You Should Outsource Your Small Business Marketing – Here’s Why!
You’ve registered your business license, bought your business cards, created a free email address to contact people, and maybe purchased a separate phone for business use. Now you just have to wait for all of the customers to show up at your door, right?
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works in the real world, in spite of all of the feel-good movies and TV shows that make it seem so easy. However, it doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems at first either – let’s take a look at how hiring a Marketing Agency is the right choice for your small business.
Word of Mouth Isn’t Enough
Look, I know you have a great product or service, and I know your friends all support you and want to see you succeed, but the reality is that they aren’t the ones who will be making your business grow. You need reach – and in today’s world, that means Digital Branding that pops, a website that dazzles, and a Social Media presence that has customers flooding your inbox and storefront with demand for what you have to offer.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But who is going to attend to all your customers’ needs while you develop that marketing strategy and campaign, or evaluate the incoming data and plan next steps, or write blogs and update your website and social media to keep your brand fresh?
So how can a Marketing Agency help? It’s pretty simple really. For example, PixelPop offers plans that provide set marketing services with a specific number of combined hours per week that they dedicate to your company’s needs. Let’s say you choose a plan at $5,000 per month, which gives you 20 hours of service from PixelPop’s experts each week. That is a total, predictable cost of $60,000 per year, or $15,000 per quarter, that your business can plan for, but what’s more it’s a lot less than what you would spend for a marketing staff, or even one person, and with a proven, reliable team instead of new people that will cost you not only money, but valuable time.
And you need a marketing strategy in today’s world. Almost every single consumer in the world has a computer, tablet, or smart device that they don’t just use to navigate their day, but rely on to get them the best bang for their buck. That means consumers have more options to choose from, more information with which to make their choices, and a sense of urgency for their time that businesses have to take into account while trying to earn their patronage.
Good Leaders Have to Lead
That means taking the bull by the horns and tackling all of your business needs with the focus and drive you have put into your brand. You need to be able to focus on the tasks that you are good at, and that make your business what it is, and worrying about who is handling your marketing and what they’re doing is going to pull you away from those important duties.
Even the best of us can only do so much in a day, so you’re going to have to hire a marketing manager to try to fill multiple roles at a cost that goes beyond salary – the number you offer to an employee is only about 70% of the actual cost of hiring that person, not including irregular maintenance or other options. For example, you have to pay taxes, cover vacations, work with insurance providers, pay for training (and use your time to do that too!), all while somehow hoping that person can accomplish everything you need to expand your brand and take the spotlight you deserve.
That is a recipe for burnout. A person who tries to do that many jobs under that kind of pressure is going to underperform, possibly excel at one or two elements of marketing, but definitely not all, and if they burnout and leave, you have to start the process all over again, costing you time and money.
Good Marketing Agencies take a massive load off of your plate, and at a greater value, by handling all of the tricky, behind-the-scenes tasks that go into a Digital Marketing campaign, including Search Engine Optimization, Blogs, Social Media presence, Website Design and Maintenance, and, most importantly, breaking down the Data Analysis behind all of those elements to ensure that your brand makes the best possible impact on the world.
Diversity, Experience, and Dynamism are Key
Your brand is your baby – an extension of you and your vision of how to make your way in the world. And sometimes it is difficult to get a clear picture of things we are fond or protective of, and we can lose sight of the bigger picture.
If you hire a marketing manager, statistically they are likely to be afraid to push back on ideas they have that are actually great ideas if they feel the owner will not be receptive. We are all only human, so individually we can even present this defensive posture without ever realizing it. That means that new ideas and exposure is often stifled, and a brand is left to become stagnant because it cannot break free from the nest you build for it.
Marketing agencies are different. Take PixelPop Marketing, for instance, which has a team of experts, all with backgrounds in marketing, but who also specialize in different areas. There are design experts, writers, tech and IT specialists, Video Production crews, and more, all with years of experience working together in an environment that welcomes new ideas and creativity, so long as it is data-driven and research-focused. The culture at good Marketing Agencies is one of creative flow and open discussion – everyone has an equal say at the table – because good ideas can come from unexpected places.
That means that instead of having a person who might be afraid to tell you about a new idea, you have a team of people who are not only willing to tell you new ideas, but have the experience, expertise, and research to make sure that what they are offering delivers exactly what you need – results.
You Don’t Need to Outsource Everything, But You Can
Let’s say you have an expertly-crafted website already up and running, so you don’t want to start over from scratch when what you have already is pretty good. That’s fine! It is, after all, your brand. However, Marketing Agencies can evaluate your website to make changes that meet your marketing needs by maximizing visibility, analyzing click-through data, and ensuring the most effective Return on Investment (ROI) and Lead Generation possible.
Similarly, perhaps you already have a writer who has created published material for you. That’s great! You have a leg up on the process. That doesn’t mean that what you have can’t be improved, so having a copywriter with expertise in marketing take a look at what you have to provide feedback is a great opportunity to find room for your brand to grow. After that, the Marketing Agency can focus on all of the tasks that you don’t have time for while handling all of those new customers.
The best part is that you are involved every step of the way. A good Marketing Agency works with you to see your brand grow. It is truly a partnership because your success is a measure of the agency’s success as well! They are committed to making you shine because it’s their reputation as well, and they are proud of what they have to offer just like you are with your brand.
What Can an Agency Do For Me?
Besides the difficulty in finding an expert in all of the necessary elements of marketing, not to mention the costs of hiring that person or team of persons, you still have to find time to manage and oversee those processes. Marketing Agencies like PixelPop Marketing can handle every element of your marketing, or only some parts of your marketing.
Here are some of the ways Marketing Agencies can help you:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Strategy and Analysis of both of pre-existing and new content
- Blogs, Newsletters, Social Media, and other Copywriting
- Creative services like Video Production, Animation, and Motion Graphics
- More people working to drive Leads, Sales, and Conversions for your business
- Expert Data Analysis and Proof-of-Concept implementation
- The best Value for your business dollar
Ultimately, the thing to remember is that a Marketing Agency is a partner in your brand that has one purpose – to make your business look great, reach that market potential that we know you have, and grow with you to drive your brand to the next level. All for less than the cost of hiring a single marketing manager.
What are you waiting for? Contact PixelPop today for a free, 30-minute consultation! Together, we can make your brand POP!
