As a marketing agency, it’s pretty easy to tout the benefits of hiring an agency to market your business. While we’ve already explored a number of the major benefits , you might be wondering, “what’s the cost of reaping so many great benefits?” Well, we’re going to answer that for you with a brief, cost-benefit analysis of hiring a marketing agency rather than handling it all internally.
The first obvious cost is exactly that, the cost. It’s no secret that hiring a marketing agency costs money. After all, marketing agencies are businesses too and you can’t get anything (worth having, that is) for free. While the fees (including the structure) vary from agency to agency, you should expect to pay for the services you’re needing. Whether on an hourly, project-based, or retainer structure, you should expect to pay for the time and expertise the agency is providing. While cost is a definite factor and often one of the initial drawbacks of hiring a firm, it’s important to consider how much professional skill, industry expertise, strategy and managing the logistics, etc. are worth to you. When you are able to put the promotion of your business in the hands of a team of experts, the piece of mind knowing it’s done correctly and professionally is well worth the fee, and often saves you money in the long run.
Another cost is the upfront learning curve. It’s often said that no one knows your business better than you, which is usually true. Thus, when you first hire an agency, you will likely have to spend a decent amount of time onboarding or showing them how your business operates, who your customers or clients are, etc. Most importantly, you’ll need to provide a bit of grace time as any agency worth hiring will want to do a deep dive into your audience/customer base, past and/or current marketing initiatives, budget possibilities and other info gathering activities that will allow them to do their job to the fullest. While this may seem like time you don’t have, trust us, it’s worth it! Once the agency gets the lay of the land, you’ll end up saving so much time when it comes to the actual marketing of your business (which will likely also save you money 😊).
An additional cost is an easy one to avoid: the wrong fit. It’s imperative that you do your research and find the right agency for your business and your goals and objectives. Hiring the wrong agency can be an enormous cost; literally! Ensure that the agency you hire not only provides the services you need most, but also has similar values and operates to your standards of honesty and integrity. When assessing agencies, common considerations are services provided, fees, size, style/specialty, and location.
Hiring a marketing agency provides many benefits to your business that outweigh just about any cost you may experience. However, we want to stress again how imperative it is that you hire the right agency. There are many types of agencies that operate in different ways, so it’s important that you find one that vibes with your business. When you’re considering hiring a marketing agency, a cost-benefit analysis is a must and should be personal to your business and your goals.
Start your agency research by contacting LŪM Studio today!