Business owners of all shapes and sizes struggle to find marketing partners that fit their needs. Whether you’re looking for someone to help with social media, run an ad campaign, produce video content, or build a marketing strategy, it’s always important to make sure you’re in good hands with someone you can trust. We’ve outlined a few of the common traps to avoid as well as a few steps to take to ensure you’re set up for success.
Common traps
1. Paying for status
Too many business owners improperly assume price is always a signal for quality and over-pay for marketing services. If your business can afford top dollar marketing spend, then feel free to use the largest agencies. But for the other 99%+ of companies, it’s better to find a trusted partner that can dedicate time to your needs and generate ROI with your budget. You have to ask yourself, would you rather be the least important customer to a big firm or the most important at a smaller firm?
2. Treating marketing services as a commodity
Certain marketing services require lower thresholds to master — social media management for example — but they are by no means a commodity. There are excellent social media marketers who can truly transform your business. You should always be judicious in what you spend but skimp completely to save a few bucks and you’ll pay with your results.
“…would you rather be the least important customer to a big firm or the most important at a smaller firm?”
3. Focusing on fancy KPIs (ROI is all that matters)
There is an inverse correlation between the number of metrics a marketer presents in a pitch and the end-results generated. If you find yourself busting out Wikipedia to interpret marketing metrics, run away from that person as fast as possible. The only metric that should matter is the return a marketer can generate for your business. Any conversation which veers away from ROI (return on investment) is not one worth having.
4. Hiring a ‘yes person’
While you want your marketer to respect your opinion, someone who only says yes is just trying to sell you something and doesn’t have your best interest at heart. This is one of the biggest reasons why we advocate finding a true firm or agency to support versus hiring one-off freelancers. Having a provider you trust who can execute a variety of initiatives makes them less dependent on one particular offering and less likely to sell you something you don’t need. If you can bundle your marketing needs with 1 or 2 providers, you’ll end up with more strategic services and better pricing.
Now if you can avoid these traps, you’re doing better than most. But let’s also explore the broader landscape of service providers so you can hone in on the ideal partner for your needs.
Types of partners
Note, the following is not intended to be an exhaustive list but to give you a sense of the industry dynamics at hand and players in the market.
Large firms: This includes famous agencies such as Grey, JWT, and BBDO (which operate under larger parent companies such as WPP Group and Omnicom Group) and the digital arms within large consulting companies such as Accenture Interactive and Deloitte Digital. Each of these organizations has a core capability they’re known for in the market but for the most part, they work cross-sector and provide end-to-end marketing capabilities. The price points are — not surprisingly — the highest with implied rates north of $600 / hour in certain markets. The typical clientele consists of Fortune 500 brands and usually Fortune 100. Many of these companies have revenues in excess of $1B but for purposes of this market analysis, any company with revenues in excess of a few hundred million is a very large agency.
Niche players: These types of companies range in size from a few employees to a few hundred but all have a core marketing capability (or set of capabilities). They may be the leaders in video production or digital advertising but lack in non-core areas — meaning you’ll have to hire another firm for other types of services. The price-points can vary from rates of $100 / hour at the lower end to $300+ / hour. When marketing projects require multiple areas of expertise (say content creation and advertising)
…be mindful of the company’s true capability so you don’t become the guinea pig.
Freelancers / Independent contractors: The freelancing industry has boomed in recent years as employees have taken control of their own careers — with the assumption they can make comparable or perhaps more money than what they were paid by their employers with greater flexibility. Companies such as Upwork have made it easier for freelancers to find work and more convenient for companies to quickly onboard resources. There are without a doubt a number of incredibly talented freelancers out there that businesses of all sizes can and should leverage for support at a competitive price point. The main challenge in this space is the freelancer often lacks the full scope of capabilities and expertise needed to fully service your marketing needs. Freelancers can support a one-off need such as redesigning your WordPress website but likely won’t be able to optimize your entire digital presence to drive e-commerce sales growth. Rates vary widely from $150+ for experienced marketers to well below $100 for intermediate and more junior talent.
Full-service boutique agency: The full-service boutique supports a rising trend in the marketing industry where smaller teams of collective talent have left larger corporates and agencies to create their own shops. The quality of boutiques can certainly vary but when functioning effectively, it’s a one-stop shop for companies of all sizes to access the full suite of marketing services at a competitive price. Boutiques carry less overhead than the larger agencies, enabling them to offer lower pricing while still providing the top-tier talent you’d typically see at a large firm. Some boutiques have fewer than 10 employees while others have 50+. Often these companies will have an expertise in a certain industry or function but also provide full-service marketing capabilities — either in-house or through their expanded network.
In full disclosure, our firm Markacy is a boutique agency with experience servicing clients as small as <$1M in revenue to as large as Fortune 50.
Where to find them?
Now that you have a sense of the marketing landscape, the next step is to identify a specific company.
Don’t overlook the traditional channels for finding a great marketer. Often, referrals from friends, fellow business owners or executives in the marketing space can provide pointed suggestions for marketing companies that fit your needs. In addition to offline methods, there are a number of proven online channels to select potential marketing partners from.
Online channels
- Clutch.co — This is basically a yelp for agencies and other professional services firms
- Google search — The modern ‘phone a friend’ method
- Upwork — A professional services marketplace to source freelancers and agencies
- Social media — Nearly every marketing agency or player will have a presence on social media where you can explore their work. With Instagram for example, consider using common hashtags such as #marketingagency to search for different types of companies.
What makes sense for you?
With the vast number of online tools and companies in the marketing space, it’s easier than ever to find a potential marketing partner. It’s also more difficult than ever to find someone who is a good fit for you. There is so much clutter that frankly on the surface, many of the really good companies look no different than some of the average players.
Traditionally, the rule of thumb was to select a partner of similar size to your organization. This practice no longer works consistently because there are many smaller firms and niche players with similar expertise and capabilities to big companies but for a fraction of the price. We suggest being thoughtful about what’s important to you, leveraging your network for input and most importantly, finding a partner that truly offers the full scope of capabilities you’re looking for.
Here are a few final tips to make sure you’re making the right moves:
- Determine the types of services you need in advance but keep an open mind. A good partner should act as a trusted advisor, not just an order taker.
- Research and interview. Take the time to speak with a few different companies when making big investments. Ask how they track performance and if anything sounds overly-complicated, thank them for their time and head for the hills.
- Hire for expertise and capacity. Your marketing partner should offer an expertise, industry perspective and create incremental bandwidth. Ideally, the group you work with will offer all three.
Get in touch today at info@markacy.com for a complimentary strategy session and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to learn how we are helping other clients make their mark.
Markacy is a full-service boutique agency that helps great brands realize their full potential.
