Is now the right time to get an agency onboard?

If you’re a fast growing business, the likelihood is that you’ve considered getting an agency on board. SMB owners that manage their own marketing are said to spend 20 hours a week on it (an epic 4 hours a day), so you’ve probably noticed that this occupies a big chunk of your time. Imagine what you could do if someone freed that time up for you!

However, the trickier task is knowing when it is the right time to consult an agency. You’ll hear a whole host of advice from different people on the agency vs in-house debate – but the right decision will come down to the unique needs of your business.

As a helping hand, we’ve compiled a checklist of four key questions you can use to identify if now is the right time to outsource marketing support.

Is your internal team at capacity?

Do you ever feel like nothing is getting done? Perhaps you’re calling on someone in the business who is already stretched to run social, or you’re teaching yourself about LinkedIn ads and SEO in the evening. This means you’re at capacity and your marketing isn’t getting the time and focus it needs.

By working with an agency, you get access to a team of experts, all with detailed knowledge and expertise in marketing. Whether it is researching SEO and keyword terms to promote your brand or managing your social media, dedicated marketing agencies offer specialists in each field who assess your company’s needs – building a tailored plan based on where your company has the most growth potential.

Take for example these B2B marketing tactics that Forbes argue are essential to post-pandemic growth. If you’re at capacity, you won’t have the manpower to execute them to the level your business deserves.

Are you looking to scale quickly?

At YS, we work best when we’re helping ambitious businesses scale with honest marketing consultancy. You may be a start-up experiencing rapid growth or an ambitious business noticing your future plans cannot be achieved with your current resources. This is the perfect time to get an agency onboard to help build a reputation of growth and innovation in your business. The reality is that when it comes to marketing your scale-up, a website and infrequent social media posting won’t cut it. To scale fast, you need a carefully executed channel plan that communicates your unique brand voice to all your audiences and a team of marketing professionals are best placed to make this happen.

Are you looking for wider strategic input / consultancy?

This is one of the biggest benefits of working with an agency – you gain a totally fresh set of eyes to look at your business. And this won’t just be a junior marketing person – you’ll be able to call on the experience of marketing professionals with over 20 years experience. They can look at your business from an outside perspective, bringing new and innovative ideas to your marketing strategy to spread the word about your business.

Plus, outsourcing your marketing team also means outsourcing creativity. It takes a lot of time to generate creative ideas that cut through the noise – so by hiring an agency, you can leave that job to the professionals.

Have you got the budget?

Budget will always be a deciding factor. If you’ve got the money to spend, then the decision will depend on your answers to the three questions above. However, if you haven’t, ask yourself if you can make cuts elsewhere in the business to invest in marketing?

The reality is working with a marketing agency is a cost efficient way to drive results within a specific time frame. One of the most common expenses in business is recruitment and most companies underestimate the cost of recruitment by 90% – there’s payroll tax, pensions, employee benefits, training and more to account for. So yes, you will be spending money initially but compared to hiring a dedicated marketing team, you’ll be saving in the long run.

So there we have it, four key questions to ask yourself if your business is considering working with a marketing agency. Remember no-one is a superhero. You will ask a lawyer to help with your contracts and an accountant to manage your tax returns – so it makes sense to outsource specialist expertise for your marketing too. Plus, we’re always around to chat and offer free 30 minute consultancy sessions with our senior team. Get in touch with us today.