If you're spending money on inbound marketing, you'll want to know that your efforts are likely to pay off. You may even want any external marketing agency that you're about to employ to assure you that you'll get a healthy return on investment (ROI) before you sign on the dotted line. Is it possible for anyone to guarantee you'll get an ROI when it comes to marketing, however? If not, what's the point in using an agency? Let's examine these issues in more depth.
What's The Problem With Asking For A Guaranteed ROI?
Unfortunately, whether you're employing a specialist agency or relying on in-house staff to plan and carry out new marketing activities, it's virtually impossible to guarantee that you'll get a positive ROI, let alone how much it will be or when you'll receive it. That's partly because what works for one business won't necessarily work for another, so finding the most successful inbound marketing methods for your business will, at least in part, come down to trial and error. Some new tactics you try will work better than others and, while you may be able to predict the amount of sales that the methods you're currently using will generate, that doesn't mean that you're employing the most cost-effective techniques.
Professional inbound marketing agencies can give you a good idea of the results you could get from working with them by providing you with case studies and data based on their experience, but if a company offers you a guaranteed return by a specific date, it may actually be a red flag. A reputable agency will get to know your business and your requirements, tailoring their advice to suit your specific needs – and that takes time and hard work. Some inbound marketing methods, such as search engine optimisation and content marketing, are slow burners and, while you can often make some quick fixes, you need to stick to your strategy, tweaking it when necessary, and embracing new methods and technology, if you want to see results.
So Why Use An Inbound Marketing Agency?
While an inbound marketing agency won't be able to make you infallible guarantees, there's still every chance they'll be able to help you to improve your strategy. If you choose a high-quality, specialist agency, they'll have in-depth knowledge of an array of inbound marketing methods, be aware of the latest industry trends, and understand how to maximise your results. They'll be able to review your approach to see which tactics are working, and help you create an integrated strategy which incorporates the techniques that are most likely to benefit your company. They'll also help you to monitor and analyse your campaign data, and make further recommendations that will gradually improve your bottom line.
Whether or not you get an off-the-scale ROI when using an agency is partly down to you. The success of your marketing activities will depend on the amount of work you're prepared to put in and how willing you are to adopt the approach recommended by the agency. You'll need to communicate with your agency partners openly and regularly, for example, and take any advice that they give you on board. If you're happy to do that, however, using an agency could really work for you. At JDR, we've helped a host of companies to improve their marketing ROI and we'd love to start a conversation about inbound marketing with you!
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