5 Tips for Hiring a Marketing Agency [2022 UPDATE]

Modern marketing is complex. Marketing channels change rapidly, metrics are constantly shifting and it's difficult to know where you should be focusing your time and resources. Marketing agencies help bridge the gap between creative, strategy and measurement that can often become overwhelming for companies that don't have extensive marketing capabilities in-house. Marketing agencies help manage your brand, website and customer outreach helping you to grow your business.

Here are five things to consider when making this important decision for your business, non-profit, or healthcare organization. 

1. Marketing maturity & specialization matters

Marketing has changed dramatically in the past several years. Marketing agencies that specialize in nonprofits or healthcare can help you navigate digital marketing channels, social media and content strategy. Marketing has become more than just email blasts and banners on a website. Marketing today requires targeted, strategic efforts.

 Marketing agencies should help you identify appropriate touchpoints (whether it's email or your website) where customers or patients are more likely to convert. Marketing agencies should also help you expand your reach through targeted advertising and search engine optimization (SEO). Marketing channels that were appropriate only for large corporations just a few years ago are now available to any organization with an internet connection.

2. Marketing ROI

Marketing agencies should be able to help with the entire customer life cycle, from engaging new customers or patients to helping you retain existing ones. Marketing is more than just an acquisition tool. Marketing can also help you turn casual website visitors into active engaged followers and drive them towards positive behaviors such as scheduling appointments and completing request forms on your website. 

Of course, all of this needs to be measured and accounted for. A good marketing agency will be proficient in attribution and tracking so you can know which marketing efforts are actually resulting in revenue for your organization.

3. Creative Marketing

It's difficult to manage creative on a daily basis, especially if you don't have a marketing or design background. Marketing agencies understand how to differentiate your brand and help build awareness around new product launches, events and announcements. 

Marketing agencies can help you create campaigns that align with your overall brand strategy and set a cohesive tone through all of your creative. The agency should be able to partner with you to produce original, professional creative content on an ongoing basis.

4. Marketing IT

Marketing is becoming more data-driven every day. Marketing agencies should be able to give you insights about your website and social media performance that can help you identify opportunities to connect with new customers and patients. Your marketing partner should be able to report on the strength of your brand, what's working online and where you have room for improvement. 

Marketing technology platforms are constantly being updated so it's important for a marketing agency to stay up-to-date. They should be able to give you recommendations about the best marketing software for your needs. Marketing technology tracks key metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement and customer behavior so you can analyze performance in real time.

5. Marketing expertise and consulting

Marketing agencies should be more than just a vendor. Marketing is an ongoing process that requires strong communication and collaboration. Agency professionals should be able to support and guide you and your team by building on your strengths and helping to improve areas where you may need it most. Marketing agencies can serve as an extension of your internal marketing team.

In conclusion, marketing is always changing and it requires a different approach than before. Marketing agencies like 5by5 can help you modernize your marketing efforts and access new channels while maintaining the right focus on customers, donors, patient behavior and how to understand their mindset. 5by5 will also be able to provide you with services such as creative content, consulting and reporting tools to make sure your organization stays up-to-date.

Feel free to reach out if we can help in any way.