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You might assume that hiring a marketing agency is the express route to success. Handshakes are exchanged, checks are signed, passwords shared, and then the wait begins for the transformative results. However, as many have discovered, this road can often be fraught with unexpected hurdles, turns, and sometimes, it leads to a dead end. So, what’s a better alternative?
If you’ve found yourself in a scenario where the anticipated traffic of leads and results never materialises, or where the seamless execution of content and campaigns becomes an uphill battle, you’re not alone.
The truth is, the right marketing agency can get you great results. However, what we’ve found is that the most impactful and authentic marketing comes from within your own company, from those who intimately understand your business — your employees.
As an agency, we offer both digital marketing retainers but also coaching programs, which we’ve found to be even more impactful.
In this article, you’ll find out exactly why you should hire a marketing coach instead of a marketing agency, and how to do just that.
The Problems with Most Marketing Agencies
Let’s be real—content marketing is a tough nut to crack. Your content is like the bridge between you and your customers, and if it’s not solid, your chances of making sales take a hit.
Nowadays, people want businesses they can trust, and that trust comes when your content genuinely answers their questions and feels like it’s coming from a friend, not a sales pitch.
But here’s the kicker—when you pass off this crucial task to a marketing agency, things get tricky.
Some of the problems you might experience include:
- Losing your unique voice
- Time crunch and output limits
- Red tape holding you back
Losing Your Unique Voice
Content made by agencies might not sound like you at all. It can end up feeling fake or, even worse, just plain wrong.
Agencies can gather facts about your business, sure, but capturing your real tone, culture, and what it’s actually like to work with you? That may be a bit out of reach.
We’re not saying it’s impossible for an agency to write a great blog article or email newsletter for your business. It’s just that, no matter the case, it’ll never be as authentic as it would if it came from within your own company.
Outsourcing might help you get the job done, but it’s often insourcing your marketing that gives you true power.
Time Crunch and Output Limits
Working with an agency means you’re on a time crunch.
You’ve got to share their attention with other clients, and your meetings, project hours, and deliverables are all laid out in your contract.
There probably wouldn’t be too much wiggle room for extra blogs, surprise videos, or any sudden changes in the plan.
On top of this, to truly craft content that answers your buyer’s questions accurately, (which is exactly what you want to be doing to generate traffic, leads and sales) the content writer/s will need to have meetings with both your sales team and internal expertise.
Think about it.
Your sales team is on the frontline answering buyer questions every single day. They know what their buyers seek and what questions come up in sales calls.
47% of buyers view at least 3–5 pieces of content before they contact a sales representative.
If a Content Writer can answer these questions through blog articles, sales reps can save time answering the same questions on their calls and instead spend more of their time on selling.
This ultimately leads to more sales. That’s why it’s important for sales and marketing to work together. On top of that, content writers may need the knowledge of product or service experts in your team to write specific blog articles accurately.
But when you’re working with an agency, finding time to hold these meetings is going to be more of a challenge. After all, agencies have other commitments within their own team and other clients. Instead, when you insource your marketing, it’s much easier to set up meetings between sales, marketing and internal experts to facilitate content marketing.
Red Tape Holding You Back
Creating a good content strategy means churning out at least three top-notch blog articles a week.
But, working with an agency, the timeline gets squeezed, and there’s often a ton of red tape to cut through.
Agencies won’t just stroll across the hall to get a quick answer, and even a small change can end up taking a bunch of emails or hours to get the green light, even if you’re working with a niche content marketing agency
It’s not necessarily the agency’s fault. It’s just that when you work with an external organisation, especially when it comes to marketing, the approval process within your own team is generally extended, and there’s more hoops to jump through.
This can turn content creation into a long and frustrating process.
Ultimately, the path to rocking content marketing hits some major roadblocks when you’re rolling with an agency.
Yes, it can work. We know this because we’ve worked with clients as an agency and have seen amazing results.
However, where we’ve seen the most impact is with coaching.
Benefits of Hiring an Outside Marketing Coach
What’s so good about a marketing coach? After all, they don’t do any of your work for you, so how could they be better than an agency?
The main benefits of a marketing coach include:
- Boosting authenticity and quality
- Saving money
- Long term competitive edge
Boosting Authenticity and Quality
Sure, outsourcing your content creation might seem like the easy road, but here’s the real deal—nothing beats doing it yourself.
Crafting content that resonates with your customers is a game-changer, and the businesses winning with inbound marketing? They’re the ones relying on their in-house experts, writers, and videographers.
They don’t leave their voice and the essence of what they do to an agency.
Nope, they build their A-team and handle it in-house.
Saving Money
It’s tempting to think a marketing agency is a time and money saver, but in the long run, coaching and building your own team is the pocket-friendly winner. How so?
- Finite Investment: Agencies can tie you down, and you’re at their mercy to keep those leads flowing. A marketing coach? They’re here to guide you in hiring and training an internal dream team. A coach only sticks around for as long as they need to. Once the client is up and running and succeeding, the coach’s job is complete, as opposed to a typical marketing agency service, which you are forced to rely on month in and month out
- Tool Mastery: Ever feel like your marketing tools are playing hide and seek with their full potential? An agency won’t show you the ropes. A marketing coach? They ensure you’re squeezing every drop of usefulness from your tools
And that’s the real difference. When you work with a coach, you build the systems and processes in house, so by the time you’re done, you don’t need to work with an agency anymore, and you end up saving money.
Long-Term Competitive Edge
Money isn’t the only game-changer. Working with a marketing coach sets you up for lasting competitive perks. In particular, it assists with:
- Team Harmony: Siloed teams are like oil and water for quality marketing. Agencies won’t fix that. But a marketing coach will help align your teams, set goals, create processes, and foster habits for better communication and collaboration within your own team
- Skill Boost: When we work with clients we share information and help teach their team. However, there’s a big difference in learning when you do it yourself and have a coach versus when you rely on a third party to do the work for you. When you invest in a marketing coach, that’s an investment in your squad, nurturing internal skills, knowledge, and capacities. It’s the difference between a quick fix and a lifelong advantage. Remember the saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s the marketing coach’s promise.
Find a Coach for Your Business
Now that you know the benefits of a Marketing Coach as opposed to an agency, you’re probably wondering where to find your coach.
However, before you even start looking for a coach, it’s important to understand the nuances of coaching itself.
See, just like with marketing agencies, there are good and not so good coaches. And, it’s important to be able to distinguish between them so that you can choose a coach that empowers your business.
At RedPandas, we have Marketing Coaches that have helped over 200 businesses, however we recommend learning about the problems with typical business coaches before you hire a coach.
🔎 Read: The Problem With Typical Business Coaches
Learn about the problems with typical business coaches so that you can find a coach that’s right for your team.
