If you’re thinking about hiring an advertising agency, you may be hearing some myths floating around out there in the marketing world. Well-meaning confidants sharing their own horror stories would certainly caution even the most enthusiastic agency-seeker.
We’re here to tell you that the relationship between a marketing agency and a business can (and most likely will) thrive! A team of experts dedicated to you. One less thing for you to add to your day-to-day. Generating leads in your sleep. Imagine that.
Let’s break down some myths when working with an advertising agency.
Myth 1: Agencies Are Expensive
Many of us who work at agencies have years, if not decades, of rich marketing experience. The price tag associated with marketing your business is more about perspective than it is the number.
Someone I know recently shared with me that she has a $2,000 coffee maker in her home kitchen. That’s a staggering number because most coffee makers cost around $20. She must really love coffee. She then proceeded to explain to me that it’s an appliance in her house, not a gadget. It’s an appliance. Now, when you think about $2,000 in the realm of appliances, it seems more normal, and for her, worth it. And yes, the coffee was phenomenal.
The moral of that story is that when you hire an agency, you’re not hiring a freelancer. You’re hiring a whole team of people who want to help your business do better. Perspective helps qualify that e-word that people love to throw around. Ask yourself if it’s a worthy investment, instead.
Myth 2: You Have to Hire an Ad Agency For Everything
An advertising agency absolutely does not have to take over your entire marketing plan. If you have an in-house team that manages your brand, you might need extra help with digital marketing. Brand managers often get so bogged down in product development that they can’t dedicate any effort to SEO, Google ads and other digital necessities. You know, the stuff that drives people to your website.
Or maybe you need creative design help. A brand redesign, perhaps? Bottom line is you can certainly hire an agency to do everything and you can also hire an agency on a project basis. An in-house team of brand experts only elevates the brand heritage material that an agency team can then amplify to get more eyes and ears on your business.
Myth 3: The Quality of Work Is Not Great
Agencies have a lot of processes in place to ensure only their best work goes out the door. We do our best to be an extension of your team. We would never want to be a silo. Imagine us sitting next to you in your office! We won’t be, but that would be fun.
Producing the highest quality work has a lot to do with the pre-work. Defining your brand or absorbing that brand story from you is a very crucial first step before any creative work gets done. The brand is the foundation. So, when you start there, chances are the subsequent work will be really great.
Myth 4: An Agency Has Long Turnaround Times
Our project manager works SO HARD. Talk about a thankless job. Whew! I actually can’t remember the last time we missed a deadline when there wasn’t some reasonable explanation as to why. If you need something like, next week, we will probably do our best to make that happen because your passion is our passion. Timelines are always laid out as a team with you, the client. Sometimes bigger projects do take longer. But you would agree to that ahead of time. For us, it’s a balance of doing our absolute best work while also meeting deadlines. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t love it!
Myth 5: An Agency Won’t Know About My Brand
This is partly true because in the beginning we may not know the nuances of your brand that make it unique. But if you hire us, we’ll take you through our process so you can impart all that brand history on us. In fact, Brand Definition is one of our pillars. As an agency, we strongly believe in the value of a brand story. If you already have one, great. If you need one, we’ll help you define it. Having brand standards ensures that all of your marketing efforts are consistently telling the same story.
Sometimes an external perspective can be scary, especially for a brand manager or an in-house marketing team. The who-does-what part of establishing a new relationship can feel awkward in the beginning. That doesn’t mean you can’t click as a team. Many of our clients are now considered family because they’ve been with us for so long. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you’re ready to hire an advertising agency, don’t hesitate to reach out to Commit Agency today.
