What is a one-stop marketing agency solution?

Today it's not enough to only have a physical or digital storefront. Savvy business owners understand the need to create an online presence and enhance visibility among their potential customers. Historically, brick-and-mortar businesses have relied on foot traffic as a primary source of acquiring customers.

Traditionally, many brick-and-mortar businesses have relied on customers walking in and out of their stores as the primary source of client acquisition. Previously, print media and posters were used for advertising businesses. However, with approximately 5 billion active internet users worldwide, companies can't rely on offline methods to attract and retain customers.

For business owners to stay ahead of their competition, they are increasingly investing in technology and solutions to improve their digital presence. But particularly for small business owners, managing different technologies and services can be time-consuming and challenging with all the other responsibilities to operate and grow a successful business. And most small business owners are not marketing experts, so they are faced with doing the research and piecing together solutions and technology to help raise their company awareness and generate more revenue. 

Many small business owners have an advantage with a website and social media profiles that make up their digital presence. But just because they built it doesn't mean customers are coming. And if the website is developed by one company and social media accounts are managed by another, their strategy could be more cohesive. Content is consistent, brand and message are off, and contacting multiple people to help or take action could be more efficient. Businesses are looking for a way to address all their digital marketing needs from a single source.

So precisely what is a one-stop agency solution, and how can it benefit small businesses?

Introducing the one-stop agency solution

There are many solutions and strategies to consider for a comprehensive digital marketing solution, from website design to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), mobile app design, content development, social media marketing, and more. Thousands of marketing agencies focus on just one or a few areas of expertise. They strive to be the very best at one or two things. For a large enterprise client with deep pockets and large teams to manage the relationships for every niche, and expert vendor, going with a best-of-breed solution for every marketing need might be a good option. However, for many small and local businesses, hiring niche marketing vendors for every need is cost-prohibitive and efficient. It results in the inconsistent strategy, message, and market presence we already discussed. Many specialty marketing agencies know small business owners' challenges with managing multiple vendors and technologies, so they prioritize their time on large accounts. They lose touch with small and local business challenges and need to be able to serve them effectively. 

A one-stop or complete service marketing agency solution seeks to be that business owners' single source for all digital marketing needs. These agencies either have the direct staff or manage contract resources to fill gaps to provide their customers with a single source for any marketing need that comes up from strategy to complete execution across marketing channels. The one-stop agency often has centralized technology that the agency and client can leverage to create a consistent approach and journey for their customers across all touch points. 

Regardless of where a small business is in its maturity, a one-stop marketing agency can meet the customer where they are by implementing a strategy through the combination of technology and services to enhance or improve the existing online presence. By hiring a one-stop agency, business owners only have to scrap the marketing channels and processes they have in place if they decide to do so after receiving the agency's proposal. Instead, the one-stop agency hopes for a long-term partnership where the agency and small business can grow together and build on current success. The agency is likely laser focused on applying any solution to help the business increase traffic and generate more revenue from existing and repeat customers while eliminating the hassle for the small business owner. The agencies are often very flexible and strive to customize and offer the small business to do as much or as little of the marketing execution as they'd like offering self-service or done-for-you solution packaging. 

Five benefits of a one-stop agency solution

We have already touched briefly on some benefits a business can experience with a one-stop agency solution. But to recap and share more, here are some advantages of aggregating services with one provider to consider:

1) Save time: Small business owners always need more time to complete everything. Having a single agency to outsource the entire marketing strategy and execution frees the business up from any marketing execution to focus on other parts of the business. The one-stop agency can suggest and make adjustments that impact the entire business by evaluating data, looking at trends, and managing across marketing channels. They have a broader reach than a specialty vendor focused only on websites or solution media channels to impact the business significantly. The one-stop agency has the business owners' back and is constantly looking for areas to optimize for more traffic and conversions to increase sales. Time is also saved for the business owner who only has to onboard and communicate with one agency.

2) Save money: A marketing agency only getting a fragment of a company's business will charge a premium for the work. When owners tally the costs from numerous niche vendors to cover all services and solutions, the prices are higher than a proposal from a single full-service vendor. Instead, the single vendor proposing a holistic plan to meet all businesses' marketing needs will put in all the hours and work necessary to meet goals. Business owners can also negotiate a better price with a single company than trying to negotiate 3 - 4 companies down to do the same work. 

3) Be consistent: We are all unique with different opinions, styles, interests, preferences, and perceptions. Companies are no other - each has its values, priorities, and culture. So when a small business owner can click with a single company that "gets them," they can rely on the one-stop agency to help the business show up consistently everywhere to their customers. Naturally, if having to work across several agencies with their different style, tone, and practices, it would be challenging for a small business to be everywhere for new and current customers consistently. 

4) Get Flexibility: A one-stop marketing agency relies on something other than a single skill or expertise to serve its clients. Instead, the agency is focused on the big picture, willing to deploy all solutions necessary to help their customers be successful, but they are still open to a standard offering. They customize every strategy to serve each of their customers uniquely. And if things change, as they always do, since their focus is on providing long-term value, they are more willing to adjust and do whatever is necessary to help the business achieve its goals. 

5) More Focus and Attention: Only sometimes, but often stop marketing agencies working with fewer clients than the specialty agencies. It is because the full-service agency is going deeper and is providing a comprehensive strategy and execution plan to their clients, so they need great staff to focus on fulfilling all of their client's needs across a significant spectrum. The benefit to the business owner is that they get the agency's full attention. With complete attention comes more communication, transparency, and insights that will drive meaningful impact for the business. 

Summary

A one-stop agency solution is a highly effective way to help local businesses streamline their digital footprint. Whether a company is just starting or has been in business for years, working with a one-stop marketing agency that offers several services and technology can help save time and money and provide better consistency across online efforts.