Over the last few years, there’s been a shift to bringing marketing efforts in-house. Having an internal team that knows your brand inside and out is a major benefit. You maintain full control of your brand’s communications and messaging. The team is the final decision maker on the brand’s voice, tone, and overall marketing approach. And being in-house also means the team is able to collaborate more seamlessly with other teams such as sales and social.
And while these benefits may seem perfect, there will be times when you’ll likely want to work with a team of experts. Hiring an outside agency can catapult your marketing efforts to new heights. Not sure how or when to know that it may be time to call in outside marketing help? Below are three signs to be on the lookout for.
1. There’s a Problem That Needs to Be Solved
No matter how great your current marketing team is, they may not be equipped to solve every problem. And you may not always have the time for them to learn how. If sales are down and the team has pulled all the typical levers, you can’t wait and hope things will change for the better. You need to take some kind of action — and quickly — for the longevity of the company.
Because marketing agencies work with a wide variety of businesses, they can come in with a fresh perspective. They can leverage tactics that have worked for other brands in times of need, deploying campaigns that make the most sense for your dilemma. They know what generally works and doesn’t work well, meaning they’re more likely to solve the challenge quickly.
In some cases, you may not know what problem you are dealing with. If you’re driving enough leads but not seeing the conversions, you may think your pricing is too high. But in reality, an agency may see that the load time on the site is taking too long. This example may sound simple, but it’s a continual problem for many brands. According to Hawke, the on-site bounce rate for lead-generation brands was around 56% in 2023, up from 47% in 2022. A marketing agency can help optimize your website by fixing bugs and eliminating distracting elements.
2. Everything is Feeling a Bit Stale
When you’re in the day-to-day operations for a brand, it’s not always easy to think creatively. You may come to a point where you and the team aren’t generating any new ideas. Your campaigns may feel lackluster because you’ve already done them before or they mimic another brand’s efforts. In these instances, it’s best to take a pause and bring in some outside help to gain a fresh perspective.
Marketing agencies are equipped to think with innovation in mind. While the end goal is performance, they know that it may take some out-of-the box thinking to reach your target audience. As an example, Netflix worked with an agency for the fourth season premier of their popular series Stranger Things. While they could have pushed out a social media campaign and utilized their own data to find likely watchers, the team went much bigger. Using the Empire State building as a canvas, the team lit up the sky of Manhattan with a display of lights and sounds to make a splash.
By working with an agency, you’re essentially adding a few more brains to the team. During a brainstorming session, each individual can build upon an initial idea to make something truly extraordinary. These new ideas can help you reach new, bigger audiences in ways that you didn’t think were possible.
3. There’s a Lack of Expertise or Bandwidth
If you’re a small or medium sized business, your marketing team is probably relatively tiny. And if you’re a startup, it may just be you running the show! It’s impossible for any marketer to call themselves an expert in everything. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, new technologies, platforms, and trends are constantly emerging. You may find that your team is lacking the skills in a certain area, such as affiliate or paid social marketing.
While you could hire a full time employee, it’s likely more cost-effective to work with an agency. A digital marketing agency can do a 360-degree analysis of your current marketing efforts and make strategic suggestions. But if you need assistance in one particular marketing channel, such as paid social, consider hiring a specialized agency. These teams are considered the go-to experts in particular fields, providing more targeted, niche services.
No matter what type of agency you hire, think of them as a reliable partner. They have your company’s best interests in mind so they may come to you with new ideas regularly. Let your team know why you’re working with an agency and how they can help the entire team’s results. This way, they won’t feel disheartened to hear that someone else is working on a project but rather encouraged to learn from them.
Takeaways
Spinning your wheels and trying to come up with new marketing ideas isn’t a long-term solution. Hiring an outside marketing agency can help you better reach your audience in a more efficient way. It can set the gears in motion, allowing you and your team to focus on what you do really well and letting an agency fill in the gaps.
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