Everything You Wanted to Know About Hiring a Marketing Agency But Were Afraid to Ask

The marketing world has changed drastically in recent years. Social media and modern technology have brought consumers closer to brands than ever before, and it’s left many companies wondering if they even need to hire a marketing agency at all. After all, who knows your brand better than you? But, to quote the ground-breaking and timeless 80’s hair-metal band, Poison, “Every rose has its thorn.”

Yes, content has never been more readily available, but that has made it harder for brands to stand out and stay relevant. You may be experiencing this yourself. Sales that started strong have begun to plateau, website visits have gone down, and it’s starting to feel like your consumers have ghosted you. These are all signs that it may be time to seek professional marketing services.

Whether you’re trying to launch a new product, connect with a new audience, or looking to free up valuable time, there are huge advantages to hiring a marketing agency. And who better to tell you about them than an actual agency? Central Station is proud to present: Everything You Wanted to Know about Hiring a Marketing Agency But Were Afraid to Ask. (hold for applause)

Focused Messaging That Cuts Through the Clutter:

An effective strategy is central to creating a great campaign and one of the best reasons to hire a marketing agency. A strong, well-thought-out strategy is how a marketing agency gets to the heart of your brand, product, or service, and then aligns them with your business objectives. It then finds the right audience, determining who they are, what they like, what they don’t, and the most effective way of reaching them. This ensures your messaging is laser-focused, cutting through the daily bombardment consumers face nowadays and hitting them on an emotional level. Strategic marketing services also make campaigns more efficient and cost-effective. By pinpointing exactly who you want to talk to and the best way of doing it, we ensure you’re not wasting time and resources putting your message where no one is listening.

Insights, Experience, and Experts On Demand:

This may be your first marketing rodeo, but it certainly isn’t an agency’s. Marketing agencies are filled with highly experienced individuals who’ve worked for a multitude of businesses in a variety of industries. With a full-service marketing agency like Central Station (as a totally random example), you gain access to a wealth of on-demand insights, ideas, and skills that can be used to drive growth and success. Since there’s no learning curve, a marketing agency is prepared to hit the ground running, planning, implementing, monitoring, and optimizing your marketing objectives so that you can focus on other important aspects of your business.

Staying Ahead of the Curve and the Competition:

From creating life-like 3D renders to data analytics designed to track your ROI, there are many incredible marketing tools and services out there. However, these programs can be expensive and require significant training and experience to use effectively. By hiring a marketing agency, you gain access to the latest marketing tools and highly-skilled individuals who know how to use them. And that’s only the beginning. Agencies are constantly adding to their toolbox by staying on top of industry trends, testing out new tools, and adopting emerging technology. All of which then becomes available to you.

See Your Brand in a Brand-New Way:

You eat, sleep, and breathe your brand. No one knows it better than you, and that can make marketing it yourself very difficult. You’re too close. With a marketing agency, you gain a fresh, unbiased perspective. Using this perspective, agencies can get to the core of your brand, product, or service and create an engaging message that will accurately represent it and appeal to your audience. By seeing the big picture, a marketing agency can also look objectively at your company, reveal overlooked potential, see what isn’t working, and bring new ideas to the table.

How To Find the Right Agency For You:

What Are Your Goals?

The first thing you need to do before looking for a marketing agency is to determine what’s central to your success. Are you looking to increase sales? Generate more leads? Do you want to introduce a new product or service, increase your digital presence, or make your website more user-friendly? Working out a rough budget and timeline is also a good idea. This not only makes it easier for you when you start doing your research, but it makes it easier for us as well. Every part of a marketing initiative, from the words to the design to the layout, serves a purpose. Having a clear goal allows us to focus our efforts and create a strong, engaging, and effective experience.

Do They Have What It Takes?

Okay, so you’ve figured out what you want. Now you have to figure out if the agency can do it.  For example, suppose you’re looking for a digital campaign. In that case, you will want an agency with experience in Pay-Per-Click, Google Ads, Social In-Feed Ads, SEO (Okay, we admit, it wasn’t a total accident that you found us), and other digital services. There are a few different types of agencies out there, but a full-service marketing agency is typically your best bet. Whereas other agencies may only cater to specific needs, like digital or design, a full-service marketing agency can do it all. From strategy and media buys to digital marketing, branding, and design, a full-service agency can be a central station for all your marketing needs. So how do you know what to look for in a marketing agency?

Portfolio & Credentials:

A great way of seeing if a marketing agency is right for you is by checking out their portfolio. Every agency will have a detailed collection of their work on their website, often with brief descriptions of the goal and how it was accomplished. By looking at an agency’s portfolio, you can see if they have experience in the field you’re looking for. When speaking with new businesses, many agencies will also put together a credentials deck full of work showcasing their abilities in the industry or area you’re looking for.

Checking out their portfolio also gives you insights into an agency’s creative mind, style, and attitude, which you can use to see if it aligns with your brand style and vision. Oh, and would you look at that? We happen to have links to our retail and work portfolios right here. What a coincidence.

The Natural Conclusion:

Throughout this article, you may have noticed us drop a few hints regarding a certain full-service marketing agency capable of providing you with one-of-a-kind marketing solutions tailor-made to your needs. They’ve been subtle. At Central Station, we pride ourselves on being an innovative marketing agency that thinks outside the box to create unique and imaginative solutions that move the needle and help our clients form powerful, lasting connections with their consumers.

We have experience in everything from strategy development and brand innovation to digital marketing and physical experiences and work with you to create comprehensive go-to-market plans. At the heart of everything we do is our Arrive Together philosophy. We don’t take your brand away and leave you in the waiting room wondering what’s happening. Instead, we get you involved in the process, sharing ideas and potential areas of exploration early and often (we’ll even let you read our super-secret diary!) to make your journey as rewarding and enjoyable as possible. Now, the only thing left to discover is how impactful your brand can be. Let’s arrive at the next evolution of your brand together.

Have a project or challenge in mind? Email me at ryan@centralstationto.com. Let’s dig in and chat about the best ways our team can help.