This week’s online marketing blog is for a select few. We want to speak to the agencies and companies out there who currently don’t offer, but are considering branching out (often out of necessity in this day and age) into digital marketing or other online services. Whether you’ve only started to consider it, or gotten so far as to reach the interview process then we’re willing to bet that you’ve already realised how difficult this could be. Not to mention a bit of a gamble. But there is a way to circumnavigate all of this while massively reducing costs: Partnering with an existing digital marketing company. In the past few years some of the more unpleasant facets of competition in the industry have thankfully fallen away and in its place, an environment of co-operation and co-existence has begun to grow. This is the very reason that Hydra Digital exists (if you’re not sure what that means you can learn more here) and with good reason. Working together has proven to be hugely fruitful for all involved, so we thought we’d outline a few reasons why.

Immediate digital marketing offerings.

While there will obviously be a bit of work required to have another agency’s products and services fit the tone of your brand, this is nothing compared to the time, effort and money you will need to put into building these things internally. From sales, through to resources, staff and maintenance you can cut all of this out and get to work sooner on offering additional products to your new and existing clients.

Pre-quality checked work.

Obviously, anyone you’re considering working with will need to show that they know what they’re doing, but once those conversations have been had and you’re satisfied, you can then rest easy knowing that you’ve got a history of quality and expertise to lean back on.

No staff overheads.

As we’ve just pointed out, you’ll cut a lot of costs by partnering with another agency, but there is also the fact that you won’t have to accommodate for extra staff. From desks to hardware, to utilities, wages and anything else that a new staff member will cost your bottom line you can immediately stop worrying about any of it. Not to mention the fact that there won’t have to be a trial period where you assess whether or not the new staff member you hired is the right person for the job in the first place.

Online marketing experts.

While we’re on the staff note, we have unfortunately seen more than a few businesses in your position try to go down the route of hiring someone to build the sorts of products and services required only to then find that they perhaps weren’t everything that they sold themselves to be. This is particularly troublesome when it happens so far into the game because you either have to go back to the drawing board with the interview process or review every bit of process that led you to this point and very likely postpone being able to enter the market. Having a pre-trained team of professionals at your disposal via an existing agency ensures that this problem goes away. Which leads us to the next point…

You probably haven’t considered everything.

You’re an expert at what you do, but it’s important when considering new offerings to recognise that you’re new at this, or at the very least not an expert. Something we’ve seen more than once is that while the lack of knowledge is totally understandable and nothing to be ashamed of, it can lead to bad decisions. Whether it’s thinking that one person can be great at all forms of internet marketing (which they absolutely can’t) and hiring only one person to do something that requires a team, or not knowing what to look for when hiring and getting someone under-qualified or with the wrong expertise, it happens more often than it should.

Also on the note of jobs that require a team, digital marketing almost always does. Whether it’s a graphic designer who can be available when required to your digital marketing professional, a data analyst, a salesperson or a variety of other supporting roles that have to be filled in order to have that marketing person be as effective as possible, this again points to why an existing team is the best way to go.

Another thing to consider is product development. Do you have professionals helping you to build out your internet marketing products advising what is and isn’t realistic or possible? The last thing you want is to spend time putting products and services together that don’t end up lining up with what’s actually achievable. Once again a partnership could save the day here.

Referrals & commissions.

Obviously, when you’re partnered with another business to offer white label or complimentary services there is usually some sort of commission structure in place. While you will obviously markup on wholesale prices, there are also commissions to consider, further increasing the profitability of the work.

On top of that, your referrals won’t only go one way! Part of the nature of Hydra Digital and this new co-operative environment in the online marketing industry is that whenever either business sees the need for services that their partner business can offer, that client gets passed along.

Growing and retaining your existing clients.

Whether you’re looking into these kinds of services because your clients are already asking for them or not, this is the single best way to leverage your existing clients to increase profits and make them “stickier” as you’ll be able to offer more of what they need. It can also help with future sales for obvious reasons and for all of the reasons outlined above, you can achieve this with barely any (if any) outlay on your part and a team of professionals at your disposal ready to go!

So with that all said, if you’d like to know more or start a conversation around the possibilities then feel free to get in touch!