What to Expect When Working With a Marketing Agency: Don’t Get Fooled With These Tips!

so you're probably tossing and turning
whether a marketing agency is right for
you right perhaps you're after the ins
and outs of what to expect when working
with one are there strings attached
what's in the fine print well this video
dives into exactly what to expect when
working with the marketing agency
[Music]
what's good guys it's cam here from
neighbourhood where we help brands find
sell and keep their people in short a
marketing agency is a company that helps
businesses create and implement
marketing campaigns much like a swiss
army knife marketing agencies offer a
variety of services including marketing
research advertising pr the development
of new marketing strategies or
fine-tuning existing ones in general
marketing agencies work with brands and
companies of all sizes while the term
marketing agency might conjure up images
of big advertising firms with glossy
offices and high-powered executives
marketing agencies can range from
one-person operations to large
multinational firms so whether you're
looking for help with your next ad
campaign or just some advice on reaching
your target market better there's a
marketing agency out there that can
probably help you achieve your goals
there's a bunch of marketing agencies
out there each with its own specialities
and areas of focus some agencies focus
primarily on advertising creating tv
commercials print ads and online ads
others focus on public relations working
on getting their clients featured in the
news or interviewed by popular bloggers
there are also agencies that specialise
in event planning and organizing product
launches and then some social media
agencies help companies build a
following on platforms like facebook
twitter and instagram bigger agencies
might even specialise in several of
these offering their clients and
partners a full portfolio of marketing
services rather than sticking to just
one after all would you really want your
print ad team handling your newest tick
tock dance video so it's worth diving
into how a marketing agency can help
your business as i'm sure you know when
running a business marketing is
essential it's how you get your product
out to the masses and make sure that
you're not just screaming into a massive
black void about how great your product
and services are but it can be hard to
keep up with the latest trends and find
effective ways to reach your target
audience that's where a marketing agency
comes in a good agency will have a team
of experienced professionals who can
help you create a comprehensive
marketing plan and execute it flawlessly
they'll also be up to date on the latest
trends and technologies so you can be
confident that your campaign are getting
the most effective channels and perhaps
most importantly they'll take the time
to understand your business and your
goals so that they can tailor their
approach to your unique needs in other
words working with a marketing agency is
a great way to ensure that your
marketing efforts are as successful as
possible this allows you to focus on
other aspects of your business and its
overall growth a marketing agency can
provide a wide range of services to
businesses of all sizes from helping to
develop a brand identity to creating and
executing promotional campaigns a
marketing agency can be an invaluable
partner in driving growth one of the
most critical services a marketing
agency offers is audience research to
create effective campaigns it is crucial
to understand who the target audience is
and what they want a good marketing
agency will have extensive experience in
conducting market research and we can
use this data to develop the strategies
that are likely to resonate an example
is neighborhoods buy persona workshops
these help you uncover the ins and outs
of your customers buying behaviour and
how they interact with your product and
service another important service
offered by marketing agencies is
advertising a good marketing agency will
understand best practices to guide you
with your marketing efforts from scaling
your reach through sem campaigns to
paperback ads in addition many marketing
agencies also offer public relations
services press releases to organizing
media events a pr campaign can generate
a lot of buzz around a product or
service by partnering with a reputable
marketing agency businesses can reap the
benefits of having an experienced and
dedicated team working on their behalf
marketing can be tricky trends change
quickly platforms come from seemingly
nowhere to become the hottest new thing
there are so many different avenues to
explore and it's hard to know where to
start here are some things to keep in
mind when choosing a marketing agency i
didn't even know you're still here hey
jordy's here first off consider your
budget marketing can be costly so you'll
need to make sure you're working with an
agency that fits within your company's
plans sometimes size determines how
expensive a marketing agency is but most
often it depends on the services they
provide and the types of other clients
they have agencies with large clients or
well-known brands may charge more for
their time than agencies with smaller
clients do next consider their portfolio
to determine which agency is right for
you you may also want to check out their
portfolio this includes the work they've
done which most agencies will display on
their website and their client lists
more prominent ones are typically listed
on their site but public lists may be
incomplete based on the work they've
done and who they've worked with you may
find that the work they do fits your
brand's vision or that it wouldn't be a
good match when an agency works within a
specific industry like healthcare or
agriculture they become experts in that
field their contracts are within that
industry and they may not have such
connections outside their main category
and finally ask around as with any
marketing word of mouth is often the
strongest way to discover the best
products and services if a company works
with a strong marketing agency they will
likely be happy to share that
information with you ask your network
about their favorite agencies to work to
help you consider your own now making
sure you're dealing with the right
agency comes down to communication about
your expectations and whether they can
meet them it's worth asking a couple of
questions when in the opening stages
here are four questions to keep in mind
during the interview process what do you
know about our company or our industry
the agency should already have a general
understanding of your business and the
industry you serve if they haven't
bothered to learn anything then it could
be a sign that they just aren't the
right agency for you next what are your
thoughts on our current marketing
efforts get the agency's honest feedback
and what's working and what isn't this
will help you determine if they're a
good fit for your needs showing that
they've done their research it can also
be helpful to ask for examples of work
they've done with other or similar
clients what are your ideas for taking
our marketing to the next level when a
business seeks out a new agency they'll
often ask for a meeting called an rfp or
request for proposal or an rfi request
for information of course unless you've
decided on your agency this isn't really
necessary but this meeting is designed
to have agencies compete for your
business this is where the agency gets
to show off its creative side sometimes
the agencies will present creative work
specifically designed for your products
or services and other times this could
be more of an explanation of current
versus future marketing efforts next how
do you measure success make sure you're
on the same page when defining success
as a brand or business your goal is to
grow and make more money they should be
able to explain how their marketing
efforts can help you achieve those goals
once you know what metrics the agency
uses to measure success you'll be likely
to assess whether they will work best
with you if you enjoy this video be sure
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to your inbox now here are some tips on
how to get the most out of working with
a marketing agency before starting with
an agency take some time to think about
what you hope to accomplish do you want
to increase brand awareness drive more
traffic to your website boost sales once
you know what you want to achieve you
can better communicate your goals to the
agency and work together to create a
plan that will help you reach them next
be honest about where you are a
relationship built on half truths or
with misconceptions can crumble quickly
be honest about your budget and how much
you're willing to spend this will help
the agency create a plan that fits
within your budget and help you avoid
surprise invoices down the road adding
to that providing detailed information
be clear about your products services
and target audiences the more specific
you can be the better this information
will help the agency create targeted
content that is more likely to resonate
and achieve your desired results earlier
on you should have discovery meetings
together where the agency can ask
questions and get to know about your
subject matter experts next is making
sure to stay involved a good agency will
keep you involved throughout the entire
process from strategy development to
execution this way you can provide input
and feedback that will help ensure the
success of your marketing campaign if
you're not directly available to the
agency be sure to assign the
relationship to someone close to you so
you can stay informed without it taking
up too much of your time and of course
be patient rome wasn't built in a day
and neither are successful marketing
campaigns it takes time to see results
so it's essential to be patient and give
the campaign time to work trust in your
agency and the process it's worth noting
the three common mistakes businesses
make when working with marketing
agencies marketing agencies can be a
great asset for businesses looking to
promote their products or services
however there are a few common mistakes
that businesses would do well to avoid
mistake one not setting clear goals
without a clear goal it can be difficult
for the agency to create an effective
strategy when working with an agency
goals should be set early and adjusted
as the business changes or more
information becomes available mistake
two
micromanaging no one likes a
micromanager requiring unnecessary
details or constantly questioning your
agency's work is a quick way to ruin
your relationship while communication
needs to be opened and information
shared freely there is a fine line
between not caring and being overbearing
mistake three not trusting the agency's
expertise it's important to trust the
expertise of the agency and allow them
to do their job they're experts in
marketing and you are an expert in your
business together you can create
something fantastic if you're not on the
same page then the work will suffer and
you'll soon be looking for a new agency
to work with it's also smart to keep an
eye out for red flags when working with
marketing agencies not all agencies are
a fit for all businesses and just like
businesses in other industries some
agencies involve bad actors or poor
business practices these things may not
be evident from the start but once they
are in the open you need to understand
how to pivot or end the relationship if
you wish firstly the agency promises
quick results no matter the agency's
strength if they promise your company
fast or amazingly large results then
this could be a sign that they are
simply focused on getting you to sign a
contract this could be a red flag that
they are not doing well or positioning
themselves to sell their agency to an
investor second the pricing is too high
or too low most agencies won't reveal
their pricing models publicly this is
where you need to do your homework and
ask around find other similar-sized
agencies that people in your network
partner with and ask about the fees
associated with that agency if the price
they give is too high or too low then
this could be a red flag also if an
agency is too vague about its pricing
this could lead to expensive surprises
down the road pricing should be clear
fair for the market and as detailed as
necessary likely a no-brainer here as
well but if the agency doesn't seem to
care about your business just because
you're two businesses working with each
other doesn't mean that you shouldn't
have mutual respect and appreciation for
one another if you find an agency just
focused on the bottom line or getting
you to sign papers rather than trying to
understand how they can serve you better
then you may want to look elsewhere and
finally if they don't keep their
promises underachieving is one thing not
even trying is something completely
different if you find the agency is
constantly missing deadlines
underperforming or lacking in their
execution for you then it's time to move
on to wrap it up working with a
marketing agency can be a great way to
achieve your business goals but it's
essential that you and the agency
completely understand the relationship
you're getting yourselves into if the
work goes well this could be a
partnership that lasts for years if it
doesn't it could end quickly poorly and
you could be spending time and money
finding a new one with an experienced
marketing team on your side you can
focus on what you do best and leave the
marketing to them if you do all these
things you're well on your way to seeing
great results good luck
you