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How to Know You’re Ready for an Agency

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Small business owners wear many hats, and marketing manager is usually one of them. Regularly creating content and posting is vital to getting your business out there, but it’s often at the bottom of the list for business owners. It’s something you know you should do, but there’s just so many other things that are on your list. This is where outsourcing comes in. In this post we are going to discuss the benefits of outsourcing your marketing and how to know you’re ready for an agency.

What Do Marketing Agencies Do?

Outsourcing your marketing means hiring a third party agency to take on the marketing role. While this might be daunting (and maybe even a little scary), it frees up time to allow you, as a business owner, to shift your focus on growing your business and work on other tasks that you may find more enjoyable. Also, having an in-house marketing team isn’t feasible for many small businesses due to costs. 

What can be outsourced?

  • Market research: Researching your target market, competitors and content ideas can take a lot of time. A marketing agency will handle all of this for you and keep track of it.
  • Strategy and planning: Creating a strategy and executing on it are critical to making sure your marketing plan is aligned with your business goals. Using an agency increases efficiency and accountability. 
  • Content creation: As a digital marketing agency, we love creating content for our clients. Content creation includes creating social media posts, captions, email newsletters, blog posts, and print and digital ads. Branding and graphic design is an important aspect of creating content to make sure everything is representing your brand. Many small business owners do not like this aspect of marketing, so this is a great thing to outsource!
  • Operations: A full service agency like AGC can handle your marketing operations and coordinate with your team on the back-end. We also work with outside sources, like magazines and newspapers. This can free up so much time for you and your team to focus on growing the business and client relationships. 

What are the benefits of using a marketing agency?

  • Cost-efficient: In-house marketing professionals can be very expensive for small businesses. Many times other employees are tasked with content creation, but that is not their skillset. Using a marketing agency can solve both of those problems. 
  • Quality and quantity: Creating content is time consuming and often at the bottom of the list for small businesses. Here at AGC we do monthly and quarterly content calendars to make sure we are producing enough quality content to keep your audience engaged and those sales rolling in. 
  • Get a different perspective: In-house marketing teams can fall into the habit of repeating the same strategy over and over. Having a third party agency come in and give a different perspective on customer preferences and trends can keep your marketing strategy relevant and easily able to pivot during unexpected events (like the COVID-19 lockdowns). 
  • ROI: By getting monthly reports and doing quarterly strategy meetings, the agency works with your business to make sure everything is performing the way we want it to. 

Are You Ready For An Agency?

If you’re wondering whether or not you’re ready for an agency, here are some things to consider. First of all, you should know your marketing needs. We can help you with the specifics, but you should have a general idea of what you’d like taken off your plate and what your goals are. Using an agency can give you ideas that you may not have considered. Once you’ve decided on your marketing needs, it’s time to look at your budget.

Many agencies offer different packages and price points. You also want to look at the agency’s experience and examples of their work. The most affordable agency may not provide the best quality. Don’t be afraid to ask for work samples

One of the main reasons most small business owners seek out the help of a marketing agency is when the business is starting to grow quickly. The sooner you start working with an agency, the easier it is to design and execute your marketing strategy. If the thought has crossed your mind, reach out now to schedule a consultation!

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