Not All Marketing Agencies are Created Equal: The Myths of Outsourcing
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re ready to outsource your social media or creative work, or you have a company that can benefit from it. We know firsthand that the market is incredibly saturated with agencies and freelancers, and outsourcing the work can be tied to a lot of not-so-worthwhile stigma. Well, LEO + LAINE is here to save you some hassle, and maybe in the long run a lot. We’ll help you decide if outsourcing is a beneficial investment, and how we at LEO + LAINE combat the biggest stigmas out there by operating differently than the rest. Read on as we debunk some common misconceptions about outsourcing.
MYTH: Outsourcing dilutes your company’s brand.
Hiring an outside agency may leave you to think, will these people truly understand our brand, our mission and our voice? Dare we say that agencies like ourselves may get to know your brand better than you do? We say this as endearingly as possible. We spend hours and hours upfront getting to know your brand and your mission. About half our clients come to us because they need help establishing their voice, so that’s when we step in. Sometimes, we even help our clients alter their voice so they resonate even better with their target audiences. Another perk about bringing in an outsider is that we have an unbiased viewpoint of your company and what it’s currently doing. We see things from a new perspective and can help our clients get out of a rut. With our expertise with what works and doesn’t work in the industry, we can present solutions with marketing success in mind.
MYTH: Agencies and freelancers are just order takers.
Within today’s competitive landscape, chances are slim that you will hire an order taker, especially if you establish clear expectations of what you want from the start. Our goal at LEO + LAINE is to be your marketing leg, so you can focus on what you need to do to run your business. Of course we want to strategize and conceptualize with you, but we will do nearly all of the heavy lifting when it comes to your marketing and creative work. We think beyond the to-do list. We’ll need you for approvals here and there, and of course welcome your input along the way. We also love seeing our clients face-to-face on a routine basis, and in these meetings, you can count on us to take the reins, so you can (mostly) relax and observe the process of it all.
MYTH: Outsourcing is too expensive.
The costs for marketing and creative work is certainly a sliding scale. You should invest in talent, but also identify an agency that aligns with your size and budget. Time and time again, we come across clients that have assigned someone with a non-marketing role to do the marketing responsibilities. While these individuals may be wonderful and kick ass in their hired position, they may not have the marketing, creative and social media know how to elevate their company. So, when you think about hiring a single marketer for your company, think about the salary and benefits that come with. Oh, and do you have to buy the Adobe Suite, a professional camera and other essential marketing tools? If you outsource to a company like LEO + LAINE, you don’t have to worry about those costs. Your investment with us will get you multiple people, with multiple skill sets. Whether a short-term project or an ongoing retainer, you will get every individual that works for LEO + LAINE at the same rate, which is pretty unheard of.
Every proposal and every cost to each of our clients is individualized to them. We have open discussions up front about budget. We respect the start-up budget and the well-established budget. Our goal is to develop a long-term brand partnership with our clients, without making it a hard decision to invest in us or stay with us.
As far as the extras, we don’t add administrative or resource fees to your rate. Everything comes built-in to what we present to you on your proposal. We refuse to nickel and dime our clients. Our team ebbs and flows with what’s happening in the world, and if we need to pivot to meet a need, we will do that. We are not prisoners to the scope.
MYTH: Outsourcing is impersonal.
Let us say that the relationship is what you make it. If you want a relationship that’s significantly more than a business translation, LEO + LAINE may be love at first sight. We aren’t like a traditional agency that tracks hours and builds in several layers of management. We create processes that work for both our clients and LEO + LAINE. Each relationship is different.
We offer a no bullshit partnership. We hate corporate lingo like scope, bandwidth, cadence, etc. because we’re just trying to keep it real. We’re honest, we’ll go the extra mile for you, and we’re humans, too. We like to have fun, and we love our client relationships as much as we love the work we do, probably even more.
At LEO + LAINE, we truly operate differently than normal agencies. After having worked within them for years, we rid LEO + LAINE of everything we disliked about them.... and added some spice.
Are you ready to become best friends? OK, maybe not that extreme, but our client relationships excite us. We hope (and love) to become a sounding board for your business. We will commit to seeing you face-to-face. We will travel to meet you in person. We will learn about the people behind the brand. We will witness the evolution of your brand alongside you. In the end, we will be your biggest brand advocates.
Find an agency that will love you like you love your business.
MYTH: Going with an agency is specific to one type of creative specialty
Sure, there are agencies and freelancers who specialize in one specific type of expertise, such as social media management or website creation; however, it doesn’t always have to be that way. You may have to do some searching to find a one-stop shop (hint, hint: LEO + LAINE), but to get to where you need to be, it’s important to outline your general goals before diving in to find an agency. Do you need a writer for your blogs, a photographer for your images on social media, a creative director to develop a streamlined campaign? Actually, you may not know all it entails and that’s OK. We’re here to help. LEO + LAINE brings several niche specialties to its clients. You need it, we can do it. As a small agency, we pride ourselves on the vast expertise we can offer.
Cheers, Leo+Laine
