Why small businesses & start-ups need a fully rounded marketing agency

Web design & development, SEO, email marketing – as a small business you will need to tap into all these and more.

With more marketing agencies crawling out of the woodwork, it can be confusing when trying to decide which would compliment your brand. There are digital marketing agencies, influencer marketing agencies, PR agencies, SEO agencies, social media agencies, and it can become overwhelming, to say the least.

SME’s & Startups can often find themselves compromising when they look for a senior hire or an agency to help them master their complete marketing strategy. Permanent hires can often have very narrow experience and exposure, leading to additional hires to fill in the gaps, and agencies may only specialise in a specific area. There are some agencies, however, like Cheshire Cat Marketing, who can provide a fully rounded service covering many elements of the marketing mix – from Print & Website Maintenance to Social & Online Advertising.

But aren’t they jacks of all trades & masters of none?

Not all all!

With a full-service marketing agency, you may worry that you could miss out on the expertise advertised by niche, specialised agencies. Don’t fret though, as full rounded agencies tend to have a robust team of individuals from a range of backgrounds, industries and experiences. This allows them to be flexible, adapting to changes to clients needs; something a permanent hire or niche agency would struggle to do.

You know your business, your market and your customers better than anyone. That’s why it’s important that you partner with an agency that can offer a personable service. Choosing a smaller, independent agency can often mean you’ll be on a smaller roster of clients and have a more engaging experience. Working with a well-rounded agency means that as your marketing needs change, perhaps macro environmental factors require your business to change focus, they will have the resources to adapt without the need to secure further resources.

For larger companies, hiring multiple specialised niche agencies makes a lot of sense. Each of those agencies is highly experienced at the limited services that they offer, however, it is likely costly. In addition to the higher cost involved in working with multiple agencies, there is also the issue of communication. It can become overwhelming to ensure that all the agencies are working together in a tangent and that projects move forward without a hitch across a variety of marketing channels. This is one of the reasons that SMEs & Start-ups prefer to work with one fully rounded marketing agency; they don’t spend as much and they work directly with one partner.

A digital marketing agency is there to highlight new opportunities whilst perfecting your current strategies. If you run a business providing home-cooked meals delivered directly to your customers every day, you may be running printed ads targeting locations with a high density of elderly readers. However, agencies can identify new opportunities, channels and target demographics. LinkedIn campaigns, a previously neglected avenue, could work to your advantage as it’s thriving with busy business people who could afford to splash out on hearty food as they wouldn’t have time to prepare good quality meals for themselves.

But wouldn’t a new staff member be better?

Not always!

There’s no denying that there are many appeals of hiring a marketing manager but not all Start-Ups & SMEs have the budget for an additional team member – especially when you take into account the recruitment costs, holiday and sick pay, and pensions. Plus they are likely to have specialities in certain areas, channels or industries.

As marketing is often a case of trial and error, when you partner with a marketing agency, you aren’t starting your journey from the starting line, you have a team of experts who have already tried new ideas in other ventures and can add valuable insights, ensuring fewer errors and more successes. You may have tested the unexplored waters of marketing and discovered them to be full of sharks. Mistakes must be made in order to fully explore your businesses marketing potential but it’s not a bad thing.

You may have tested the unexplored waters of marketing and discovered them to be full of sharks, but mistakes must be made in order to fully explore your marketing potential.

Think of great campaigns and many were undoubtedly a risk, such as the infamous Apple Superbowl advert. The expense of that prime-time slot alone is enough to terrify marketers away! Then factor in that at no point was their product shown it broke all the common rules of marketing, but it was a huge success and helped to build the iconic brand that thrives today.

We aren’t recommending that all SME’s get prime-time adverts but this is an example of a risk that paid off.

Does your small business need help with marketing?

We’re not like other small business marketing agencies. We offer honest advice, just like a friend would and we won’t take on a job if we don’t think we can help or we’re not the right fit. We only work with a selected few clients each month so we can deliver a quality personalised service. Get in touch.