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Marketing Agency Confidential: 12 Little-Known Facts About Working With Digital Marketers

From DeLand’s “mom and pop” stores to large Central Florida enterprises, companies of all sizes should think about the value a marketing agency can bring them. In today’s world, if you don’t have a website, you don’t have a business. But launching a website is only the first step in the ongoing digital marketing process.

It’s not uncommon to procrastinate on choosing a marketing agency. If you’ve never worked with a third-party partner before, you may not know what to expect. There are common concerns business leaders have about integrating a marketing agency into their workflow and getting the highest impact.

They might wonder about:

  • Whether the agency really has the skills and experience to deliver the promised result
  • How to understand the ROI being delivered without knowing marketing inside and out
  • If linking up with a marketer will make it difficult to unwind or switch tracks in the future

These concerns are understandable. Not every Central Florida marketing agency is all it’s cracked up to be. The modern history of digital marketing is, after all only about 20 years long. Getting to where we are today was an iterative process – the best practices of 2021 were unknown and impossible to foresee in 2011.

Knowing that it’s reasonable to be concerned about “agencies” that have a slick website but can’t back up their claims. Digital marketing shouldn’t fall to the neighbor kid looking for a quick buck: It isn’t a matter of using just one technique but blending multiple approaches into a cohesive and consistent strategy.

That said, Central Florida digital marketing is the fastest way to meet your fundamental business goals.

It helps you to:

  • Attract, qualify, and convert more leads into customers
  • Retain more customers and motivate referral business
  • Open the door to higher Lifetime Customer Value

Even companies that have seen success with old-fashioned methods like direct mail marketing do better when inbound digital marketing takes the lead. Inbound draws customers to you at the moment they are most interested in what you have to say. With outbound, such as cold calling, you’re always chasing after them.

We could tell you working with the right DeLand Florida marketing agency can double your appointments with qualified leads in just a few months. But you’ve probably heard exciting claims before. What you really want now is to know whether the process of working with a digital marketing agency is a good fit for you.

The best way to find out is to talk directly to your would-be marketing team. Getting full, satisfying answers to all your questions is the beginning of a flourishing relationship. But you should take it all at your own pace. In 2013, 67% of the buyer journey was done digitally, and that amount has only increased since.

In other words, the online research you’re doing right now is precisely what your customers do.

And we don’t want to interrupt. So instead of encouraging you to clear an hour on your schedule, put together a whole presentation, and suss out the truth about digital marketing by playing 20 Questions, we want to use this time to give you a peek behind the curtain at what working with an agency is really like.

In a spirit of discovery, let’s zoom in on fifteen little-known facts about working with a digital marketing agency.

1. You Don’t Lose Control Over Your Digital Marketing By Using An Agency – You Gain More

Delegation is one of the keys to scaling and growth. Still, many business owners are concerned about losing the personal touch in their marketing. Your brand is the lens through which customers see you. It makes sense to be protective of that. With the right digital marketing agency, however, you gain more precise control.

Yes, you’ll do less of the day-to-day hands-on work of marketing your business. In exchange, you work with your agency to create a framework they’ll bring to life. That can be as detailed or as broad as you wish, but you still set the destination. Your marketing agency simply monitors the GPS and gets you there faster.

You always have the right to step in and ask for changes.

2. An Agency Can Save You Tens Or Even Hundreds Of Thousands Compared To Inside Hiring

According to the Small Business Administration, every employee you hire costs about 1.25 to 1.4 of salary.

In addition to payroll and its associated taxes, there are also benefits, training and onboarding costs, and much more. Experienced digital marketers command a premium in today’s market as the online world becomes more competitive and more local businesses deploy digital marketing strategies.

What’s more, the hiring process takes longer depending on the skill and seniority of the role being filled.

While the average search takes about 23 days, that can triple if you’re looking for someone to oversee all your in-house digital marketing efforts. Build a team of 3-5 people with skills comparable to what an agency brings to the table and it could be a full year before you start enjoying results.

Needless to say, in that time competitors will be building advantages you’ll need to overcome.

3. An Agency Will Typically Save You Thousands Of Dollars On Software Licensing Alone

Professional marketers talk a lot about their stack, short for “technology stack.”

That refers to all the software and services that work together to make it possible to do the job. Good agencies are glad to adapt to whatever communication tools you use, but they may use dozens of marketing apps behind the scenes. Each software selection accelerates its workflow and improves quality.

All in all, you never need to worry about precisely what technology a marketing agency uses.

As a client, you interact with output – like reports in Excel or PDF format – not input. So, there’s no downtime as your team tries to learn the latest tools. This takes lots of overhead out of the equation since you don’t need to worry about licensing. Agencies are also responsible for their own network and data security.

It’s not unusual for a full-service digital marketing agency in Florida to use ten different applications regularly. The best will also try out a dozen new solutions annually to ensure they’re using the most effective software on the market. You, in turn, get the benefits of all that research without having to sweat the details.

4. An Agency Will Cut Down Your Time To See Results, But They Won’t Arrive “Overnight”

Anyone who promises you overnight results in digital marketing has a bridge to sell you.

There’s one context where Central Florida digital marketers really can drive immediate traffic to your website: Online advertising. At the outset of their digital strategy, though, most businesses are poorly prepared for ads. Ad networks know this and encourage you to get hooked with a coupon for $50 or $100 in free ads.

Those ads don’t work out because the rest of your website isn’t set up to service the traffic you get.

Instead of paid traffic, a wise marketer usually suggests building up a scaffolding of helpful, informative content that responds to your ideal customers’ needs. Professional blog writing and video storytelling are used to raise your visibility in search. This is the bedrock traffic that nets you social media followers and email subscribers.

Those people, in turn, generally become your future customers.

How long does it take to log consistent results from this slow and steady process? Every case varies, but a good rule of thumb is to expect three months of build-up. The delay can seem agonizing, but it’s an investment in the whole future of your business. Once your sales figures take off, you won’t want to go back!

5. There Are More Savings Where You Least Expect Them, Too

Not to belabor the point, but any vendor should be helping you make money and save money.

To keep an in-house digital marketing team from falling behind, you’ll usually need to sponsor ongoing training. Search engine algorithms are always changing, and savvy marketers still get plenty of information from annual conventions. While many of these are going virtual, travel is still a regular part of life in the industry.

It’s not unusual to spend $5,000 to $10,000 per team member – every year! – to keep them sharp.

6. It’s The Agency’s Job To Demonstrate Results (You Don’t Have To Decode Anything)

Getting to the bottom of digital marketing ROI shouldn’t be like reading tea leaves.

If you go to a freelancing platform and ask the average digital marketer, you’ll probably be told a monthly report is all you need to see what’s going on with your marketing. But what good is a report without context and clarity? An ethical digital marketer focuses on marketing attribution so you know what worked and what didn’t.

Marketing attribution is a fancy way of saying we know what part of your marketing strategy influenced which customers when. We can separate out the different elements of a strategy, like social media and email, to verify the leads and customers delivered by each one. That’s true for every week, month, and quarter.

Instead of raw data, you get actionable insights so we can pursue methods that resonate with your audience.

Here’s something else the average freelancer won’t tell you: Marketing attribution is about to change forever.

Google Chrome, the world’s biggest browser, will be blocking third-party cookies starting in 2023. This will turn digital marketing on its head. Agencies that aren’t prepared won’t be able to deliver precise, accurate details to clients like you. Before you choose an agency, be sure it has a plan for the cookie-free future.

7. A Face-To-Face Meeting Is The Best Way To Kick Off Your Marketing Partnership

Trust is the point of digital marketing, but your relationship with your marketers doesn’t have to stay online.

We can’t speak for everyone, but at New York Ave we stand by the importance of a face-to-face visit. If you think best by sitting down for a friendly chat over coffee, you shouldn’t have to settle for Zoom. And if you come see us, you’ll also get to meet a pretty cool office dog. It’s a win for everyone.

Not everyone will get together to brainstorm with their marketers in person, but it should always be an option.

8. You Will Get To Know Your Agency Partners, Even If You Mostly Collaborate Remotely

A cheerful obsession with creative digital marketing is one of the driving qualifications for success in this biz.

We believe your digital marketers shouldn’t be shadowy figures you only hear from once a month (see that discussion of the infamous “monthly report” above.) You’re a real person, and you should feel confident your marketing team is likewise. Fitting into your own communication style is essential.

If you’re the kind of person who gets up and busts your email inbox first thing in the morning, your team should send you an email. Got Slack? Your team should speak Slack. Social media aficionado? Anything goes, as long as the information gets across in a clear, secure, and private way. We’ll even send you a fax if that’s your style.

Over time, you definitely get to know your team. And that’s a good thing.

9. Working With An Agency Will Acquire Its Own Rhythm That Fits Your Business …

Likewise, working with an agency should be as granular as you want it to be.

Some people don’t sweat the small stuff, while others want a play-by-play recap every week or so. While it’s true that not much changes in marketing on a daily basis (unless you go viral!), interesting tidbits usually present themselves every ten days or so. If you want to be kept up to the minute, your agency should oblige.

Likewise, if you’re keen on the big picture and only need an occasional update to know you’re on track.

10. … But No Matter What’s Going On, You Should Always Be Able To Get Help

When you pick up the Bat Phone, will your marketing agency be on the other side?

Good marketing can’t coexist with poor project management. A big part of that is making sure clients like you know how to reach their project manager fast. Yes, everybody has to sleep sometime, but you should never find yourself sitting around waiting for a message to be returned if you get in touch during regular business hours.

11. Yes, You Can Unwind From Your Digital Marketing Agreement If You Need To

Since skilled marketers don’t leave you guessing about your ROI, you’ll know if they’re worth the money.

If you need to unwind your marketing agreement, expect your team to turn over all the resources you need to keep your marketing chugging along. That includes things like usernames and passwords for any digital assets created on your brand’s behalf, as well as for analytics reports, keyword research, and SEO audit results.

Switching should be quick, easy, and painless, so another marketing brand can step in where the first left off.

12. A Local Central Florida Marketing Agency Has Advantages Over a Big National Firm

If you’re a local business, your marketing team should be, too.

Choosing marketers who live where they work is common sense. It means they know your customers inside and out – including the worries and preferences that come from calling Central Florida home. A company steeped in the local culture is also more likely to give you the time, attention, and customer care you deserve.

Big Or Small, New York Ave Is The Central Florida Digital Marketing Agency For You

Choosing the right digital marketing agency helps you settle into the groove and see awesome outcomes faster.

When you want to bring your brand’s message to more of your ideal customers, New York Ave is the local digital marketing agency for you. Based right in DeLand, FL, we work with a cavalcade of businesses from across all industries. No matter where you are in your company’s journey, we’ll get you to the next level.

To find out more or get started with Florida digital marketing you can count on, just contact us today.

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1 Average median salary in Florida for ‘Marketing Director’, based on research by Glassdoor. 2 Retirement calculated at 3% contribution, based on research by nirsonline.org. 3 Health premium average calculated by ranges provided from a 2016 Health Benefits survey. 4 Total employee average calculated at first year and includes the following considerations: $4k onboarding and training, $1k software and subscriptions, and $3.75k outsourcing help. Total agency average based on Florida-located, full-service agency.