Why SMB's Should Hire an Agency for Their Digital Marketing Strategy

Snakes, Vines, and Pits...The Challenges of Digital Marketing Explained

Have you ever walked through a jungle? Maybe you can imagine it. The quicksand, the roots that trip you up, the predators stalking you, the dark, dense foliage…

Yeah, so that’s the internet. Full stop. Do not pass go.

The vast ecosystem of platforms, apps and tools available to the small to medium business (SMB) owner to choose from for their marketing has never been more dense or populated. It’s almost impossible to figure out which social media platform will help your business grow, and which is just throwing money at quicksand...which task you need an agency for, and which should be handled in-house.

Security and redundancy have never been more important. The number of companies we’ve worked with who are rebranding after they were hacked, or who built a whole network on a platform that disappeared, is staggering. (Remember Google+? Vine?)

With all of these perils lurking ahead, behind, above, and below, you need one simple thing to get through to the other side: a reliable map. 

Of course, a map is only useful if it was charted by someone who knows the way. Which is where we get to the point. If we could summarize what digital marketing agencies (DMAs) do in metaphorical terms it would be this:

“A Good Digital Marketing Agency helps determine your destination, assesses the terrain, and provides a map to get there as quickly and safely as possible. A great one takes the journey with you.”

It is very important that you understand these three stages in that process, so let’s dive further into this metaphor. Your DMA is a proverbial guide through the jungle.

A Digital Destination: Do I really need to set one?

We love SMB owners. You are adventurous people, able to take risks and set out into the unknown!

Your charisma and visions are extraordinary, and infectious. But, most of you are quite comfortable not knowing where you’re going. You love the journey, and you have faith that you will get somewhere if you keep striving. The problem is, your staff aren’t so thrilled following you around and around in the jungle in a circle. And it’s easy for your audience to get lost in that process as well.

So that’s where a Digital Marketing Agency comes in.

What’s the end goal? What are some of the landmarks to know we’re going in the right direction (KPIs), and what are some ways we can measure progress (stats and metrics)? Owners often hate this process, but their staff and team members absolutely need it because they cannot read your mind. They want to know exactly what the goal is, and how to measure their own value and success along the way. Equally important is consistency with your messaging so you can capture inbound organic traffic. Then making sure you capitalize as much as possible off of that traffic.

Assessment: Why can’t I just wing my marketing? 

Woe to the business owner who thinks, “Hey, my uncle Vince owned a business, I’ll just ask him for advice and save money.” Think back to our metaphor of a DMA as a guide through the jungle. Are you more likely to want a guide who has one tour under their belt, or a guide who has twenty or thirty tours? How about two to three hundred tours?

The value of working with a DMA stems from the experience they bring. They have been through the jungle so many times that they can actually draw you a map.

Most SMB owners are starting their first business, or maybe their second, but a DMA has had experience with hundreds of businesses. They’ve seen strategies that work over and over again, and they can see how you stack up against the competition, and against the elements working against (or for) you. 

Cartography: Who needs a digital map anyway?

Don’t really want a map for my digital strategy? Why don’t I set out and hope for the best?

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but history has shown that this doesn’t usually go well. You’ve heard the stat about how 90% of all businesses fail, and it’s no secret why: they ALL hoped for the best. 

The ones who make it, that glorious 10% who are buying boats and sending their kids to Harvard, those are the ones who had a plan and stuck to it. They used a map, which means they didn’t waste time. They didn’t go down side roads and dead ends. They didn’t pay a bunch of money for a bunch of useless tools to stuff into their packs, dragging them down and slowing their progress.

We might be getting a little wrapped up in the metaphor, but you catch our drift. You’ll never see a seasoned adventurer set out without a compass, a map and usually even a guide, so don’t just hope for the best in the jungle of the internet either.

Here’s some even better news: a DMA, at least a good one, doesn’t just hand you any old map.

They craft one for your unique business circumstances and priorities. They will take the time to understand your weaknesses and strengths, as well as understand the current market trends. They identify where you have gaps and where you can optimize your current marketing efforts. A true Full-Stack Digital Marketing Agency will provide you with tailored advice based on communication with you, your data, and the experience they bring to the table.

To summarize, the internet is a jungle because it is growing and changing every day. You might be one of the lucky 10 that can hack your way to the other side successfully eventually, but it will take you several times longer than if you had an experienced guide and an accurate map of the best ways to go.

If you are a DIY business owner, and you have all the resources and time you need to keep hacking away until you get there, then great! We salute you and we will continue to post insights, share resources, and be available for your questions along the way.

But we all know most people don’t have that kind of time or those type of resources.

If you want to see growth and profitability, connect with a Digital Marketing Agency, like Proshark that can provide you with a digital roadmap and a strategy for the journey. You’ve put in this much work, let’s charge ahead together with confidence!