5 Reasons to Hire a Branding & Marketing Agency

Having an internal creative team is one thing, but when you’ve got one person or even a few people wearing way too many hats, you could have a problem when it comes to the image of your company. Some businesses feel an in-house team saves time or that hiring a second party is out of monetary scope. Perhaps. Perhaps not. To help you weigh the options, check out our top 5 reasons to bring an agency on board. You might be surprised! 1. Turnover Internal turnover can lead to an inconsistent brand image for your organization. Just as you get one person trained on corporate branding policy, he/she leaves for another position at another company. If it isn’t a top priority, training for the next employee is often placed on the back burner. Allowing an outside firm to handle your branding needs is a great way to make sure these guidelines don’t slip through the cracks from one employee to the next. 2. Time Let's face it. Unless you have someone on staff who is 100%, wholly dedicated to marketing and design, there's just not enough time in the day to keep up with the branding needs of a mid-sized business. To-do lists are forgotten, social media posts are missed, ads are only half-way complete, concepts are not well thought-out, and your brand image begins to vanish. Having an agency partner gives you the assurance that your needs are met on a daily basis and handled with complete care. 3. Skill Rarely can you find a master of both marketing and design. You may find an employee that understands how to use the design programs and can churn out acceptable items for branding purposes. You may find an employee that understands the best avenues for marketing your brand. However, it is extremely unlikely that you will find both. Successful agencies have it all. As a client, you should receive a thoroughly vetted marketing plan that encompasses multiple channels (social media, digital display ads, print, etc.), accompanied by strategic planning and monitoring. For example, let's say you sell locally-made bath products and want to update your logo to catch the in-store consumer's eye. Not only could an agency designer provide you with killer graphics, the brand strategist could suggest adding a QR code to the label to drive additional traffic to your website  (also updated with said new logo) and promote further sales. The agency's objective should always be to promote accessibility and cohesiveness that keep your brand thriving. In this same respect, an agency may bring up relevant, strategic points that are often overlooked by an internal staff member. 4. Money Yes, we meant to type “money.” Hiring an agency can actually SAVE money. You can pay internal employees to try their best at design, e-blasting, blogging, posting to and managing social media outlets, strategizing ad placements, etc. However, time is money. Are you really using it wisely if you ask employees to do something beyond their skill sets? If you have to reinvent the wheel on a continual basis, have you thought about the money you’ve lost in the process? If you hire someone internally to take on your specific marketing needs, have you thought about the money that goes into health benefits, vacation days and training for a new employee? If efficiency is important to your organization, consider letting an agency handle it. The comfort level, speed and amount of experience brought to the table is worth it. In addition, your getting an entire team of skilled professionals at your fingertips, very often for less than what you would pay a salaried employee or two. 5. Perspective It’s hard to analyze yourself. Determining the bottom line is an internal task, but it’s easy to miss strategic opportunities designed to achieve your goals without outside perspective. That’s where the agency comes in. The “how” should involve several strategies that match the right design with the right message, with the right vehicle. It’s harder than it sounds, but that’s the agency’s job - to figure out trends among your target audience, where they can be reached and how you can connect with them in a memorable way. At Nice, we live and breathe branding and marketing on a daily basis. Our team consists of experts in design, social media management, copywriting and strategy, just to name a few. We would love to talk with you about how we can create a strong, successful personality for your brand that makes sense and is strategically placed among your perspective clients. The Result? It's done right the first time.