12 Signs You’re Ready to Partner With an Advertising or Marketing Firm
Think about the last time you went to the movie theater or dined at a restaurant. Chances are you saw a trailer, TV spot, or streaming ad that captured your attention and turned you into a patron. In other words, you were marketed to, and that marketing served as the motivational trigger for you to take action.
Only through marketing do people become aware of the countless products and services in the world. Without awareness, there is no interest. Without interest, there is no purchase.
Some businesses encounter a marketing or advertising hurdle too high to overcome on their own. You may be experiencing this right now. Either you can’t expand, can’t reach a new audience, or can’t achieve the necessary sales required to grow your business.
A marketing firm helps organizations and businesses of all kinds and sizes break through the obstacles holding them back. After we examine what an advertising and marketing agency does, we’ll call out the common signs it’s time to hire one to support your business.
What Do Advertising and Digital Marketing Firms Do?
Marketing firms help businesses promote their products, services, and brand to more effectively reach their target audience. Here’s how a marketing firm like iFocus supports business growth:
- We generate awareness and interest: Our marketing firm uses a variety of tactics to increase brand awareness, ensuring potential customers know what you offer and why they should choose you over competitors.
- We create compelling campaigns that generate leads: iFocus Marketing creates campaigns that resonate with your audience across various platforms to convert interest into sales.
- We develop a cohesive brand identity: Our marketing firm helps define and amplify your brand voice and visuals, creating a consistent and memorable identity across all channels.
- We analyze and optimize performance: At iFocus, we love data. By tracking campaign performance, we gather insights that help us refine our strategies for better results.
Common Signs It’s Time to Hire a Digital Marketing Firm
If you’re experiencing challenges in reaching your business goals, it may be time to consider partnering with a marketing firm like iFocus to get to the next level.
You Lack Dedicated and Experienced Marketing Resources
There comes a point in every business owner’s career when you realize you can’t manage operations and be an in-house marketer, too. You also might not be the best person to create an engaging video or design an animated display ad.
Running a successful marketing campaign requires specialized skills in areas like copywriting, videography, search engine optimization (SEO), graphic design, analytics, and more. If you lack the expertise or time to dedicate to marketing, a professional firm can take on the workload, so you and your in-house team can focus on other aspects of the business.
Your Revenue Has Plateaued and Leads Are In Short Supply
If your revenue has plateaued or leads are not flowing in as expected, it may be a sign that your current marketing efforts are not effectively reaching or resonating with your audience. Our marketing firm can help you identify new strategies to generate leads and re-ignite interest in your business.
Your Sales Performance Has Dropped
When sales flatline or start to decline, determining the cause can be challenging. A marketing firm can help analyze your target market, sales funnel, and customer engagement to uncover specific reasons for low sales and devise strategies to boost conversions.
You’ve Lost Market Share to Your Main Competitors
If your competitors are gaining more customers and market share, they might be executing a more effective marketing strategy. A marketing firm can provide insights into competitor tactics and consumer behavior, helping you differentiate your brand and recapture market share.
You’ve Lost Ground In Search Results Due to Poor SEO
Most consumers find products or services through Google, Bing, or a similar search platform. If customers can’t find you online, your business will remain out of mind. SEO helps your business climb the search rankings by targeting the most relevant search terms your customers use.
If your site isn’t ranking well, a digital marketing firm with SEO expertise can optimize your content, site structure, and keywords to improve your rankings and drive organic traffic. A strong marketing firm also keeps up with the latest search engine algorithm updates, meaning you don’t have to spend time scouring marketing news sites and interpreting changes.
You Lack a Social Media Presence
According to Statista, more than 5.2 billion people worldwide are social media users. Even if you’re not one, your customers likely are, and they are probably on multiple platforms.
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms are a direct line for reaching and engaging today’s consumers. If your business lacks a social media presence or engagement is low, a marketing firm can develop a strategy that creates awareness and drives engagement.
Your Digital Presence Is Poor or Outdated
Wine and sports memorabilia increase in value as they age. Technology, on the other hand, does the opposite. An outdated or poorly designed website doesn’t reflect well on your brand and prompts customer disengagement. Professional website design services and user experience (UX) optimization tactics ensure your site looks its best and seamlessly functions.
Your Current Marketing Efforts Have Low ROI
There’s nothing worse than a campaign that fails to generate revenue. If you’re DIYing your marketing but aren’t seeing the results you’d like, an agency can perform a comprehensive audit to identify opportunities to improve. By optimizing your campaigns, you achieve a better return on your marketing investment.
You Don’t Fully Understand Your Customer Base
Not knowing your target audience is the equivalent of throwing a dart while wearing a blindfold. An experienced marketing agency takes time to gain a deep understanding of your target audience and personas. Market research, customer segmentation, and data analysis reveals who your customers are, what they need, and how to reach them.
Your Branding Is Inconsistent Across Channels
If you look and sound one way on your website and come across a completely different way in your ads or social media posts, it can be a real head-scratcher for your audience.
If your brand messaging, visuals, or tone are inconsistent across platforms, a marketing firm can help establish guidelines to create a unified brand identity that resonates with your audience.
You Need to Expand Your Reach
Expanding your reach to new audiences requires an omnichannel approach. A presence in channels like paid search, display ads, streaming video, and other channels ensures your brand message reaches every segment of your market.
You Don’t Have a Marketing Plan and Don’t Know Where to Start
A comprehensive marketing strategy guides implementation of tactics in an effort to meet specific business goals. It takes years of experience and a deep understanding of tactics to develop a meaningful strategy.
The tactics in it should be scalable so you can maximize your marketing dollars. If you choose digital outlets, you can attribute leads and conversions down to the penny.
Need Digital Marketing Help? Contact Us!
Hiring an advertising or marketing firm is an investment in your business’s growth and success. If you’re experiencing challenges, iFocus Marketing can provide the expertise, resources, and strategies to overcome these obstacles.
By partnering with our agency, your brand can reach your target audience, gain visibility, and sustainably grow. If you’re ready to achieve your goals in the coming year, request a discovery call with our marketing agency.
After learning a little more about you, your business, and your specific challenges, our marketing masterminds will develop a tailored strategy that makes a lasting impression on your target audience and drives conversions and carry it out for you.
Brandon Tietz is a senior digital copywriter at iFocus Marketing with close to a decade of marketing experience. He has written for clients in retail, real estate, automotive, education, manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods, and several other spaces. In addition to copywriting, he has authored books, published short stories, written for several online and print publications, and was named “Best Local Writer” by The Pitch for his debut novel. He’s currently living the dream in the ‘burbs with his wonderful wife and their two dogs, Dr. Croutons and Professor Pickles.