It’s crunch time for your startup. You’ve raised your initial funds and are growing - fast. Now, it’s time to start preparing for the next round of funding. Your team is strong, your finances are in order, but your marketing needs are growing more rapidly than your in-house team can effectively handle. What is a savvy entrepreneur, such as yourself, to do?
At this pivotal junction, the number one service your startup should invest in is a turnkey online marketing solution from a reputable inbound marketing agency.
Here’s why:
While no one else can replace your team when it comes to building and developing your product, there are some processes that outside experts can help with. An agency with experienced professionals who deeply know the ins and outs of online marketing will ensure that your outward-facing activities do your startup justice.
The marketing team that will be available to you, if you partner with an agency, will be seasoned and knowledgeable across the board, and you can harness their expertise in a way that works for you and your marketing budget. The best agency will make it their mission to ensure their activities are in line with your vision.
This kind of solution will ensure that you have access to the newest marketing tools and insight into the latest trends, without your team having to lift their focus from the actual product. It will also give your in-house marketing manager the support needed to scale up and implement effective marketing activities efficiently.
More than being a one-stop shop for your marketing needs, an inbound marketing agency will ensure that you are able to increase your efforts as you need to, and when you need to. You run a growing startup, and to capitalize on the traction you’re getting, you need to be able to launch strong campaigns without delay.
This may mean writing more content, getting more active on social media, starting email campaigns, or even building campaign-specific landing pages. But all this will likely be secondary to your focus on creating the best product, and so this is where an external agency can benefit you. They know what needs to be done, and they have the skills and manpower to do it!
Marketing agencies that work with startups understand the volatility of the markets that they operate in, and are prepared to turn up the volume should the situation require it. This service ensures that some of your growth requirements are checked, which is definitely something investors will be looking for.
The beauty of hiring a marketing agency is that you get several services in one. No need to hire an SEO expert and a PR guru and a team to write the content - as this can be quite expensive, and you can get all that and more in one package. Before choosing your agency just make sure to consider the needs of your startup and that you know which services to look for from a marketing agency.
It goes without saying that hiring one catch-all agency is preferable over hiring several separate ones. Each will charge base fees before getting into services or time-specific rates, and hiring several of these agencies will quickly blow through your marketing budget. Not to mention the time you’ll lose having to work with each of them separately, and the risk of diluting your brand and messaging. (“Too many cooks spoil the broth”, as they say!)
Not only will working with one agency save you money over hiring several different ones, but it can also be more cost-efficient than hiring internally. There is no need for larger office space and more supplies. You don’t need to bother with salaries and benefits. In 2015, the average cost-per-hire for US companies was $4,000. A good agency will both save you money and give you peace of mind.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of a turnkey online marketing solution for your business is that it saves you time. You won’t need to invest any of the time - and resources - required to hire and train new employees. Even after training a new employee is completed, it can take 1 to 2 years before an employee is “fully productive”, working at the desired standard. For a startup, this is time you simply don’t have.
Rest easy and put your faith in the outside help, assuming you know what qualities to look for in a marketing agency. That way all your time will be reserved for you to do what you do best - running your startup.
Your online marketing strategy is an integral part of your startup’s success, especially during this high-stakes period. You’ve gotten this far based on the quality of your idea and your product, and now you need to prove that you’ve got the mettle it takes to go the distance.
We’ve outlined the reasons you should consider a turnkey online marketing solution, and in particular why a one-stop shop, like KeyScouts, could be the right solution for your business.
Feel free to contact us for more information about how we can help you take your startup to the next level and prepare for your next round of funding.
Want more tips on how to get ready to impress investors and get more funding? Download our free infographic, “10 Steps to Prepare Your Startup for Series B Funding”.