Everything You Need to Know about Strategic Marketing Agencies
Choosing to work with a marketing agency is an important decision and should not be rushed into. You want your brand to stand out from the crowd and deliver your message while amplifying your voice to the right people, by the right people. Therefore, making the right decision about the marketing agency with whom you work is critical.
What is a full-service agency?
A full-service marketing agency, like Senspoint, is one that can provide all marketing services and activities for your brand, including strategy, branding, advertising, and so much more. Differing from a specialized agency, a full-service agency includes many skilled marketing professionals who can take your brand to the next level on all fronts, rather than just focusing efforts on one niche.
Every brand has different needs. You do not need to employ every service of a full-service agency. Instead, you should work with your agency to determine specific services that your brand needs. Agencies have the knowledge to be able to listen to you, and work with you to determine the best steps for your brand.
What is strategic marketing?
Strategic marketing, which can also be called a marketing strategy, is the overall picture of your brand. It is the ultimate plan which outlines your brand’s goals, dreams, and aspirations, and informs the tactics required to fulfill these objectives. All the other marketing tasks and operations fall within the scope of the marketing strategy, and all marketing decisions are made within the scope of your strategy.
All successful businesses and brands have a clear, documented strategy outlining the direction they want to head in, and the numerous steps required to get there. It creates a sustainable competitive advantage that informs the future of your brand. Through focused and comprehensive market research, strategic agencies can deliver up to date and effective marketing techniques with their clients.
Traditional vs Digital Marketing
Traditional and digital marketing techniques employ different methods of achieving your brand’s goals and marketing objectives. Traditional marketing involves any form of marketing that uses offline media to reach an audience, utilizing techniques such as magazine ad placement, billboard advertising, point-of-sale promotions, and television advertising to garner the attention of your audience.
There is a common misconception that these techniques are outdated and no longer effective. While there is an increasing necessity for people to enter the digital environment with their marketing, traditional marketing still has a significant impact. It is a great way to have a long-lasting impact on the consumer’s mind. For example, Point of Purchase (POP) promotions have an enormous impact on purchase behavior, with studies showing that up to 40% of consumers change their initial preferences once exposed to POP promotions.
As the name suggests, digital marketing includes all types of marketing within the digital sphere – social media, websites, email campaigns, digital advertisements, and much more. Digital marketing is more important than ever, with people spending more time on the internet reading news, socializing, buying, and selling. This presents a unique opportunity for a smart online marketing plan.
Digital marketing can be separated into paid media, owned media, and earned media. Paid media includes all media the brand has directly paid for, for example digital pay-per-click advertisements or search engine marketing. Owned media includes media that the brand has control over themselves, such as social media and websites. Earned media includes anything that is out of the brand’s control, such as customer reviews and media coverage.
Which should you choose?
There are many factors that inform what type of marketing you should choose. Various factors include your budget, the target market, and most importantly, what fits within your marketing strategy and goals for the brand. Both types of marketing are crucial components of any marketing plan and have a greater impact on the consumer when employed together. Integrated marketing communications has proven to be a key method in getting your message across the high volume of media, cutting through clutter, and presenting a clear unified voice for your brand in a consolidated campaign.
At Senspoint, we make use of a combination of marketing communications tools. We work with you to determine what techniques will be most effective for your brand. Employing the services of a full-service marketing agency ensures that your brand’s goals are met, satisfying all marketing needs and requirements.
Why you need strategic marketing for your brand
Without strategic marketing, you will be entering the field at a disadvantage. Strategic marketing is crucial for the penetration, growth, and survival of any brand.
A marketing strategy:
- Assesses the present environment and evaluates a brand’s position and performance;
- Determines how well the brand is operative within the larger competitive environment;
- Develops clear marketing objectives, which makes realistic marketing targets possible;
- Aids the development of goods or services that provide the highest revenue to the business; and
- Helps brand owners understand what the customer wants and how to deliver it most effectively.
Why should you use a marketing agency?
The importance of having a full-service marketing agency on your team cannot be overemphasized. Marketing agencies know what works and what doesn’t and possess the experience and skillset to achieve your objectives. An agency gives you and your brand access to resources that are not otherwise available to you – whether it be expert advice, or a computer program you have never heard of.
You may worry that an agency does not know your brand or the desired direction for your brand as well as you do. That’s why you need to work with an agency who listens. At Senspoint, we enjoy learning about your needs and creating a unique brand strategy that tells your story. It is important to us that we work with you, not for you. The best results are delivered when we are part of the team. We make sure we end up with the perfect solution for your brand, which is why collaboration is so important to us. It all starts with a single conversation with us.
