8 Signs You Need Help From An Advertising Agency
Knowing if or when to call on an advertising agency for help with your business isn’t always clear. If you’re wondering what the signs are, here are eight good ones.
1. You’re a One-(Wo)Man Marketing Band
We’ve run into an increasing amount of one-(wo)man marketing bands in the last few years. The trend seems to follow the thinking that all advertising is digital, digital advertising is done on a computer, therefore one person should be able to handle it. The truth is, advertising and marketing channels are accessible to everyone, and successful advertising and marketing are harder than ever.
To be a one-(wo)man marketing band, one must be an organic social media wiz, a paid social media ninja, a Google Analytics master, Google AdWords Jedi, a content producing machine, and SEO genius, a website developer, media buying expert, and have time to produce dozens of reports. Sounds easy enough.
To meet the expectations of business owners/leaders, all one-(wo)man marketing bands need help. Adding specialists from an advertising agency in less experienced areas or areas in need of attention can go a long way in getting one-person marketing department out from under the weight of unrealistic expectations.
2. Your marketing team is stretched too thin
Smaller marketing teams can be more nimble than larger teams. Yet many times small marketing teams still suffer from trying to do everything at a high level. We’ve found most small marketing teams stick to what they do well and get to the other stuff when they can. This strategy works well for a while until expected results start to lag.
Small or stretched marketing teams need help rounding out the full suite of a company’s advertising needs. Again, adding specialists in areas needing attention can give your small team a big boost in activities driving results.
3. You spend too much time on tactics & not enough on strategy
One of the biggest signs of needing help from an advertising agency is never getting out of the weeds to look at the big picture. With a million small parts to each marketing channel or tactic, it’s easy to go for long periods of time without addressing larger areas like strategy. Regularly recalibrating the direction of your company’s marketing helps keep all the tactical work producing the desired results.
An advertising agency can help pull smaller tactical pieces off your plate, so you can focus on setting the right course for your team. Ad agencies can also provide a third-party perspective and produce data on what’s working and what’s not working in industries like the one you’re in or similar industries.
4. Your lead volume and lead conversion are inconsistent
Some marketing teams struggle with inconsistent lead volume and/or lead conversion. Often, this stems from either changing too many variables at a time or not making changes at all. Inconsistent results are frustrating and hard to explain, especially to the people you report too.
Bringing in an experienced advertising agency can help bring proven processes for improving lead volume and conversion rates. Ad agencies can also add introduce consistent ways of testing campaign elements like ad copy, calls-to-action, images, forms, and headlines.
5. You’re getting an inconsistent Cost-Per-Lead (CPL)
Even though CPLs are not the end-all-be-all metric, they are often followed closely by those who approve the marketing budget. Large swings in CPLs stand out like a sore thumb. Like lead volume and lead conversion, dialing into a consistent CPL can be tricky. Sorting out the main driver of your CPL can be time-consuming.
Working with an advertising agency can help bring perspective to what CPLs look like in your industry, what CPLs are realistic for your company, and ways to reduce tactics driving higher CPLs.
6. You’re not sure where you’re losing potential customers in your sales funnel
Even though sales funnels have similar sections, no two sales funnels are the same. It could be because your sales funnel isn’t fleshed out enough, or maybe it’s too complicated. Either way, if you’re losing potential customers and it’s not clear where – it could be significantly affecting your sales and revenue numbers.
Advertising agencies have experience with sales funnels of all shapes and sizes. This can come in handy for getting third-party input on what’s going on with your current sales funnel. Shoring up a leak in your sales funnel can go a long way to fixing your marketing heartburn.
7. You’re trying to get your arms around your marketing data
By far the most complicated part of marketing is getting a true look at the numbers. Today, any company can have dozens of channels feeding the data beast. If you rely on your marketing data to tell you truth, the worst thing possible is making decisions on inaccurate information.
Advertising agencies have specialists who not only connect all the data, they can provide insight and recommendations on it. You may find you sleep better and night knowing your data is clean and the decision you made today will move the needle.
8. You need some quick wins to impress the new boss
Sometimes, just sometimes, there’s new blood running the show. You know you rock your marketing director hat, but the new head honcho didn’t know you existed until yesterday. Maybe it’s time for a quick win to show her/him you’ve got this.
Reaching out to an advertising agency, even for a short-term project, can help you out. Tell the ad agency what you need and let them get to work. Get some quick wins and show the new boss not to hire a friend because you are still the best person for the job.
Conclusion
If one or more of these signs strike a chord with you, it may be time to reach out. There are many qualified ad agencies to choose from. And most are looking for a partnership to help grow your business. Who knows, hiring an ad agency could turn out to be the best marketing decision you make this year.
If you’d like to find out how Colling Media can help your business grow, request a free advertising consultation.
Related article: 5 Tips for Hiring an Ad Agency