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If you haven’t worked with an agency before, it can be an intimidating prospect. There are lots of questions starting with the most basic “How do I find an agency?” to “Is the cost of an agency worth it?” There are plenty of other concerns in between and we’ve probably heard them all over the years.
On that note, let’s get one thing out of the way: we’re not here to take your job! In fact, reality is just the opposite. In the case of smaller agencies especially, we’re here to become an extension of your team – not a replacement – and, really, make you look good.
If you’re a first-time agency user or on the fence about forming a marketing partnership, there’s a few other advantages you should know.
Creativity On Demand
Above all, your agency is your creative team. This is especially true at smaller agencies who must stake their reputation on big-time creativity rather than massive media billings. This has a few advantages. Take emerging marketing trends for example. We don’t just stay up on them, we may have even experimented with a few. This kind of experience ensures your creative is insured by best practices.
Proactive and Fast-Acting
Any agency that gives a damn about their clients should be constantly generating new ideas … at no extra cost. This comes with the creative territory we live in every day. Small agencies are also especially nimble, adapting ideas on a dime. Were your in-house operations ready for COVID? Well, neither were we. But, we found ways to keep our clients relevant under extremely challenging circumstances and did so quickly.
Sales and Marketing Alignment
The public-facing campaign only gets folks to the proverbial door. What happens from there? An agency can help ensure your sales team is speaking the same language with behind-the-scenes materials that reinforce campaign messaging.
Broader Analytics
Agencies live and die by data, so we go well beyond Google Analytics to show you results. Whereas you might only have access to a platform or two in-house, your agency is capable of covering more angles thanks to more software subscriptions and expertise to interpret the data so that you don’t need a mathematics degree to understand. A good agency also knows what to do with all those charts and graphs, whether it’s tweaking a campaign or improving upon what’s working. So, it’s a key advantage to have experts who not only crunch the numbers, but also clearly explain them, on your team – a term that is the big takeaway here.
The theme of “team” is, after all, the essence of a good client/agency relationship. So, if you’ve been less than certain you want to use an agency, consider the disadvantages of not using one. Think of us as storytellers and problem-solvers who can seamlessly blend with your team.
About The Author
Travis arrived at ABC back in 1995, when photography was his main creative outlet. That passion evolved over the next decade as Travis began thinking beyond imagery and pitching his broader ideas and strategies to clients. It was the birth of the idea-based marketing philosophy: Getting to know the client inside out, learning about the successes and failures, then spinning that into an idea that could build a better outcome. That’s the cornerstone he’s built his creative-first agency on since buying the place in 2005. ABC has grown exponentially since then both in terms of people and clients. Local, regional, national, banking, destinations, nonprofits: Travis has greatly expanded services over the years to accommodate them all. He’s also assembled a talented team. Just like them, he’s greeted each morning by a simple reminder etched on the wall: “Create Cool Sh!t Today!” He’s proud to run the kind of agency that does.