Is The Fee You Pay For A Marketing Agency Worth It?

[CianGlic]

It seems to me that there are a large number of marketing agencies out there ripping business owners off.

Some examples:
• Charging more money than they actually help you invest in ads
• Not accurately reporting on ROAS
• Blaming you or another team/company for their poor results
• Not being transparent otherwise keeping you in the dark about the results you are paying for

I would love to hear your opinions on this.

 

[Mr D]

Is the fee you pay worth it?

Presumably yes - if they cause your business to increase sales. The industry keeps selling to a lot of the same people so must be achieving something.

Whether you will benefit ..... that is more open to question.

Not sure how them charging you more money than they actually help you invest in ads is ripping people off. How exactly should they be making money for their business?

Blaming you for poor results? Quite possible. Someone may well be to blame, not all companies are lily white and able to cope with customers.

 

[Mark T Jones]

It's mostly a question of communication

Often exacerbated by a degree of incompetence and greed on either side

Much like the title of this thread, naive business owners engage 'marketing' people - in many guises in the belief that it will take their business up a level

Marketing people go and do their thing without a comprehensive brief achieving their own goals. Customer has different expectations and frequently no back up to handle business generated and blames marketing company.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I wonder what motivated you to create an account just to post this question?

 

[mattk]

One of the problems with marketing is the nebulous nature of its outcomes. As a business owner I want tangible outcomes, x delivered by y date. However, very few marketing companies are willing to work to such a structure, so there is always the possibility that you won't receive the outcomes expected or even worse promised and will therefore feel ripped off.

 

[AstEver]

The two parties are usually to blame when it comes to marketing. The firm outsources advertising without marketing in place. The agencies or guru marketers do advertising without the marketing in place. Add to that communication, trust, misalignment, dysfunctions of both businesses, and many other things.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Waste of time if your running a small business
Get out there and talk to people
Knock on doors
Talk to the right person
If you have a good business that can offer what the customer wants then talk to them

 

[JustGettingOnWithIt]

I think there is an over emphasis on PPC ads that will bring in more business. For my business at least I know it brings diminishing returns quite quickly. It is worth doing but not worth paying a company to do. The only winners are Google etc.

The problem with the industry generally is everyone with a laptop declares themself an expert and spams the whole world by email announcing that. There aren't any barriers to entry so its difficult to find someone good.

PPC is not the be all and end all, it's a tiny part of the bigger picture.

Marketing done properly is worthwhile when each side is realistic.

 

[SillyBill]

Marketing is not sales. Marketing is bringing the (potential) customer to the door or near to it. And there it stops. We have a good partner for marketing and their brief is to help us with what we're not experts in, namely making us look the part and throwing our name out there to people we don't already know. Emphasis on don't already know, we can sell to our own crowd easily enough and so aren't asking for help there. We know the product, the technicals etc. good marketing people know how to deliver the message behind it. That is my take anyway. I've used crap ones which cost us money for nothing we couldn't do ourselves, now got a valued partner which I am usually pretty impressed with. I learned a while back we couldn't be experts in every aspect of business, when you find the right partners it is a huge coup for your business.

 

[AstEver]

Marketing is not sales.

But sales is a part of marketing.

 

[Paul Norman]

I am sure some marketing agencies are ripping people off. I am equally sure some are not.

I would need to see the results they are producing to make any judgement about that.

There should, however, be transparent conversation in both directions about the results - both expected and actually achieved.

 

[CianGlic]

But sales is a part of marketing.

There's a Peep Show reference in there somewhere

 

[CianGlic]

I wonder what motivated you to create an account just to post this question?

I wanted to know what UK business owners thought...

 

[CianGlic]

Waste of time if your running a small business
Get out there and talk to people
Knock on doors
Talk to the right person
If you have a good business that can offer what the customer wants then talk to them

Very fair, Jeremy. But it's hard to do at the moment.

Do you think if you were more familiar with the best ways to manage your online marketing yourself, you would be more in favor of it?

 

[ethical PR]

It seems to me that there are a large number of marketing agencies out there ripping business owners off.

Some examples:
• Charging more money than they actually help you invest in ads
• Not accurately reporting on ROAS
• Blaming you or another team/company for their poor results
• Not being transparent otherwise keeping you in the dark about the results you are paying for

I would love to hear your opinions on this.

that sounds like you are using an SEO agency rather than a marketing agency.

there are good and bad marketing agencies out there - just as there are good and bad accountants, lawyers , restaurants etc.

1. did you take up references for this agency before you worked with them?

2. what measurement did you agree with the agency in your contract with them regarding results

3. it's normal for them to charge more than the ad costs for the consultancy service they are proving you. How else would they make money ?

4. if they are breaking the terms of your contract terminate if and find someone else to work with.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Very fair, Jeremy. But it's hard to do at the moment.

Do you think if you were more familiar with the best ways to manage your online marketing yourself, you would be more in favor of it?

No I'm familiar with the best ways to maket a same day courier company
Our customers need a phone number right away because they dont hang around .They wont spend too much time looking at anything on the internet

I will put one question to you
If your office was on fire
Would you spend 15 minutes studying the local fire brigades Instagram page then send the an email or just dial 999
It's that type of thing

 

[The Byre]

Marketing is a HUGE subject and there is no such thing as hiring an agency and getting results. Marketing starts with the product itself and the very structure of the company, who runs the company and what sort of position that company seeks to establish.

A good marketing agency will sit the client down and go through the basics, starting with who is the client and what are they trying to sell. They should try the product, test it, find out what and why it is better or worse than its' rivals.

There is no point in trying to get the word out about a product to the wrong people - or to the right people but they don't really want the damn thing because it is rubbish.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

My own experience is that we paid a lot of dosh (£1000+ PM) for a agency who talked the talk but did very little for the money, for the small amount of the money i could and did employ a young person who was very computer aware to do the job and save a fortune,

They read up on a few books, followed Google's advice to the letter and got great results,

We had many visits from people offering their marketing skills over the years, most if not all failed on my first question, which was "what's wrong with my sites" where I found out they had not even looked at it

I felt it was better use of my time to know what was happening about my sites, but to let the youngster do the work, with me supervising and working on other things.

 

[AllUpHere]

My own experience is that we paid a lot of dosh (£1000+ PM) for a agency who talked the talk but did very little for the money, for the small amount of the money i could and did employ a young person who was very computer aware to do the job and save a fortune,

They read up on a few books, followed Google's advice to the letter and got great results,

We had many visits from people offering their marketing skills over the years, most if not all failed on my first question, which was "what's wrong with my sites" where I found out they had not even looked at it

I felt it was better use of my time to know what was happening about my sites, but to let the youngster do the work, with me supervising and working on other things.

With respect, did your company not go bust?

 

[Mark T Jones]

We had many visits from people offering their marketing skills over the years, most if not all failed on my first question, which was "what's wrong with my sites" where I found out they had not even looked at it

.

My approach, without exception, to people selling services is to pay close attention to the questions they ask (whilst almost completely ignoring the claims they make).

If they don't ask meaningful questions about my specific goals & circumstances, we ain't going to be dealing together.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

It did indeed go bust after 13 years, which seems to be better than many, workwear is a very competitive market

 

[Chris Ashdown]

With respect a quick look on google does not bring up any site for AllUpHere, do you use the web for marketing your company

 

[CianGlic]

No I'm familiar with the best ways to maket a same day courier company
Our customers need a phone number right away because they dont hang around .They wont spend too much time looking at anything on the internet

I will put one question to you
If your office was on fire
Would you spend 15 minutes studying the local fire brigades Instagram page then send the an email or just dial 999
It's that type of thing

No, but they will ask Google for who to call so having a strong Google My Business presence, along with local SEO (both of which require marketing investment) and a local Google Ads call-only campaign so you're the first number they call.

 

[CianGlic]

Also to follow up here. I actually run a marketing agency so I'm not against them at all. I just wanted to hear what real business owners thought because I have heard complaints of agencies messing owners about.

 

[computerbeing]

It depends on a large number of factors. Have you considered doing marketing in house by hiring someone? Good marketing agencies are worth their money, bad ones are not but perhaps start by considering doing it yourself before outsourcing. It will also help you understand what you are looking for from a marketing agency.

 

[Oluwagbemileke Agboola]

It's mostly a question of communication

Often exacerbated by a degree of incompetence and greed on either side

Much like the title of this thread, naive business owners engage 'marketing' people - in many guises in the belief that it will take their business up a level

Marketing people go and do their thing without a comprehensive brief achieving their own goals. Customer has different expectations and frequently no back up to handle business generated and blames marketing company.

Great contribution here....I love the perspective... Especially when it comes to clearly stating expectation and a plan for sustainability.

 

[ethical PR]

Also to follow up here. I actually run a marketing agency so I'm not against them at all. I just wanted to hear what real business owners thought because I have heard complaints of agencies messing owners about.

Really??? then why weren't you honest in your initial post and then you wouldn't have joined the ranks of according to you 'dodgy marketing agencies messing business owners about'.

And according to your profile you have an SEO business not a marketing agency. Funny how SEO companies call themselves marketing agencies . Do you think that somehow makes you more credible?

 

[japancool]

Also to follow up here. I actually run a marketing agency so I'm not against them at all. I just wanted to hear what real business owners thought because I have heard complaints of agencies messing owners about.

What's the first question you would ask me if I decided to engage you?

 

[Jyothi Tulasi]

In my personal experience, agencies add 2 times more price. But it's always safe to get work done through them as they don't leave you in between the contracted time.

 

[CianGlic]

Really??? then why weren't you honest in your initial post and then you wouldn't have joined the ranks of according to you 'dodgy marketing agencies messing business owners about'.

And according to your profile you have an SEO business not a marketing agency. Funny how SEO companies call themselves marketing agencies . Do you think that somehow makes you more credible?

You managed to determine my business details from the industry sector I chose from a dropdown menu? You also conveniently missed the 50% that says PPC.

One would think, 7,419 posts later - someone might have learned not to make assumptions, but quite the opposite appears to be true.

 

[CianGlic]

What's the first question you would ask me if I decided to engage you?

I would probably ask you what problem you are solving and why you solve it better than anyone else

 

[ethical PR]

You managed to determine my business details from the industry sector I chose from a dropdown menu? You also conveniently missed the 50% that says PPC.

One would think, 7,419 posts later - someone might have learned not to make assumptions, but quite the opposite appears to be true.

No assumptions dearie ........

Whether you specialise in selling SEO or PPC that still doesn't make what you do marketing, nor your agency a marketing agency. Whether you do SEO or PPC is irrelevant.

A marketing agency offers market researching, brand development , social media, events, full service marketing campaigns, promotions, advertising, digital marketing, media planning and buying. They normally outsource PPC/SEO.

You seem to have skirted around the point that it was disingenuous of you to come here asking your question without actually declaring that you work in the wider sector.

 

[Kieran McLean]

Hiring a marketing agency is certainly something you should consider. It's not difficult to find agencies that will charge you £2-3k for a setup and have you earning 2-3x that back in no time. It's just a matter of finding the right ones who take the time to understand your customers and business goals.

 

[thetiger2015]

My own experience is that we paid a lot of dosh (£1000+ PM) for a agency who talked the talk but did very little for the money, for the small amount of the money i could and did employ a young person who was very computer aware to do the job and save a fortune,

To be fair, for £1k p/month an agency isn't going to have much room for doing anything exciting. Employing an in-house person to do bits for that budget is probably best anyway.

The budgets I've been quoted in the past go from £5k p/month on a quarterly contract to £22k p/month but that all involves utilising their team of photographers, graphic designers, web developers and PPC/SEO specialists - you couldn't hire that much talent for £22k per month and you'd also have to buy them all the equipment they need before they even started.

Outsourcing marketing to an agency is largely useless for micro businesses. Unless you're intending on global domination and doing exciting stuff like TV adverts and growing your business quickly before selling to something like an investment group etc. for the upper millions of pounds. In which case, you better have deep pockets because it takes a lot of effort to get in front of that many customers.

 

[ethical PR]

Hiring a marketing agency is certainly something you should consider. It's not difficult to find agencies that will charge you £2-3k for a setup and have you earning 2-3x that back in no time. It's just a matter of finding the right ones who take the time to understand your customers and business goals.

Can you let us know what data you have based this comment on ?

What does £2-3K set up cover exactly ?

In what way would paying for this 'set-up' generate the 3x investment profit levels you indicate ???

 

[fisicx]

Hiring a marketing agency is certainly something you should consider. It's not difficult to find agencies that will charge you £2-3k for a setup and have you earning 2-3x that back in no time. It's just a matter of finding the right ones who take the time to understand your customers and business goals.

A lot depends on the business. If you sell jam at the local farmer's markets I doubt you will get those sort of returns. And an undertaker is limited by the number of deceased in their locality.

There may be some who would benefit from your services but a lot of small business are already working at capacity.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

And an undertaker is limited by the number of deceased in their locality.

Don't need a marketing consultant...
Just need a serial killer...

 

[Stuart_Walker]

A lot depends on the business. If you sell jam at the local farmer's markets I doubt you will get those sort of returns. And an undertaker is limited by the number of deceased in their locality.

There may be some who would benefit from your services but a lot of small business are already working at capacity.

That's an interesting point and one that a good agency would identify pretty quickly>

How are you going to deal with all of these leads you want?

If you don't have a process and you're not sure how you will close a sale then it's pointless paying an agency.

Bad ones will take your money and blame you afterwards, good ones will tell you what you need to work on before they can help you

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Any marketer is unable to do the job until they know what is to be achieved as without that information it's meaningless.

 

[Stuart_Walker]

Any marketer is unable to do the job until they know what is to be achieved as without that information it's meaningless.

True but let's be fair about this, there are plenty that can talk the talk...