Why as a Small Business You Should Be Collaborating with a Digital Agency
As a small business, you will be aware of the limitations you face within the business world. One of these is the fact that you are unlikely to have the finances or resources to have your own marketing team.
Digital marketing is a lengthy and time-consuming process, one which requires investment and continuous improvement. Unlike traditional marketing, the crux of digital marketing processes such as SEO and PPC are still unknown to many small business owners. Bigger companies often have the resources to have an in-house team of digital marketers to enable project cohesion.
There are countless benefits to be gained from seeking the help of a digital agency, so long as you know what is to be expected and how to form a lasting partnership that will benefit not only your business but theirs also.
Outsourcing your digital activity to a digital agency can allow you to focus on your core business activity, whilst still having a successful online marketing campaign. There is much to be gained from a partnership with a digital agency and little to be lost.
You Gain Their Expertise & Experience
A digital agency lives and breathes all things digital orientated. Not only this, their employees will each be experts in their field. Your digital agency will know how to plan, implement and execute digital campaigns successfully, delivering results to you at the end of each month.
The industry of digital marketing is fierce and a digital marketing company in the UK is now, more than ever before, likely to only employ seasoned pros and upcoming graduate talent. This rise in talent and competition within the UK is good news for small businesses as the team of digital marketers working on your campaign will be skilled in what they do and have the previous results to prove it.
Collaborating with A Digital Agency Is Economically Advantageous
If you employed a digital marketing executive at your small business, this alone would cost at least £18,000 and this is only one role. For a fee, which is within your budget, each month you will gain the services of not only a digital marketing executive but also a project manager, web developer and more depending on the services your business requires.
Digital agencies have countless tools that they use to execute your campaign and measure your performance against your competitors, these are most certainly not always free, meaning that on top of the actual workmanship which is being provided you are also gaining the value of the tools and technology your digital agency pay for.
You Gain Real, Measurable Results
If a digital agency is not willing to offer you complete transparency and honesty when it comes to the results they are giving your business, they should be avoided. Digital agencies that can deliver real, measurable results can show these off to potential clients and add it to their trophy hall of ‘case studies’. This is why it is in their interests as much as yours to be honest with the results they are achieving and push for maximum online traffic and exposure for your business.
Receiving reports at the end of the month will highlight the triumphs of your digital agency and should clearly show how they are impacting your traffic and, if applicable, sales over time. After you have enlisted the help of a digital agency for 6+ months, it would be worth asking them for an overall performance overview over the time of the relationship. This will allow you to identify whether the relationship is working for you or whether you should be considering switching to a different digital agency.
Choosing a Digital Agency
There is now, more than ever, an overload of choice when it comes to picking a digital agency; whether it be in Glasgow, Manchester, London or beyond. This has meant that picking one is also more difficult than ever. You should keep a few points in mind when selecting an agency to work with:
Size - Depending on the size of your business, there is likely to be a perfect agency for you. Multi-national corporations often select the biggest agencies as they have the workforce to cope with the project. Small businesses may find it more beneficial to work with the smaller agencies as they tend to grow with you and can lead to lasting relationships. Be wary of solo/freelance digital marketers who agree to work across the full digital sector – these ‘agencies’ will often be stretching themselves across multiple clients.
Budget - Your budget will largely impact the agency that you are able to work with. For small businesses, finances are often stretched meaning that you don’t have thousands to spend on marketing each month. Many digital agencies will often point you in the right direction of an agency that will suit your budget should they not be acceptable.
Clients - Having a look through the digital agency’s website should highlight some of the clients they have had. It is often beneficial to work with an agency that has experience in your sector/industry – purely because they will often be responsible for writing engaging and relevant copy for your business so it helps if they have an understanding of your environment. That being said, don’t be deterred if they have no similar clients to your small business – most quality digital agencies will immerse themselves in new clients in order to understand how they operate and what your competitors are doing
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Author Bio:
Katie works for a small digital marketing company in Glasgow - Smarter Digital Marketing. Working for a diverse number of clients, Katie takes care of all aspects of client campaigns; from SEO and PPC to E-Mail Marketing and Website Development projects. Follow Smarter Digital Marketing on Twitter.
