Have you found that you have ideas that support a strong and successful marketing strategy but you aren’t quite sure how to make those come to life? 2021 small business marketing statistics and trends show that 47% of small business owners run marketing entirely on their own. And nearly half of small businesses spend less than two hours per week on marketing efforts. 

Marketing is not known to (directly) pay the bills which can quickly make it fall to the bottom of a to-do list or be the last department a business will hire resources for. As your business weighs  the pros and cons of in-house marketing vs. outsourcing, consider the costs and perspective an agency will bring. 

Weigh the costs.

If your business is one without a marketing department, you may find that it is most cost effective to work with an agency. Together, you can determine a budget that best fits the needs of your business with options for scalability. Agencies can adjust and grow with your business. 

If your business has a marketing department, it is possible that you will find you need extra help from an agency. We often find that businesses need assistance in website design and build, inbound marketing, brand and strategy design and search engine optimization. Partnering with an agency will set strong foundations for your team. A marketing agency is also a great resource for your team to broaden their skill sets as they work alongside one another. 

A common factor overlooked relating to cost is the investment of marketing technology for a small business. An agency will have the tools needed to provide their services.

New and fresh perspective.

Does your strategy need to be elevated? Your content feel stale? The way we market is constantly evolving and it can be difficult to keep up without spending hours researching best practices, methods and most successful tactics for your business or industry. An agency is a fresh set of eyes on your business with proven success. 

As an “outsider looking in”, an agency will bring inventive ideas and perspectives that you may not have considered. The right agency will take a deep dive into your competitors, an even deeper dive into top ways to market to your audiences and the deepest dive into the analytics to ensure your tactics are working. 

Questions to ask when you’re considering if it is the right time to partner with an agency?

Are my current initiatives working? Small marketing teams or even company leaders often find that they have worked tirelessly to drive quality traffic and leads but can’t effectively measure the success of their efforts. An agency can help you understand and uncover trends and analytics to ensure your tactics bring value. 

Am I exploring new channels? If you’re looking to expand on your current channels, then a marketing agency can bring significant value here. Your time and money will be well spent working with experts to eliminate the trial and error game. 

Paid advertising is a great example. As your business moves to Google Ads, ads on social media or other social and digital platforms you may feel a little ‘sticker shock’ initially. Partnering with an agency will give you experienced professionals, researching your business and market to make sure your dollars are being used correctly. 

Do I have the bandwidth? 2021 small business marketing statistics and trends says that 75% of small business owners think that internet marketing is very effective or effective for attracting new customers yet half of small businesses spend less than two hours per week on marketing efforts. Partnering with an agency can put your marketing on cruise control while you focus on other important things. 

Speaking of putting your marketing on cruise control, one of the most underutilized benefits of using a marketing agency is for consistency. Setting brand standards, templates and establishing assets will help businesses work smarter, not harder.

While planning for 2022, consider your marketing options. Marketing can feel hard to manage and leave you wondering where to start which is where we can step in! From helping establish an annual plan with goals, strategies and tactics to managing day to day activities, a partnership with an agency could be one of your most successful decisions for the upcoming year.