There are many Yorkshire marketing agencies out there but how do you make your choice? Marketing propels brand perception, accelerates revenue and drives essential long-term growth. The right marketing agency will provide your business with the full service that you don’t have in-house, working with you to meet your goals.
Before you speak to any marketing agency, it’s important to define your goals first and think about what you’re really wanting to achieve. It could be strong online visibility, more leads, greater brand awareness, more direct sales or you may be looking to improve your brand to resonate better with your audience.
Types of marketing agency
Not all marketing agencies are the same and understanding the difference can really help you to make your decision.
Full service marketing agency:
This would cover strategy, digital content, branding, SEO, socials and offline marketing – basically you are getting your own outsourced marketing department and working with one integrated team. This suits businesses wanting consistency by choosing a full service marketing agency.
Digital only marketing agency:
The focus of a digital only marketing agency would be on online marketing platforms only, using SEO, social advertising, content and email to engage customers and build revenue.
Niche or specialist marketing agency:
These agencies have strong expertise in one area. For example, SEO only or branding only.
What to look for in a great marketing agency:
A marketing agency needs to really understand your market and understand the commercial realities. It’s highly beneficial if they have experience with similar businesses and can provide you with real examples and outcomes. Excellent communication and reporting is key. You need transparency on pricing, clear breakdown of their services with no hidden surprises.
Choosing the wrong agency:
If the marketing agency you choose is not on board with your brand then you risk financial waste on ineffective marketing campaigns where you won’t see a return on your investment.
Can a small business sustain underperforming campaigns or wasted money running with the wrong channels ie. paid ads instead of SEO? No! Not all marketing agencies can deliver what they promise you, it’s important to choose the right agency that understands your goals, not just because it’s the cheapest.
If the marketing agency doesn’t understand your target audience and is not in line with your brand’s identity it may deliver the wrong message, cost you money and effectively harm your brand. As well as wasting your budget, it can bring confusion to your brand making it look inconsistent, unreliable and your credibility could be called into question. This sort of damage doesn’t just disappear overnight, it takes time to repair and your customers lose trust.
Red flags to avoid:
If you have not discussed your goals in depth with an agency but they offer you a standard package anyway – this should be a warning sign. They have not explored your industry, brand, audience or your requirements etc – they don’t know you, they are not listening!
One size simply doesn’t fit all. No two businesses are the same so your marketing should reflect this. Marketing needs tailoring as every business is different in size, industry, goals and of course, budget.
When choosing a Yorkshire marketing agency, here are some questions we recommend asking:
- How do you measure success?
- Who will be managing my account?
- What will the first 90 days look like?
- Can you share case studies with measurable results?
When choosing the right marketing partner for you it’s important to compare value and not just cost. It’s very easy to skip passed the details in proposals and glance at the bottom figure, however the real value is found in the ROI that your agency can deliver. Marketing shouldn’t just look good on paper, it should drive real results.
If you’d like an honest and friendly consultation about how we can help your business, please get in touch. We’ll discuss your business, your goals and how we can get there together.
