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Many small business owners struggle when it comes to marketing. As a result, it is often one of the first things to be outsourced.
However…
Many of them do so before they are actually able to afford it, and/or before they are ready for it.
Allow me to explain:
Three instances when you should NOT hire a digital marketing agency.
1. You expect them to explode your business overnight:
We have seen it many times. New business owners come at you with a brand new business, and they have some money set aside for marketing. What they don’t tell you, however, is that (a) they are still working on sorting out their business, and (b) they expect you to make things happen instantly.
Sadly, the internet is very crowded, which means it takes a while to be noticed, even if you use paid advertising. Yes, if what you offer is some low ticket product, people may buy after seeing just one advertisement – but then again, if it is a low ticket item, chances are that the advertising cost is likely to be more than your profit on the item.
But, if the item you are selling comes with any reasonable or higher price tag, people will want to do their research first. And if you are nowhere to be seen, with no track record or visible content to showcase your expertise or products…
Advertising can quickly become expensive.
Social media marketing takes time – unless you already know some influencers who will advertise for you, and help you grow your following. Some marketing agencies have agreements in place for this, but then again, those agencies come with a hefty price tag.
The reality is this: Regardless of how much you spend per month, don’t commit to it if you cannot sustain it for at least six months.
2. You haven’t established product-market fit yet.
What does that even mean?
Well, many new businesses start off with products or services which are not exactly ideal for their intended target market. As they go on, they learn what their clients or customers want, and where the real opportunities are.
There is an old saying: “The only way to learn about business is to be in business.”
Most new business owners find that out the hard way. Many of them never plan, or do any proper research.
Be that as it may, even some researched businesses need some time to establish product-market fit. If you have not yet established what your market wants or needs, hiring a marketing agency that costs thousands of dollars per month may very well be just money thrown down the drain.
3. Your reputation has been damaged, and you think that more exposure will fix it.
Things happen. People make mistakes. Sadly, in business, it is easy to ruin a reputation which you built up over the course of years. If you had someone working for you that has been providing poor service or ripping people off over a period of time, recovering from that can be a challenging experience.
With that being said, if you are in front of everybody’s eyeballs because of something bad that happened…
You don’t need more marketing. More marketing will just mean that more people associate your name with that bad story.
What you need is someone who specifically does reputation management. Spending money on marketing won’t solve the problem, and anyone getting into that boat with you is likely to have a very hard time reaching any set targets.
In conclusion:
Hiring a marketing agency, even for online/social/search engine marketing, can be risky. Results can be faked. References can be faked.
Not to mention that not every online marketing agency will be able to promote any type of business.
Fair enough, online marketing not only requires a lot of work, but it also takes some understanding of your products or services, your target market and how your business operates.
Of course, it goes without saying that, even if your marketing works, a badly laid out website (even if it is beautiful) can let all of the traffic go to waste. The agency you hired might be good at sending visitors to your website, but if you don’t capitalize on them…
That’s a whole different conversation.
The bottom line is to not hire a digital marketing agency in any of the three instances mentioned above. It is unlikely to yield the results you expect.
If you are having any of the issues above what would most likely help the most is having a consultant with experience in all of these areas who has the necessary connections to get your issues resolved.