Things to Think about Before Hiring a Marketing Agency – for UK-based Businesses

business man in UK thinking to outsource for marketing agency

In recent years, the marketing landscape has undergone seismic changes due to advancements in technology, changes in customer preferences and purchasing behavior, and the evolution of customer expectations. 

B2B (business-to-business) enterprises are finding it difficult to distinguish themselves from their rivals in the market, which may be due to the increasingly crowded nature of various industries – especially in the UK. 

To address this challenge, B2B businesses need to adopt fresh strategies and explore alternative methods of connecting with their target audience. This could involve offering new products and services, providing excellent customer service, developing creative marketing initiatives, and of course, hiring a digital marketing agency.

Related: How Digital Marketing Revolutionized Business Practices

What is a digital marketing agency and why should you hire one?

A digital marketing agency is a service provider that specializes in the different aspects of the marketing mix: communication, product, price, and sales using various digital mediums like social media, videos, websites, pay-per-click ads, and other digital channels. Their role is to assist companies with planning, designing, and executing their marketing strategies. 

Digital marketing agencies help businesses in promoting their products and services across various platforms including advertising, public relations, branding, and social media. Teaming up with businesses, they formulate digital marketing plans that cater to their client’s specific goals and needs. The primary goal of a marketing agency is to aid businesses in boosting their brand recognition, driving sales, and scaling their enterprise.

Considering the sector’s dynamic and fast-paced nature, undertaking B2B marketing independently can be overwhelming. Staying abreast of the latest industry trends can also be difficult, given that the entire process resembles a never-ending game of catching up wherein a new trend emerges just as progress is made. This can have a cumulative effect, resulting in feelings of exhaustion and being overwhelmed.

Keep in mind that a single misstep can jeopardize your brand, reputation, and future prospects. Businesses that want to stay visible, relevant, and successful in the field need to make marketing a priority, and this means seeking expert help from trusted lead-generation service providers. 

Searching for quality B2B leads? Partner with the most leading digital marketing and lead generation services provider

Although marketing agencies have a proven track record of generating leads, the decision to use their services is ultimately up to the company. Here are a few clear indicators suggesting that it’s time to hire one for your business:

  1. You have an insufficient in-house skill set
    Recruiting and maintaining a team of marketing experts can be highly expensive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. Considering the overhead and operational costs of maintaining a full-time marketing staff, most companies are left to handle their marketing needs on their own. Due to insufficient resources and expertise to successfully implement marketing campaigns, missed opportunities arise, therefore resulting in a decrease in revenue.
    Marketing requires a certain set of knowledge, skills, and experience like content creation, design, SEO, and campaign optimization, to name a few, to successfully plan and implement a successful strategy. If your team lacks these skills, it would be very much helpful if you outsource your digital marketing efforts to a third party who has demonstrated expertise in those areas.
    Outsourcing provides businesses with access to a team of marketing experts without incurring the significant costs associated with maintaining an in-house team. This way, businesses can focus on their core competencies while leaving the marketing to the experts.
  2. You’re not planning for the future
    Marketing requires deliberate planning, consistent implementation, and insight based on a well-thought strategy that is inclined with your business goals and target market. If you lack planning or are still in the process of making one, hiring a marketing agency is a wise choice.
    Your brand’s reputation and presence are heavily reliant on your marketing efforts. It is therefore important to keep your products and services on top of your audience’s mind. This is something that a marketing agency can help you with.
  3. Your content is obsolete
    In the B2B context, content is referred to as king. This is due to the fact that B2B marketing is all about building trust and credibility with your target audience by providing relevant and useful information through blogs, case studies, e-books, whitepapers, videos, and webinars. This will help your audience make informed decisions in relation to your products and services. 
    Content marketing can boost your brand reputation and visibility when used properly. However, the lack thereof and inconsistencies in updating and posting are like poison, interfering with customer expectations and damaging your credibility. Moreover, inconsistencies make you lose your momentum. The more consistent you are, the more likely you’ll be able to see progress in your inbound traffic and keyword rankings. Hiring and maintaining a team dedicated to content creation and optimization will help you dodge cycles of decline and the perils of starting off from scratch.
statistical information about marketer's largest obstacle in content is generating leads
  1. There has been a drop in sales or leads
    Marketing and sales work together as a team, so if you see the sales department falter in its performance, it means that you need the intervention of a digital marketing agency team to help you devise an inbound marketing strategy to reach your customer where they are.
    According to a study, the largest obstacle that 61% of marketers face in line with content is generating leads and driving traffic. By working together with a marketing agency, you can create a comprehensive plan that integrates your sales process into your marketing strategies. This method of generating quality leads not only saves time but also increases your sales force’s efficiency.
  2. Your website is no longer up-to-date.
    Your website basically works like a magazine and a store, where visitors can form opinions about your brand in a virtual space. It’s an essential tool that every business needs. However, some businesses underestimate the power of websites in enhancing brand awareness and generating leads.
    We have stated earlier in this blog that content holds a significant role in the B2B industry. While this is true, it’s essential to note that even the most well-crafted content is rendered ineffective and irrelevant without adequate visibility and engagement. It is therefore important to establish a strong online presence through a well-designed website that can consistently showcase your content. 
    Keeping your website updated helps improve user experience, boost search engine ranking, enhance security, reflect current business changes, stay ahead of competitors, and maintain a positive online presence. Regular updates help to provide fresh and relevant content, fix vulnerabilities and attract more customers.
  3. You aren’t monitoring essential metrics
    To provide your audience with great customer service, it’s important for you as a business owner to understand their habits and use that information to develop effective tactics.
    Monitoring important metrics like social media engagement and website analytics can reveal effective and ineffective marketing strategies that you can retain and avoid respectively.
    Neglecting these metrics can result in missed opportunities to learn more about your audience and identify potential leads. Hiring a digital marketing agency can help improve your marketing efforts by evaluating important metrics and creating a customized marketing strategy.
  4. Your business is expanding
    One of the main reasons why businesses hire digital marketing agencies is to keep up with their business expansion. With the goal of scaling into wider locations and larger markets, it needs the expertise of professionals to build a reputation of innovation and value.
    Digital marketing agencies are equipped with the right tools and skills to help businesses achieve their expansion goals. They can design and execute marketing strategies that are tailored according to your business’s specific needs. These strategies may include the following: content marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and other digital marketing strategies.

Explore Our Services: B2B Marketing and Sales Support Services

Questions to help you identify the right digital marketing agency

Outsourcing to a digital marketing agency means handing over your profitable marketing operations to a team of experts who can help you achieve your desired business goals. You can work with them to fill in gaps in the workforce or knowledge where needed.

By now, you might be looking for the right agency to entrust your business with. The following characteristics can assist you in finding the right service provider that meets your criteria.

  1. The industries they serve: One of the primary questions you should ask a digital marketing agency during your selection process is about the industries they serve. Different industries have different target markets and audiences, distinctive customer journeys, and specific marketing requirements. 
    A digital marketing agency that specializes in a particular sector(s) can give valuable insights and expertise that can help your business succeed. Experience with businesses similar to yours enables them to understand your pain points and develop effective strategies to resolve them.
  2. Case studies and other proof: In today’s world of online interactions and processes, social proof has become a crucial part of digital marketing strategies for businesses that seek to connect with their target audience and increase sales. 
    Case studies are potent sources of social proof, as they showcase the success stories of clients who had interacted with your business in the past. Some other sources of user-generated social proof include testimonials, online reviews, awards and recognitions, and social media.
    Requesting social proof when selecting a digital marketing agency is crucial since it demonstrates the agency’s capability to deliver excellent results. A trustworthy agency should be able and willing to provide social proof since they know it is a critical factor in the decision-making process for potential clients.
  3. Sales channels they specialize in: Each sales channel requires unique strategies and skills in order to succeed, which makes it important to ask digital marketing agencies about their sales channel specialization. 
    You can decide if they are a good fit for your company’s objectives by learning more about their area of expertise. For instance, if your company uses social media extensively, you might want to collaborate with a marketing agency with experience in social media.
    Things work differently in the B2B context though, given the diverse industries like Information Technology, Software, Healthcare, and Telecommunications that fall under it. 
    Each industry has its own unique set of communication and engagement preferences. Hence, to reach out to clients effectively, B2B businesses need to adopt various channels and approaches. That’s why partnering with a digital marketing agency with a multi-touch multi-channel strategy is crucial since it allows your business to connect with customers regardless of their location, industry, and preferred time.
  4. Global competitiveness: Global competitiveness is a key consideration when choosing a digital marketing agency, given the current digital era where businesses can reach customers anywhere in the world. 
    Choosing an agency that has a global outlook can help your business may grow its reach, enter new markets, and succeed on a worldwide scale. This also provides access to a wider range of resources which includes cutting-edge technology, international networks, and best industry practices. This enables your business to navigate the intricacies of the global market, gain an edge over competitors, adapt to market trends and changes, and achieve better results.

But wait… Is it worth the money?

Digital marketing agencies can seem really pricey when you hear about their monthly retainer, but did you know that you’re actually paying less for better outcomes?

Hiring a good marketing agency can be a smart move especially when you’re looking to get maximum returns on your marketing investment. Not only can you get access to a complete marketing department with specialized skills, but you also have the flexibility to pay only for the services you need. 

When you think about the expenses involved in hiring a full marketing team, such as salaries, software, training, and office space, it can add up to a hefty sum. A marketing agency, by contrast, can provide all these services at a much lower cost and can scale their services to fit your needs. They can also offer extra skills from their team as and when required, without you having to worry about paying for underutilized staff

Working with a digital marketing agency can also provide your business with fresh ideas and perspectives. Agencies usually work with a variety of clients across industries, so they usually have exposure to a wide range of marketing strategies. This, in turn, can help them introduce innovative concepts and approaches to your business that you may not have considered before.

Ultimately, employing the services of a digital marketing agency is worth the money if you pick the right agency and approach the collaboration with a clear set of expectations and goals. Working with an agency allows you to leverage their expertise, keep up with the most recent trends, and access a broader range of marketing resources and tools than you can possibly do in-house.

Hire a trusted digital marketing agency for your business

In case you’re searching for a digital marketing agency that satisfies all the aforementioned criteria, let us simplify the decision-making process for you: collaborate with Callbox today! 

Callbox has been the largest provider of outsourced B2B marketing and sales support services for businesses across the globe since its founding in 2004. Our team uses an Account-Based Marketing approach that allows us to reach a global database from over 35 million businesses.

What makes Callbox the perfect partner for your business? Read on to know more:

The industries we serve:

Callbox' Served Industries

To ensure that your business draws in the appropriate customers, Callbox offers lead generation proficiency that caters specifically to your industry. For decades, we have been the trusted allies for lead generation by professionals in the field of Information Technology (IT), Cloud Computing, SaaS, Telecommunications, Medical and Healthcare, Financial Technology and Services, Marketing and Advertising, Manufacturing and Distribution, Logistics, and more.

Our rich social proof:

callbox case studies

Our team has received over 1000 client testimonials, which speaks volumes about the level of trust businesses have in us to deliver results. And when we say results, we mean tangible outcomes that positively impact your bottom line.

We take pride in our ability to drive results for our clients through our tailored digital marketing strategies. Whether it’s increasing website traffic, generating high-quality leads, boosting conversions, or enhancing brand awareness, we have a proven track record of delivering measurable results.

Multi-touch, Multi-channel approach:

Callbox Multi touch Multi Channel Marketing Approach

We utilize a combination of multiple marketing channels such as Voice, Email, Web, Chat, Social Media, and Webinars to reach out to our prospects and engage with them at multiple touchpoints.
By using these channels, we can guarantee that we reach the right audience at the right time and manner, therefore boosting the chances of conversion. Our multi-touch approach helps create and deliver customized content and messaging that resonates with our prospects, helping build strong relationships and connections with them.

The global reach of lead generation services:

global lead generation services of callbox

Our team has a global lead generation reach that helps businesses from different parts of the globe, particularly in Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, generate high-quality leads. 

We can find potential customers worldwide through our marketing team and databases. Also, we are able to identify prospects that are a good match for our clients, and our global reach allows us to customize marketing strategies to fit cultural differences. This creates stronger relationships and increases conversion rates.

By outsourcing to a reputable digital marketing agency like Callbox, you can free up time to concentrate on your business while skilled experts handle your campaigns to boost visibility, conversions, and sales.

Avail our services with flexible and tailored pricing according to your business needs (request pricing).

Book an appointment now and start your success story with us!