevant when it comes to a marketing agency. Because a lot of the work is creative and innovative, it's essential that staff are able to work well together and rely on one another. Finding passionate, enthusiastic, and creative individuals to work with, who genuinely love the work that they do and aren't afraid to take risks, is half the battle right there.

Data and technology-driven

As mentioned earlier, when it comes to data and technology, a good marketing agency will always be up to speed on the latest trends. They'll also have systems in place to collect and analyse all the necessary data. They'll use analytical reports, data, and specific software to target the right customers, with the right products, at the right time. By recording the effectiveness of a specific campaign, the agency will be able to keep you informed on the progress towards achieving your goals.

Problem-solving skills

Let's face it, there probably hasn't been a single marketing campaign in history that has gone exactly according to plan and without a hitch. It is not necessarily the ability to avoid problems before they happen that makes a good agency, but rather the ability to deal with those problems as they develop along the way. Recognising and addressing problems quickly so that you can stay on track with your deadlines and goals is the name of the game.

Strong and design-focused online presence

If you're going to be asking businesses and people to hire you to market their products or services, you best be able to do it for yourself too! A successful marketing agency should undoubtedly have a strong online presence across all forms of online and offline media. Not just that, but they will also pay special attention to designing an image that will make them stand out, and resonate with prospective clients and customers.

Transparency

An honest and successful marketing agency will always be transparent about certain things. Whether it is the way they bill their clients, which team members or managers you'll actually be able to contact, whether they are outsourcing any of the work, what feedback and at what frequency they will provide you with, and a whole host of other factors, transparency is key in this market. And any attempts at hiding this should instantly be seen as a red flag.

Why choose Spirus?

At Spirus, we offer a full range of marketing and communications services. From developing your strategy, mission, vision and values, to implementing and reviewing your marketing campaigns. Many of our customers have commented that they love the fact that we "do the doing" as well as the talking, making us something of a one-stop-shop for all of your marketing and PR needs. Working alongside your existing marketing team, we will provide any additional services that you require. Whether that's writing great copy, designing beautiful graphics, producing engaging videos, running your social media, printing your physical campaign, or liaising with the media, we will get your business out there!

We work collaboratively in partnership with our clients to bring your brand to life, reach the right people, and ultimately, make more sales. Your marketing activities will have the most impact if they are scheduled for the right time, to make the most of seasonal opportunities, and be aligned with your business needs and strategy. We have you covered!