In 2021, global marketing spend is projected to reach $1.3 trillion, with digital marketing spend hitting $306 billion.

Wondering where to invest your marketing dollars this year for the biggest impact?

Many small and midsize businesses (SMBs) look to marketing agencies to answer that question and maximize their return from their campaigns.

If you want to choose the best marketing agency partner, you need to understand what a marketing agency does and what services they provide.

In this post, we’ll answer the question, “What is a marketing agency?” and give you some quick tips for choosing the best marketing agency for your business.

Ready to connect with PA’s top-rated marketing agency?

What does a marketing agency do?

First, let’s look at the definition of “marketing agency.”

Marketing agencies, also called marketing firms or marketing companies, help clients implement and manage marketing strategies to achieve their business goals.

Here’s an overview of what a marketing agency will do for your business:

• Identify valuable marketing strategies: Marketing agencies work with clients to pinpoint marketing strategies that will drive the best business results and maximize return on investment (ROI).
• Implement marketing solutions: Marketing agencies execute and manage marketing campaigns for clients.
• Evaluate marketing results: Marketing agencies monitor marketing efforts and use data to improve campaign results.

Now you have a big picture idea of the role of a marketing agency. But what’s the difference between a marketing agency and a marketing firm — and which should you choose?

We’ll cover that next!

Marketing firm vs. marketing agency: What’s the difference?

You may notice some companies brand themselves as “marketing firms” or “marketing agencies” — and even business marketing firms.

While it’s going to seem confusing, the terms “marketing firm” and “marketing agency” generally mean an equivalent thing — a corporation working with clients to plan, create, and manage marketing campaigns. during this post, we’ll use the marketing terms interchangeably.

If marketing firms and agencies are essentially equivalent, how does one choose the simplest one?

Various sorts of agencies exist within the realm of selling, each offering different marketing services. So, you’ll want to select a marketing agency experienced within the specific marketing services you would like.

Types of marketing agencies and services they offer

Let’s look at the marketing services provided by three types of marketing agencies:

Full-service digital marketing agency

If you work with a full-service Internet marketing agency, you should have access to a range of services, including:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
• Social media management and social media advertising
• Web design and development
• Website maintenance
• Content marketing
• Email marketing
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
• Review management
• And more!

If you want access to a number of marketing services, you’ll want to partner with a full-service marketing agency like Digitizal.

Specialized marketing agency

Boutique or specialized marketing agencies may offer you access to at least one or more of the services listed above.

For example, an SEO agency can assist you to manage your program optimization campaigns, while an internet design agency focuses on designing and developing websites.

Some full-service agencies like Digitizal offer specialized services in areas like SEO, PPC, and more. So, keep that in mind if you’d wish to invest in several specialized services.

Traditional marketing agency

Unlike digital marketing agencies, traditional marketing agencies focus on traditional marketing services like:

• Public relations
• Brand management
• Print marketing
• Broadcast marketing on television or radio

Ultimately, your needs, budget, and business goals will determine the type of marketing agency that’s best for your SMB.

3 marketing agency benefits

If you’re not convinced working with a marketing agency is the right move for your business, here are three marketing agency benefits you should consider:

1.       Marketing agencies help you identify result-driving strategies

Not sure which services and marketing channels are best for your company?

A top marketing agency will help you create an overarching marketing strategy to drive the biggest results for your business.

With a solid strategy in place, you can better evaluate the impact of your marketing — and you’ll be able to identify the channels that contribute most to your goals.

2. Marketing agencies help you manage and implement campaigns

If you lack the technical expertise needed to launch and manage campaigns, marketing agencies can help.

Working with a marketing agency gives you access to industry experts who can effectively manage your campaigns, so you can focus on managing your business.

You’ll save time, and your agency can leverage its expertise to position your SMB for long-term success.

3.       Marketing agencies help you monitor results and optimize campaigns

Marketing strategies require continual monitoring and optimization to deliver the simplest return — and marketing agencies will keep a finger on the heartbeat of your campaigns.

Agencies like Digitizal offer custom reporting, so you’ll see exactly where your marketing spend goes.

If you’re not proud of the results from a selected channel, agencies can assist you to adjust your campaigns or channel spend into the services that contribute most to your goals.

Why choose a full-service marketing agency?

Not sure what type of marketing agency is best for you?

Take a look at three benefits of a full-service marketing agency:

1.       Full-service marketing agencies streamline your campaign management

A full-service marketing agency may be a one-stop buy everything, from SEO to PPC, web design, social media marketing, and more.

When you work with a full-service agency like Digitizal, you’ll get a fanatical account manager who interfaces with various teams. This streamlines communication — and you won’t need to worry about playing phone tag or corresponding with multiple agencies.

Full-service marketing agencies allow you to streamline your marketing, so you’ll easily manage all of your campaigns in one place.

2.       Full-service marketing agencies integrate strategies for the best results

Full-service agencies also are helpful if you would like to take a position in multiple services.

With full-service agencies, you’ve got access to experts in several marketing channels — and that they bring their combined expertise to drive the simplest results for your business.

In addition, full-service agencies assist you to remain agile. So, if a marketing strategy isn’t driving the results you would like, they will quickly pivot and channel marketing spends to the tactics that get you the simplest ROI.

3.       Full-service marketing agencies save you time and money by bundling services

Working with a full-service agency can also save you time and money.

Some full-service agencies allow you to bundle services or offer discounts for investing in multiple services.

You’ll also save time by working with one team to manage numerous campaigns.