Last Updated on January 14, 2021 by msj484
In a perfect world, everyone would have the time, expertise, and resources to take care of all of their marketing needs in a way that ensures that their business of choice can both succeed and grow. And while that is not the reality for most businesses, that doesn’t mean that all businesses and website owners should work with a marketing agency. To be honest, our recommendation here at Nomvo.com has and will always be for companies and individuals alike to consider spearheading their own marketing campaign and strategies. Below we’ll explain when a business should and when a business shouldn’t work with a digital marketing agency; from our perspective.
When should you work with a marketing company?
1) Lack Of Interest: Some people are just not interested in taking the time to learn and understand all of the things that go into a successful digital marketing campaign. There are instances when a business owner will decide to throw an endless amount of money at a marketing campaign, without knowing the specific details that relate to its success; as long as they are getting an ROI. In cases like this when a business has ZERO interest in understanding and being closely involved with a digital marketing campaign, the best course of action may simply be to work with an online marketing agency.
2) Lack Of Time: Often decision makers at a company don’t have enough time in the day to wrap their heads around a marketing campaign, although they may be interested in doing so. With that being the case, the only option might be to hire an agency to manage and oversee this area of the business for them. In many situations, this is the best decision for the business, and it’s a decision that can directly contribute to the success and growth of the company.
3) Lack Of Expertise: Everyone isn’t in a position to learn and clearly understand what’s needed for a successful marketing strategy. It’s at times like this that a business owner might decide to work with an agency that has the staff, resources, and expertise needed to implement an impactful strategy. Now more than ever there are endless amounts of self-proclaimed marketing gurus, but in some cases bringing one of them in-house to take care of the marketing needs for a company ends up being a waste of time and money; no offense intended, it’s just what we’ve been told on numerous occasions.
Does that mean that you cannot find a marketing expert you can trust and succeed with? No! There are plenty of knowledgeable people out there that can help your business succeed by way of a specific marketing strategy. The problem is that at the time of this article being published, there is no trustworthy and well-known school or certification that can guarantee someone has the skills and training needed to create and implement a successful marketing strategy; maybe that will change one day.
When shouldn’t you work with a marketing agency?
1) Lack Of Funding: Outsourcing your marketing strategy with a reputable company with a track record of success is almost always not a “cheap” solution. That isn’t to say that such an investment is not a good idea, or that it won’t produce an acceptable ROI. However, some business owners don’t have the appropriate budget needed to invest in a marketing campaign that will help their business.
Additionally, with so many advertisements and companies promising “guaranteed” results for a couple hundred dollars, it raises eyebrows from the perspective of a decision make when they receive an internet marketing proposal for upwards of $3,000-5,000+ per month. That doesn’t mean that all companies need a marketing budget that size, but in most competitive industries… it’s becoming more and more common due to the amount of work involved and resources needed to compete for page 1 results in the search engines.
2) Lack Of Implementation: One issue that is rarely discussed before starting an SEO campaign is whether or not the business owner has the know-how or support internally to make changes to their website. Often marketing agencies do not discuss this with the business owner because they assume such support exists, and the business owner believes that marketing company will take care of those types of development tasks; when in both cases neither assumption is accurate. With that said, if you do not have someone to implement the recommendations provided for your website… you might want to think twice about working with a marketing agency until you have that taken care of; unless the agency is going to be willing to look after your dev work.
3) Lack Of Flexibility: There are instances where a business owner has a firm perspective of what a successful marketing campaign should be based on the amount of money they are investing; whether or not that vision is realistic. Some business owners feel if they are spending $20,000 or $50,000 or even $1000,000+ in a marketing campaign, it’s reasonable to expect all 30 of their target keywords to rank #1 in their search engine of choice.
While those types of results are definitely possible, in almost every case… attaining those kinds of results has little to do with your budget but instead it has to do with the level of competition in the industry, how aggressive competitors are, and how much time the marketing agency needs to accomplish such a narrow goal. There are other areas of a marketing campaign that could take priority over simply using all your time and resources to rank #1 for a number of keywords; such as the user experience, conversion rates, time on the website, bounce rates, the number of repeat visitors vs new visitors, etc. As crazy as that sounds to some people, those metrics often are more important than trying to rank #1 for your favorite keywords. Ignoring those important metrics could result in those coveted #1 rankings gained by an SEO agency being lost due to people leaving your website and doing business with one of your competitors.
As crazy as that sounds to some people, those metrics often are more important than trying to rank #1 for your favorite keywords. Ignoring those important metrics could result in those coveted #1 rankings gained by an SEO agency being lost due to people leaving your website and doing business with one of your competitors.
The point is… if a business owner is not flexible in these and others ways, it might be a bad investment to work with a marketing company. In some cases, it’s even better to hire an in-house marketer, like Adam Mutum who maintains his own website here.
Why we recommend ALWAYS doing your own marketing:
1) Learning Is Free: At present, everything a person/company needs to know about marketing online in just able every vertical can be found, studied, and applied online for FREE. There is no special schooling or training required to succeed. Sure working with an expert or consultant can save a lot of time and heartache, but even then… such an investment will benefit you indefinitely.
2) Experts Should Market Their Own Businesses: The best person to convince your target customer to do business with you is you! With that being the case, if you are spearheading your own marketing campaign, you know the business, you know your potential clients, you “speak the language” they speak, and you’re in the best place to address any concerns or reservations about doing business wth you. All of that coupled with the knowledge and skills to market your own business has proven time and time again for years of continued success for the business owner.
3) You’ll Never Be Taken Advantage Of: As unfortunate as it may be, it seems that there are plenty of marketing agencies out there more interested in getting your money and a term agreement than actually providing value to your company. That doesn’t mean every online marketing agency is out to take advantage of you, but it happens more often than it should.
Additionally, another common complaint from those who invest in working with one of these agencies is wondering whether or not they are getting what they are paying for and if they’re getting an ROI on the investment. Simply put, if you do your marketing… these issues won’t be issues for your business. Sure there will be a learning curve, and it may be a bumpy road… but if you can do your own marketing, once you get it going you won’t ever look back.
Why doing your own marketing isn’t always the best business decision:
1) Many People Fail: After spending more than a decade trying to teach countless individuals and business owners how they can learn and implement a digital marketing strategy for their website, most of them lose interest. From our perspective, this seems to be due to the fact that not everyone can simply sit in front of a computer for hours to try to both understand how digital marketing works, and what changes may be needed to continue to drive more and more traffic to their website.
Just like some people are naturally better athletes, while others do excellent at building and using their hands, and others as it relates to food… learning, creating, and implementing an internet marketing strategy is more than just a skill that can be learned; some people just don’t have it in them. We say that respectfully.
2) Time Isn’t In Your Side: Even if you have the support, and knowledge provided by an expert that knows this industry like the back of their hand… there is a learning curve, and it takes hours to get good at this whole internet marketing thing. As mentioned earlier, some people just don’t have the time, or in some cases, the dedication and belief that any of this can work for their and their website. So… if you don’t have the time, then this industry probably isn’t for you.
3) You’re Not A Technical Person: This industry is 100%, or more, technical… EVERY aspect of it. Therefore, if you are technically challenged in any way, you can still learn and succeed, but it’s going to take even longer to wrap your mind around all of this, let alone implement a successful digital marketing strategy. Again… no offense intended; just trying to be open and honest as always.
So In Conclusion…
You’re the only person who can best answer, truthfully, whether or not you have the circumstances to work with a marketing agency successfully. Our recommendation is always to try to do your own marketing, but obviously, this is not the most practical decision most of the time. If that’s the case for you, we hope some of what was mentioned above will help you choose and work with a marketing company that can help your business succeed.
If you have questions, opinions, or experiences that you’d like to share on this subject… please let them in the comments section below. Until next time, Nomvo!