2023 is coming (yes, you read that right!).
The new year is a great time to consider hiring a growth marketing agency that can take your marketing efforts to the next level. A growth marketing agency has the power to help you scale and drive revenue, but you have to choose the right one AND properly manage your expectations.
For practical steps on how to vet the best marketing agency for you, check out The Complete Guide to Hiring and Working with a Growth Marketing Agency (Without Going Broke).
But once you actually hire a growth marketing agency, how can you ensure that the relationship is smooth sailing?
Keep reading for the 6 most common mistakes you should avoid when working with a growth marketing agency so that you can best tap into an agency’s potential in 2023.
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The Top 6 Growth Marketing Agency Mistakes to Avoid in 2023
1. Not being prepared to commit to a long-term relationship with your growth marketing agency
The first common mistake to avoid is not being prepared to commit to a long-term relationship with a growth marketing agency.
A growth agency is an investment in your business, and you should be willing to make that kind of commitment. Growth isn’t something that happens overnight—it takes time, effort and patience. If you're not ready for this kind of commitment, then hiring an agency may not be right for you.
It's important to realize that building a healthy marketing relationship with an agency doesn't happen overnight either; it takes time and trust on both sides before things start clicking into place smoothly—so don't rush into anything too quickly!
You should also be aware that the first few months of working with an agency consists of their team getting to know your business so they can craft the most effective campaigns for your goals. Patience on your end is key during this period because you want immediate results. But giving your agency time to get to know your business will ensure that they can effectively service you.
2. Not using marketing automation
Marketing automation is one of the most important elements to a successful growth marketing strategy. It allows you to automate important tasks and campaigns, save hours, track your marketing efforts, and measure their results, which helps you understand what works and what doesn't.
The benefits of using marketing automation are huge. You can:
- Automate your email outreach so that every message looks personalized and targeted at each customer
- Create rules that will automatically filter out non-qualified leads so they don't clog up your database
- Use real-time data from Google Analytics or other platforms to provide insight into audience behavior
- And much more!
Marketing automation can increase qualified leads by 451% (that’s not a typo). All this to say that hiring a growth marketing agency that doesn’t have marketing automation expertise is a mistake. A marketing automation agency might even be the best bet for your business, so make sure to look into those while you’re searching for your agency.
3. Not letting your growth marketing agency talk to other departments
You want to be able to work with a growth marketing agency that understands the sales process. Marketing and sales alignment is a major component to success on both ends.
Your agency should be able to talk to your sales team and understand how they operate. That means funnel definition, seamless lead handoff, KPI alignment, and much more.
You also want both teams to be strategically aligned. This way, the growth marketing team focuses on creating content that helps fill sales pipelines and make sure leads are qualified for sales, and both departments are able to achieve common business objectives in harmony.
4. Expecting SEO Efforts to Work Overnight
Do not expect search engine optimization (SEO) efforts to work overnight! SEO is a long-term strategy, and it takes time for search engines to index your website or blog and to get higher on SERP.
If you’re looking for a short-term marketing solution, SEO is not it. It's an investment that will help you grow your business over time.
While there are some low-hanging SEO fruits (like improving site speed) that can positively impact your website quickly, the deeper SEO strategies will take time. And it’s worth it.
68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and 61% of B2B marketers stated that SEO and organic traffic generate more leads than any other marketing initiative.
5. Not aligning on KPIs and reporting
Picture this: You hire an agency, and then, one day, you realize you have no idea what they’re doing.
This lack of communication is usually because the agency isn't doing what they say they're going to do (or they're not even sure themselves), which can leave you wondering if your money is being well spent.
The solution?
Reports and KPIs! Even if your growth marketing agency doesn't want them (this is a red flag), ask for them anyway. Reports are an important tool for keeping track of progress and seeing what's working and what isn't. Also, make sure the reports are thorough - this will show that both parties are invested in making the partnership successful.
It’s also crucial that you frequently realign on KPIs and monitor them on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. This will help guarantee that your agency is working on what’s important to your business instead of what’s solely important to theirs.
6. Not asking your growth marketing agency for long-term goals upfront
You’re about to hire a growth marketing agency, and you want to make sure it does more than just bring in traffic. You want them to help you set goals and achieve those goals in the future. But how do you know what kind of metrics would be useful for measuring success?
The first thing to do is set some long-term objectives—goals that could take several months or even years before they are achieved. This will give your agency something concrete to aim for, as well as give them time to build up their strategies around your long-term goals rather than focusing on short-term tactics that may only provide temporary results.
In addition, setting these longer-term objectives will help keep both parties focused when it comes time for weekly or bi-weekly check-ins; there needs to be something specific being measured so companies can determine whether or not progress has been made towards achieving their overall goal.
Hiring a Growth Marketing Agency: The Conclusion
There’s no reason to make these mistakes when hiring your growth marketing agency. Avoid them, and you’ll save money, time, and resources. Plus, you can develop a long-term, effective relationship with your agency.
Want to Know More?
Looking to work with a marketing automation agency that will work with your to achieve scalable results? Get in touch!
