With the ubiquity of computer skills and the current state of the economy, it seems more difficult than ever to choose someone to work with for your marketing needs. Whether it’s hiring a full-time marketing employee, gambling on a freelancer, or choosing to work with an already established creative agency, the situation is more complex than you would expect. You may be surprised to find that the latter is often more effective, and affordable, than you might think.

 4 Reasons to Hire a Creative Agency

1. Flexibility

When hiring a creative agency, you only pay for the design work you need. You decide what the scope of the project entails, and once your goals are accomplished, that’s it. You’re not stuck paying for an employee you don’t need.

2. A Fresh Perspective

There’s a saying about old dogs and new tricks. If you’re not getting results with your current team, telling them to think harder isn’t going to do you much good. Many companies benefit from the fresh perspective brought in by outside creatives. Several additional minds, experienced in many different aspects of marketing, can offer new insight into the situation your company finds itself in.

3. Versatility

Hiring a team of experts in a variety of fields allows you access to competence in a variety of areas. It takes at least 10,000 hours to become an expert in something, and marketing skills (especially if they have anything to do with computers) become obsolete quickly, due to the rapidly changing environment. If you want a great website, a gorgeous logo, tight code, and effective copy, you’re going to need a team working on it.

4. Experience

A good creative agency is able to offer great advice for a simple reason: they’ve done this before, and they know what steps will be effective. Creative agencies work with many clients, so the chances are they’ve already helped someone in a very similar situation to yours. While some aspects of business are beyond anyone’s control (just ask an umbrella manufacturer when there’s a heat wave), sound advice and experience are invaluable in the pursuit of success.

When you do approach a creative agency to engage them, you’ll need a good understanding of what your advertising budget should look like. Of course, one of the benefits of a creative agency’s experience is the ability to help you fine-tune this number. After all, they’ve been in this situation before with many similar clients. However, there are a few good rules of thumb for you to get started with.

Kevin Beare & Co, an international accounting firm, suggests that three factors should determine your marketing budget: what you spent last year, what you estimate your competitors are spending, and your gross sales. They suggest (as an extremely rough estimate) that “steady” growth requires a budget of 2 to 3 percent of sales, while “rapid” growth requires a budget of 5 to 10 percent. These are conservative figures, however, and many companies (especially new ones) see success with budgets of 15 percent or more of sales. Microsoft, for example, spends over 20% of its annual sales on marketing (around $12 billion).

Whether you’re a new company looking for rapid growth or an established organization seeking to maintain your market position, working with a creative agency is an efficient, cost-effective way to meet your marketing goals.

Related Information

When you’re in the market for creative services, you should also consider your process.