If you’re looking to hire an inbound marketing agency, there are a few things you should consider first. The good news is that this is a great time to be hiring an inbound marketing agency, because there are more of them than ever before.
However, just as with any other service provider, there are good ones and bad ones out there. I’m going to go so far as to say that many companies have hired an inbound marketing agency without knowing what they were getting into. And it shows!
They don’t have the right processes in place for success or even basic communication with their agency partners and soon enough they give up on their efforts altogether because they don’t see any results from their investment yet again…
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Consider DIY: Evaluate if handling inbound marketing internally is a viable option. |
| 2. Control and Flexibility: Maintaining control over strategies and campaigns may be essential for certain businesses. |
| 3. Budget Constraints: Hiring an agency can be costly; allocate resources effectively based on your business’s financial situation. |
| 4. Unique Business Needs: Tailoring strategies to your specific industry and target audience may require an in-house approach. |
| 5. In-depth Understanding: In-house teams often possess a deeper understanding of the company’s values, products, and customers. |
| 6. Building Expertise: Developing internal skills can lead to sustainable long-term growth in the field of inbound marketing. |
| 7. Competitive Edge: In-house teams can quickly adapt to market changes and pivot strategies to stay ahead of competitors. |
| 8. Hands-On Learning: Engaging with inbound marketing directly can provide valuable insights into your business’s strengths and weaknesses. |
| 9. Alignment with Goals: In-house teams can be more closely aligned with your business objectives and long-term vision. |
| 10. Personalized Approach: Tailoring strategies to your brand’s unique identity is often easier to achieve with internal efforts. |
You Aren’t Willing To Follow An Established Process
If you’re reading this, then I’m assuming that you are a business owner or marketing professional who is looking for a fresh perspective on inbound marketing.
I want to tell you that the first step in getting your company moving forward is deciding whether or not an agency is right for you and your business goal(s).
The thing about agencies is that they have processes in place and those take time to implement properly. If the process isn’t followed correctly, then results won’t be achieved as fast as they could have been otherwise.
The key here is not only following their process but also wanting to follow their process because it works best for your business.
Boosting your content’s ROI is essential for a successful inbound strategy. Learn effective tactics in our guide on increasing ROI from your content to maximize your marketing efforts.
You Want To Control Every Aspect Of Your Marketing Funnel
If you’re a business owner who wants to control every aspect of your marketing funnel, then you probably shouldn’t hire an inbound marketing agency.
This is because an inbound agency will likely use its brand for the majority of its campaigns and messaging.
They’ll also have their design and content teams who will be creating original content for your audience on behalf of the client.
While these are all great things for any business owner to have access to, it does mean that you will lose some control over what goes out into the world from your brand, and in some cases, this could be detrimental to our success as marketers!
The best way around this issue would be to work closely with both agencies and freelancers so that they are aware of each other’s workflows while still keeping everyone happy at all times (which is never easy).
You Only Care About The Results And Not About The Process
I get it. You only care about the results and not about the process.
You’re concerned that an inbound marketing agency will take too long to produce results, and you don’t want to spend more money than necessary on a new employee or contractor.
But here’s the thing: what works for one company may not work for another. Your marketing team must focus on building a solid foundation before they start throwing out tactics like crazy, because otherwise.
They’ll just end up wasting time and money without anything to show for it. That’s why I recommend hiring someone who knows how to build a strong foundation and if you’re doing it yourself or with an agency (or contractor), this guide can help!
Inbound marketing is more than just tactics; it’s about connecting with people. Discover the power of building relationships in our article on the essence of inbound marketing to create lasting customer engagement.
You Expect Instant Results
There’s no such thing as instant results when it comes to marketing, especially when you’re starting from scratch. Even the best campaigns take time to grow and mature, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do in the short term to get a positive ROI on your investment.
For example, if you’re selling tickets for a concert or sporting event, don’t expect a ton of sales right away (especially if your target market isn’t big enough).
However, if they buy tickets at all and they know where they can find more information about what’s happening later that’s still a win!
The more potential customers have access to information about your business or event before purchase time comes around again, the higher chances are that they’ll come back with cash in hand next time around.
You also shouldn’t be discouraged by sudden drops in traffic or sales; these dips often happen because people are researching their options before making purchases or signing up for classes/events/whatever else is being offered through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook (etcetera).
This gives companies some breathing room after which point things will start picking up again.
As long as nothing drastic happens like one company going out of business due to bad press coverage or something similar…happenings tend not to happen overnight unless something bad has happened recently so don’t worry too much about those either.
Your Business Is Too Simple For Inbound Marketing
You should also know that inbound marketing is not for every business. If you’re a one-person shop with a small customer base, it’s unlikely that you’ll benefit from hiring an agency.
Instead, focus on learning how to do inbound yourself you can grow your audience and increase loyalty without spending a ton of money (and having someone else worry about things like SEO).
But if you’re looking for ways to grow your presence online and increase customer retention.
Then inbound may be just what you need. Inbound marketing agencies are focused on helping companies improve their online presence through content creation and social media management.
But why go through all the hassle when you could hire someone who knows how to do it themselves?
By working with an experienced consultant or freelancer instead of using an agency, they’ll be able to help your company reach its goals without taking any time away from developing strategies or implementing them.
Effective tools are the backbone of inbound marketing success. Explore our list of essential inbound marketing tools to streamline your campaigns and enhance your strategy.
You Don’t Have Time For A Weekly Call
One of the most important things to consider when working with an agency is how often you will communicate. Your agency should be able to communicate with you in a variety of ways, such as email, chat, and phone.
It’s also important for them to have weekly calls with your team so that they can stay on top of projects and provide feedback on their progress throughout the week.
All You Care About Is Leads And Traffic To Your Website, Not Conversions
If all you care about is leads and traffic to your website, not conversions, then hiring an inbound marketing agency is not the right move for you.
Inbound marketing agencies are hired by businesses that want to drive more leads and sales with their website. Conversions are the lifeblood of any business. They are how you make money!
Conversions are also the only way to grow your business over time. Without getting more customers or leads consistently, there will be no way to increase revenue or profitability in any capacity!
So if all you care about is driving more traffic, but not caring about converting those visitors into paying customers then there’s no point in hiring an agency at all!
You Don’t Want To Try New Things
You’ve been running your inbound marketing funnel for years, and you’ve reached the point where you know what works and what doesn’t. Every time you try something new, it ends up costing more money than expected and takes longer than expected.
And sometimes even fails outright. You’re afraid of making another mistake with an agency that might have different ideas about how things need to be done (and who knows? Maybe they’ll implement them!).
At the end of the day, though, every business needs to experiment with their marketing strategy at least once in a while if they’re going to stay ahead of their competitors and keep up with changing industry trends.
Insights from experts can provide valuable perspectives. Dive into an inbound marketing expert’s personal journey in our interview on a journey into inbound marketing to gain inspiration for your own marketing endeavors.
If You Don’t Have An Allocated Budget For Marketing?
If you don’t have an allocated budget for marketing, you might as well not do it at all. If you’re not willing to invest in your business, you should not expect to see any results.
And that’s before we even touch on the fact that most agencies will want a minimum of $5k per month and charge based on the number of keywords which they claim to be able to get ranked on Google (they’ll also tell you how many sales they’ll be able to generate).
You Need Someone To Solely Manage Your Blog, Social Media, And Email Campaigns
If you have a blog or social media channel, it’s important to make sure that your content is constantly fresh and relevant. If you’re going to do the work of writing and posting yourself, then what’s the point in hiring an agency?
Similarly, if you want help with your email campaigns but not necessarily other areas of your business (such as blogging), then why would you pay someone who can’t deliver on those promises?
If either of these is true for you, your blog needs constant attention from a professional writer or editor; or your team needs help with their email marketing efforts then a full-service agency may not be right for your business.
You’re Expecting To Pay Top Dollar For Freelance Or Contractor Services
If you think you have to spend top dollar for freelance or contractor services, think again. The truth is, it’s much cheaper and more flexible to hire a full-time employee than it is to pay a marketing agency.
First off, you don’t need to pay someone full-time if they’re only working part-time hours. Freelancers are cheaper than employees because they only work when they want to—and their rates reflect their flexibility!
In addition to saving money on your payroll costs and not needing as much office space (assuming your freelancer works remotely), there are many other ways in which hiring a freelancer can save your business money:
Hiring An Inbound Marketing Agency Is Not Going To Add Any Value!
Hiring an inbound marketing agency is a waste of money.
A lot of people, when they have a problem, think that hiring an expert is going to solve it. That’s not always true.
There are plenty of marketers who know everything there is to know about online marketing but who can’t tell you how many leads they converted into sales last month or what their average conversion rate was.
If you don’t ask these questions before contracting with an agency, then all they’ll do is create another website with the same tired old content and tactics as every other business out there!
The most important thing when considering hiring an agency is asking yourself: Am I willing to accept that this might not work?
Will I take full responsibility if things don’t go according to plan? If so then feel free to move forward because chances are good that nothing will change for YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS!
Understanding the essence of inbound marketing is crucial for its success. Delve into the basics with our guide on why inbound marketing matters and uncover its significance in the modern business landscape.
You’re Looking For A Copywriter And Designer, But That’s It!
If you’re looking for a copywriter and designer, but that’s it, then an inbound marketing agency is not for you.
You’re going to have to hire individuals who can help you with your website, content creation and SEO work, social media management or promotion, email marketing campaigns, blog writing and management, and more.
An inbound marketing agency will bring all these things together under one roof so that they can be managed efficiently.
An inbound marketing agency has experts on staff who know what they’re doing in all the areas of digital marketing: email design;
Landing page design; blog development; search engine optimization (SEO); social media management or promotion; lead generation strategies; conversion rate optimization (CRO); graphics design projects like infographics or videos…the list goes on!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many reasons why hiring an inbound marketing agency is not the right move for your business. If you’re looking to hire an agency, make sure you’re clear on what it is that they can do for your company by asking them these questions:
Further Reading
Explore these additional resources for more insights on the topic:
Why Hire a Content Marketing Agency? Description: Discover the benefits of partnering with a content marketing agency and how they can help elevate your brand’s online presence.
8 Reasons Not to Hire a Marketing Agency Description: Uncover key considerations and factors to weigh when deciding whether or not to hire a marketing agency for your business.
8 Reasons Not to Hire a Digital Ad Agency Description: Learn about the potential drawbacks of working with a digital advertising agency and alternatives to consider for your advertising strategy.
FAQs
Got questions? Here are answers to common queries related to the topics:
What are the advantages of hiring a content marketing agency?
Hiring a content marketing agency can bring expertise, creativity, and scalability to your content strategy. Agencies often have a team of skilled professionals who can craft engaging content, manage distribution, and optimize for better results.
Why should I think twice before hiring a marketing agency?
While marketing agencies offer various benefits, it’s essential to consider factors like costs, alignment with your business goals, and the level of control you want over your marketing efforts before making a decision.
What are some potential drawbacks of working with a digital ad agency?
Digital ad agencies can be expensive, and there might be a learning curve in terms of understanding your business’s unique needs. Additionally, you may lose some direct control over ad campaigns compared to in-house efforts.
How can I ensure that a content marketing agency understands my brand?
Before hiring a content marketing agency, conduct thorough research, review their portfolio, and communicate your brand’s values, voice, and objectives clearly to ensure they align with your vision.
Are there alternatives to hiring a marketing agency?
Yes, you could consider building an in-house marketing team, working with freelancers or consultants, or even investing in training and resources to develop your marketing skills internally. It all depends on your specific business needs and goals.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.