Agency is a broad term, but in general we define agency as a group of service providers that specialize in helping companies add capabilities and execute quickly without having to hire or build that intellectual property from scratch. We believe 2021 is the year of the digital marketing agency. Why? Because everything changed, fast, very fast, and adaptation of the new rules of business is your new competitive advantage… or your downfall.
But why not stay internal? Hiring expert digital marketers or building a digital marketing team is extremely challenging:
- Very little supply: Digital marketing is a relatively new field. Not only that, it has changed dramatically over just the last 10 years. Very few individuals are versed into today’s strategies unless they’ve practiced daily.
- It requires both leadership and execution: Connecting business strategy to marketing strategy, understanding the whole picture of the business and how marketing fits into it.
- It takes time: Finding the right individuals can take months. Onboarding and educating enough to make a strategic impact and drive the brand narrative forward can take even longer. We don’t have 6+ months to wait to begin adapting.
- Your company is busy enough: Often, if you’re able to hire that person or team, they are throttled by a lack of access to needs like leadership guidance and development resources.
- You’re relying on one expert: Even if you find a great marketer, you’re missing out on the multiplier effect that comes with many experts collaborating to solve your business problems.
The challenges listed are driving massive demand and growth for full-stack demand generation agencies (often called performance marketing agencies). Companies like ours exist to overcome these challenges and drive your digital initiatives. With full-stack capabilities, the right partner is able to guide your organization from marketing vision, to strategy, to execution.
Here is what an effective full-stack performance marketing agency looks like:
- A growth framework: Experienced leadership with a tried and tested growth framework for intentional marketing.
- Strategic guidance: The ability to communicate and guide the narrative. Things like PPC or SEO are tactics, not a strategy. You win with strategy.
- Full-stack marketing: Expert marketers excel in ALL the tools of digital: Analytics, content, paid, organic, social media.
- Design and creative capabilities: The ability to visually tell your story and educate prospects.
- Software development: Fast and agile development is a must in the digital world. Simple needs like a landing page should not be a challenge.
Flawless digital execution is no longer an option, there is no “getting your feet wet”. Innovative and adaptive organizations are bringing in experts who know what it takes to build and manage digital demand from the ground up. What is your company doing to win during the next 10 years? Let’s discuss Tweet at me here.
