Should I Hire a Marketing Agency for Small Business Promotion?

advinclark March 14, 2021

114 4 minutes read

Did you know that there are 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S. in 2021? They’re owned by pretty busy people — not to mention dedicated to their pursuit.

But do you and other hardworking business owners need to take care of all the responsibilities? What if you’re too busy or lack the necessary expertise for specific roles?

Maybe you should consider hiring a marketing company to take on that role.

A capable marketing agency for small businesses could help boost your cash flow and free up some of your time. Plus, they can let people know about your products and services in creative ways.

How a Small Business Marketing Agency Makes Its Clients More Productive

Small business owners are busy; there is no doubt. A typical business owner takes full responsibility for some if not all the following:

Planning and strategizing
Accounting and finances
Legal compliance and paperwork
Sales
Marketing
Serving customers
Supervising employees and HR-type responsibilities

And let’s not forget the business’s overall administration.

But what if you removed one responsibility from your daily schedule? Think how much time that would free up for other tasks.

Suppose that duty was marketing. Not only would you save time and effort, but you also would be able to hand the role over to marketing professionals. To us, that sounds like a win-win!

A Marketing Agency for Small Business Is Affordable for Most

An entry-level base salary for a marketer averages $44,892 per year. So, putting even one professional marketer on the payroll is more than many of today’s small businesses can afford.

With the right mix of services, outsourcing to a digital marketing agency might cost less, at least at the start. Of course, costs will increase as your business grows, but you will need to choose your early-stage marketing strategy judiciously.

Why not spend some of your limited budget on marketing consultations with two or three firms that have favorable reviews? That way, you’ll feel comfortable and prepared to get your marketing campaign off to a good start.

Like any business, a marketing agency wants to increase its revenue and build a good reputation. Thus, they will happily embrace new marketing ideas and techniques that could benefit your small business.

They won’t just make more money for you, but they will also strengthen your brand and grow your audience. Things like this will pay off over the long term. In other words, you need to invest upfront to benefit down the road.

Marketing Services Provided By an Agency Are Scalable

Being scalable means that you can reduce or increase outsourced services in sync with your financial resources during challenging times. It’s easier for everyone to weather a recession when there’s no need to lay off employees.

Besides, having this degree of flexibility helps you cut back on one type of service while trying another.

An example might be when a locally owned and operated company establishes an online presence. Then, they might no longer want the same amount of local SEO help.

A Digital Marketing Agency Knows the Latest Trends

Just like fashion trends in clothing, there are always new digital marketing trends on the horizon. For instance, in 2020, virtual events became “a thing” when COVID-19 and social distancing policies became the norm.

Yet, the promotion potential of these online gatherings — which range from a few attendees to thousands — has only begun to be tapped. Events like these are still very new.

Other trends were already evolving before 2020, though. The amount and significance of social media barreled forward. At the same time, traditional word-of-mouth publicity was giving way to clicks and likes.

And what’s going on with SEO these days? A good marketing company will have an SEO expert on staff for keyword research and keeping you apprised of your SEO analytics. They also track SEO trends.

A Digital Marketing Agency Uses Up-to-Date Technologies

Any marketing company wanting to offer digital marketing services needs to stay apprised of the latest digital technologies to remain competitive. And their clients want their marketing collateral to look its best.

This is especially true for digital imaging and website development. Updating the software that graphic designers and website creators use is essential. Without excellent websites and sharp graphics, their clients would go elsewhere.

Even a marketing agency for small businesses knows that technology-wise, it needs to stay at least one step ahead of its clients.

Alternatives to Hiring a Marketing Agency for Small Business Needs

Successful businesses use many different marketing services, digital and otherwise. Not all professional marketers specialize in the same talent combinations, however.

That’s one reason to hire a full-service marketing agency. You don’t need to hire multiple people to take on complex projects.

Even so, a popular and cost-effective alternative to marketing agencies is to hire professional marketers on a freelance basis.

Doing this gives you plenty of options for standard digital marketing services like website design, social media management, SEO, etc.

Working with freelancers could also allow your business to benefit from some non-traditional, even unorthodox, marketing strategies too.

It’s still relatively easy to find freelancers for print marketing. But what about an “old-fashioned” marketing strategy — like yard signs, sandwich boards, or posters? Using media like these can draw attention through surprise alone.

Plus, there are at least a billion freelancers of various kinds needing work. So click here for extra resources on freelance internet marketing professionals and what they can do for your business. You’ll be glad you did.

Internal Marketing Team: Asset or Liability?

Some might say that having an internal marketing team is beneficial because they work with and for the business itself. These folks have a direct understanding of the business’s products and services, so marketing should come naturally.

Still, using a marketing agency for small businesses also has advantages. As we’ve discussed, an outside marketing company offers flexibility and usually employs a collaborative group of experts.

Whatever your decision, we know it will be the best one for your marketing needs. If you found this article interesting, check out the broad array of other posts on our site.