Not every business should hire a Digital Marketing Agency to solve their marketing problems. For some businesses, working with an agency might not be the right decision while for others it could be the best decision to grow their business.
We are bold to say this from our experience in speaking with countless business owners and working with hundreds of clients over the years.
Helping businesses understand whether or not they should work with a marketing agency has always been one of the initial discussions we have with business owners that reach out to us. There are quite a few things to take into consideration – which all boils down to key numbers.
Take this short quiz to know if working with a digital marketing agency is right for your business.
There are 7 questions in the quiz below. Your answers should reveal whether or not hiring a digital marketing agency would work for you?
1. What share of your business profit comes from new customers compared to existing customers?
a. 1 – 10%
b. 10 – 25%
c. 25 – 50%
d. More than 50%
Key Insight:
What share of your profit comes from new customers compared to existing customers is a key question in determining whether or not you should hire an external marketing agency.
If your business relies mainly on getting repeat customers, then you don’t need to do additional marketing and won’t need to hire an agency.
If, on the other hand, you rely on constantly attracting new customers to buy your product or service (because what you offer is usually just a one-off purchase), then you will have to keep the online marketing wheels in motion at all times – and the knowledge and expertise of a digital marketing agency could be crucial to your success.
2. What is your average gross profit margin per new customer?
a. Less than 10%
b. 10% to 25%
c. 25% to 50%
d. More than 50%
Key Insight:
When it comes to your average gross profit per new customer, basically, if your profit margin isn’t big enough to cover the cost of your agency management fees or online ad spend, chances are you won’t be able to afford a digital agency.
3. How much are you willing to spend on your online marketing monthly?
a. ₦0 – ₦100,000
b. ₦100,000 – ₦500,000
c. ₦500,000 – ₦1,000,000
d. More than ₦1,000,000
Key Insight:
Whether you hire a digital marketing agency or keep things in-house, how much you are willing to spend on your digital marketing plan will play an important part in the success of your marketing program.
The size of your marketing budget will mostly depend on the size of your business, the size of your goals, how quickly you plan to achieve these goals. But at the minimum, every business should be ready to invest in their marketing programs if they wish to see results.
How much you are willing to spend on your marketing will be a deciding factor in whether you should employ an agency.
4. How many digital marketing experts do you currently employ (including social media experts, content writers, SEO experts, PPC/Social media ads experts)?
a. 0 – 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4 +
Key Insight:
The number of digital marketing experts you currently employ is an indicator of your commitment to digital marketing.
The advantage of employing people to manage your digital marketing is that they understand your business from the inside.
The disadvantages are the hidden costs of employment and the lack of work in just one specialty field to constitute a full-time job for one person.
However, with an external marketing agency, you get access to a team of subject-matter expert who invoice who send you only one invoice for the project they have worked on.
5. Does your business get a good return on investment from your current digital marketing plan or strategy?
a. No – we see poor results for our efforts
b. Not sure – don’t know how to measure it/we don’t keep track of results
c. Yes, not bad – we get a few leads from our online marketing programs.
d. Yes, completely satisfied – we get a lot of new business from our online marketing
Key Insight:
An important factor is whether you get a good return on investment from your current digital marketing plan. If you get a poor return, or you don’t know how to measure your results, hiring a digital marketing agency to either train your staff or to handle your entire digital strategies for you.
6. What is the current conversion rate on your website?
a. 1% or less
b. 2 – 4%
c. 5 – 9%
d. 10% +
Key Insight:
The current conversion rate on your website is a good indicator of how successful your marketing programs are. If your conversion rate is high (over 10%), you already understand how to get traffic to your website and how to convert it. If it is low (4% or less), then might need to speak with a digital marketing agency that provide conversion optimization services.
7. When you think of hiring for marketing, you imagine the relationship to be like…
a. A partnership – We each have our strengths and we’re in this together!
b. You’ll be telling them what to do every step of the way
1. What share of your business profit comes from new customers compared to existing customers?
1-10% | 10 |
10-25% | 6 |
25-50% | 3 |
Over 50% | 0 |
2. What is your average gross profit margin per new customer?
Less than 10% | 10 |
10-25% | 6 |
25-50% | 3 |
Over 50% | 0 |
3. How much are you willing to spend on your online marketing monthly?
₦0 – ₦100,000 | 10 |
₦100,000 – ₦500,000 | 6 |
₦500,000 – ₦1,000,000 | 3 |
More than ₦1,000,000 | 0 |
4. How many digital marketing experts do you currently employ (including social media experts, content writers, SEO experts, PPC/Social media ads experts)?
0-1 | 0 |
2 | 3 |
3 | 6 |
4+ | 10 |
5. Does your business get a good return on investment from your current digital marketing plan or strategy?
No – we see poor results for our efforts | 0 |
Not sure – don’t know how to measure it/we don’t keep track of results | 3 |
Yes, not bad – we get a few leads from our online marketing programs. | 6 |
Yes, completely satisfied – we get a lot of new business from our online marketing | 10 |
6. What is the current conversion rate on your website?
1% or less | 0 |
2 – 4% | 3 |
5 – 9% | 6 |
10% + | 10 |
7. When I think of hiring for marketing, I imagine the relationship to be like…
A partnership – We each have our strengths and we’re in this together! | 5 |
I’ll be telling them what to do every step of the way | 0 |
Score: 58-and-above Points
It looks as though you don’t need a digital marketing agency at the moment. This is either because you handle things in-house or because hiring an agency is not a practical option given your type of business/customers/budget.
If there are areas of your digital marketing you need help with, sitting down with an agency to chat through a few options might be a good idea.
Score: 37 – 57 Points
You might find hiring a digital marketing agency to be of help to your business – particularly if you have limited marketing resources or know-how. Whether you outsource your social media management or upskill your team with training from a digital marketing agency, you will soon start to see results.
Score: 20 – 36 Points
Hiring a digital marketing agency will almost certainly be of benefit for your business. Lack of resources, time and poor results all mean it’s time to seek external help to boost awareness of your company and ultimately increase profit.
Score: 0-19 Points
You should hire a digital marketing agency as soon as you can to grow your business!
Already decided to hire a digital marketing agency?
Congrats! Your business is ready to work with a team of marketing professionals, helping you achieve your business’ specific goals.
A few things to consider when hiring a digital marketing agency in Nigeria:
Want to see if our agency will be a right fit for your business? Schedule a free 15-min demo call below.
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