Hiring a Marketing Agency in St. Pete: Problems and Solutions

Let’s say you’re considering hiring a marketing agency. You’ve spent countless hours doing the research and you’ve narrowed your search down to five contenders that you feel align with your internal process and can help you build your business. You’ve met with each agency, asked them all the questions you can think of, but you still aren’t sure whether you should pull the trigger and hire one.

Hiring a marketing agency is difficult, mainly because there are stigmas that make you question whether it is the right move for your business. You also want to make sure you choose the right one. Is it worth it to hire a marketing agency?

Being that we are in fact a marketing agency, you’re probably wondering how we can answer this question without bias. We can however address the main reasons why companies decide not to hire a marketing agency and offer solutions. The following are the most common reasons we’ve found that scare businesses from outsourcing their marketing.

1. “It’s too expensive.”

The biggest reason business owners refrain from hiring a marketing agency is the cost. A marketing agency is also a business with its own expenses, bills, and salaries to pay, so hiring one comes with a price. But a big misconception is that marketing agencies are too expensive, especially for small businesses on small budgets.

We believe that pricing should be transparent and we openly discuss pricing with all our clients. But prices aren’t always set in stone. Sometimes pricing is set on a case by case basis that is influenced by what you need. It is also important to consider the cost of hiring an in-house marketing team. Consider the expenses associated with payroll, payroll taxes, benefits such as health insurance, and all the marketing tools you will need to properly run and track a marketing campaign. Added up, these things can far exceed the cost of hiring a marketing agency to do everything for you.

2. “They don’t understand my business.”

Another common fear about hiring a marketing agency is that they are too far removed from your business. If they don’t work for the company, how can they understand your vision? Also, will they capture the brand’s personality and mission?

This is a valid argument; however, there is a solution. A marketing agency is meant to work very closely with the company they are working for. The only way to make the relationship work is to come together. Our team is dedicated to providing what you the customer wants. Afterall, you hired us. It is also important to recognize that our team has years of experience. From working with other clients, we know what does and doesn’t work. We know where you should budget your money and where the money is needed to make a campaign impactful. We will meet with your team routinely where we explicitly map out our ideas and come to an agreement on the best game plan.

We’ve worked with many different companies, but our strategies are far from cookie-cutter. Each of our marketing proposals are tailored to meet the need of our clients. No two businesses are the same. A good marketing agency will think of new innovative ideas to help your business grow and generate sales.

3. “They won’t have time for my business.”

Next on the list of concerns is that a marketing agency may not have time for you and their other clients. It is normal for marketing agencies to handle more than one account at one time. Because this is the case, many worry about deadlines being pushed and work not meeting quality standards.

A good agency will always set realistic deadlines. If we take you on as a client, we have the time for you. The number of clients we manage at one time fluctuates, but we are very open about how many people we are working for and we make every single one of our clients a priority. The alternative is hiring someone in-house to manage your company’s advertising, social media, and messaging themselves.

You don’t need to train and manage a marketing agency. Marketing experts have all the tools and knowledge they need to handle every aspect of your marketing strategy. Marketers are creatives that think outside of what is traditional, and can help you to create something that others have overlooked. No matter what you’re working on, it is always nice to have a fresh pair of eyes outside of the company. If you are too close to what you are doing, you can lose sight of some important factors to consider. For example, will others understand your messaging, how will they receive it, and are you covering all the bases? Even if you are talented at what you do, it can’t compare to years of experience working in the marketing field. It only takes one really great campaign to put your company on the map and it only takes one bad campaign to tarnish your reputation.

In addition, the members of our team all specialize in specific aspects of the marketing process. We have web developers, project managers, writers, and content creators. It will be very difficult for you to find and hire one person who can do everything. They most likely will need to outsource some of the projects to a web developer or advertising agency because they lack the expertise. Why go through the trouble of hiring all these people when you can hire one agency that can manage everything for you. Members of a marketing team can work on different aspects of your campaign at once. They can also come together to brainstorm and share multiple perspectives.

4. “They are too busy preaching.”

Inviting another company into your business and giving them the power to make big decisions can be scary. That is why many businesses fear that they will lose control if they hire a marketing agency. That instead of listening to the company’s values and proposed strategy, they will want to make drastic changes that go against the company’s vision.

A marketing agency dedicated to growing your business will do more listening than preaching. They will also ask you lots of questions about your brand and desired results. At Kapok, we take the lead so that you don’t have to, but our goal is always to meet your top priorities. Pay close attention to the questions a marketing agency is asking you. Also pay attention to whether or not they listen to feedback and make changes accordingly. If they are concerned with a positive end result that satisfies you, the client, they will do both these things proficiently.

In addition to being good listeners, marketing agencies should also be strategists and implementers. The purpose of hiring a marketing agency is to help your business accomplish your goals. Selecting a marketing agency with a proactive action plan is key.

5. “I can’t measure their success.”

Another fear is that a marketing agency will overlook your bottom-line. Yes, metrics are important, but how can you tell that they equate to sales and how can you check the agency’s progress? In other words, how can you be sure that hiring a marketing agency will be a positive investment?

The marketing agency that you hire should be able to demonstrate how their effort will impact sales. When their proposal comes through, make sure that a plan for a positive ROI is mentioned. If it is, they’ve taken the time to address your bottom-line as an important component of their strategy. You and the marketing agency should also have a conversation about metrics and which are the most important to focus on. When we meet with clients, all relevant metrics are thoroughly explained and the goals we are seeking to accomplish are explicitly clear.

Don’t let these negative stigmas influence your decision to hire a marketing agency. In the long run, you will be saving money and gaining access to strategies cultivated from years of experience. Weighing your options is important. Meet with different agencies and ask lots of questions. The goal is to hire an agency that understands and respects your desired goals.

Is there a concern we missed? Leave a comment below. Is your business interested in meeting with us? Give us a call at (800) 640-8082 or email us at info@kapokmarketing.com. We’d be happy to consult with you and your business.