Changing your marketing can be a challenge. And it’s certainly easier to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
However, just because your marketing isn’t broke doesn’t mean you should ignore the possibility that it could be better.
We’re not saying your current marketing team or agency is falling short; they could be doing an excellent job. But some companies find themselves in a position where their marketing could use a boost. And building on a successful strategy can only make your marketing better.
Take a look at these three signs you might need to add another agency to the mix.
Your agency has optimized your website to the extreme, and it’s built excellent search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns. As a result, the sales team is receiving a steady flow of organic and paid search leads.
But the problem is the agency only has the capabilities to target prospects who are ready to talk partnership. So when a prospect lands on your site, he or she is greeted by what is essentially a brochure for your brand and only one conversion opportunity: a “Contact Us” page. In other words, a site perfect for low-funnel leads but no one else.
As a result, you’re missing a big piece of the pie. Multiple pieces, actually.
Visitors to your site are at every stage of the buyer’s journey—from Awareness to Consideration to Decision. If they’re not ready to buy yet and the only thing your website does is tell them how great you are and encourage them to get in touch NOW, you’re proposing on the first date. Bad idea. No matter where a prospect is in the sales funnel, they should receive something of value from your site—for example, blog posts with industry news and downloadable content that addresses their needs.
Obviously, attracting buyers who are lower in the funnel is great, but you shouldn’t focus solely on those types of leads. Partnering with another agency who can help you target leads at other stages of the buyer’s journey will result in a more powerful marketing strategy since attracting higher-funnel leads helps you nurture long-lasting relationships.
Your agency is reporting your campaigns are driving 100 leads per month. Terrific! Except you have no lead scoring or marketing automation in place, and your sales team ends up investing their time in low-quality leads. To make matters worse, when they do manage to start a conversation with a potentially strong lead, the lack of marketing automation means every time a rep wants to learn more about the prospect or communicate with them, he or she has to do it manually.
This process is inefficient and expensive, not to mention frustrating for sales reps. But by working with an agency that offers lead scoring and marketing automation, the sales team would not only be able to quickly identify which leads are worth their effort and which aren’t, but they could also track their activity and set event triggers to more efficiently move the higher quality through the sales funnel.
You’ve got an effective marketing strategy that has been in place for a few years. You have a strong relationship with your agency and appreciate the work they do.
But you’re ready to try something new—for example, content marketing. The bad news? Your current agency only offers traditional, outbound marketing services such as direct mail, TV commercials and print ads but can’t provide assistance with content (a.k.a. inbound) marketing.
You don’t want to end the contract (after all, they’re meeting your existing requirements just fine), but they simply don’t have the capabilities for this new approach, and you don’t have the resources to handle it in-house.
The good news? There are plenty of inbound agencies who can work with you and your existing agency to develop and execute a content marketing strategy that complements your current outbound marketing efforts.
If you’re on the fence about expanding or updating your marketing strategy, the first step is to take a step back and evaluate your marketing objectively. If you can identify potential improvements, you should do some research to see whether adding another agency is right for your brand.
