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Does your company really need PR/Marketing agency support?

Good Things Come in Threes…

For SMEs – small to medium sized enterprises with a turnover of less than £50 million – it can be a difficult decision deciding whether or not to engage the services of an external PR/marketing agency.

At first glance, it may seem more cost effective to employ a PR or marketing person to work in house. But is that the best option?

What’s Happening in your Business?

Let’s wind back to the events that might be happening in your business that make you realise you need help with PR/marketing.

The big three reasons are:

  1. Lack of expertise – your in-house people just don’t have the skill sets
  2. Overload – your people are struggling to keep up with the day-to-day tasks
  3. Poor results – your current efforts are not yielding the results you expected

 outsourced marketing services - overload

Hot on the heals of the big three reasons are a number of other pressing factors that might be in play:

  1. No strategy – the company lacks a comprehensive marketing strategy
  2. Wood for the trees – you need an objective 3rd party to reveal blind spots
  3. Upcoming major event – requiring more specialised knowledge/experience

outsourced marketing services - no strategy

A Team of Experts can Help

Solving these types of challenges usually requires a team of experts rather than a single individual. All of which points to the hiring of an external agency to work alongside your team.

But how do you find the right agency?

Again, there are three key factors that the agency must have:

  1. Experience – they must have experience in your specific industry
  2. Market Knowledge – they have to understand your market sector(s)
  3. Specialisation – if you’re a B2B business, you need a B2B PR/marketing agency

outsourced marketing services - experience

Next, you need proof of their performance:

  1. Case studies – real life examples of challenges they have overcome
  2. Testimonials – straight from the horse’s mouth from clients in similar sectors
  3. Previous work – attention to detail, creativity, consistency

Culture and Values

Above all this, there are many that would argue the most important factor is: do you get on with the people in the agency? Are their culture and values in line with your own? Do you feel you can trust them?

Popular Outsourced PR/Marketing Functions

If you’re still not sure about whether to partner with an external agency, here are some of the most popular PR/marketing functions that SMEs outsource (spoiler alert – there are more than three…):

  1. Strategic Issue Analysis – a plan for future growth
  2. Public Relations – media & stakeholder communications
  3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – staying up-to-date with changing algorithms
  4. Website Design & Development – your window to the world…
  5. Google Ads (PPC) – attracting qualified sales leads every month
  6. Advertising – for visibility and credibility
  7. Content Creation – from blogs & articles to press releases & case studies…
  8. Email Marketing – regular communication to target market’s desktops/mobiles
  9. Corporate Identity – the glue that holds everything together & attracts prospects
  10. Graphic Design – maintaining your visual identity
  11. Video Case Studies/Testimonials – powerful proof of your abilities & skills
  12. Social Media Management – strategy, planning and content subjects to engage

Help is at Hand

This simple guide will help you decide whether or not choosing external PR/marketing support is right for your business.

If it is, and you work in the B2B arena, we’d love to help. We’d be delighted to join you for a coffee (your place or ours) to talk about your company’s specific challenges and how Leapfrog can help.

Let’s talk…either call Alan Myers on 0116 278 77 88 or email him: ideas@leapfrog.uk.com

Thank You! We look forward to hearing from you.