In the Know: Common Queries on Marketing Agencies Answered

If you have ever wondered what a marketing agency is, I can assure you that you aren’t alone. In fact, the exact phrase “What is a marketing agency” is searched over 390 times per month – and that doesn’t include any other phrasing of the question.

In this blog, AERPOWER will answer the most searched and common questions about marketing agencies.

Curious about Aerospace and Defense Marketing? Read our blog “Demystifying the role of marketing in aerospace and defense companies.”

A marketing agency is a generic term for a company that partners or serves other businesses in one or more areas of marketing by guiding them or helping them execute marketing needs. Similarly, a full-service marketing agency claims to be able to serve clients in all areas of marketing. Some of these areas include:

• Digital Advertising
• Creative Design
• Web Development
• SEO Management
• Social Media Management
• Strategic Planning
• Media Planning and Buying
• Funnel Building/Management
• Copywriting
• Email Management
• Trade Shows & Events
• Campaigns

AERPOWER Aviation Marketing, is a marketing agency that solely serves the Aerospace and Defense markets. By specializing in this market, AERPOWER is able to bring additional value to our clients by combining marketing expertise with A&D industry experience, guiding clients to proven strategy and tactics that actually work.

A digital marketing agency is a marketing agency that specializes in digital marketing efforts. These can include:

• Digital Advertising
• Social Media
• Web Development
• Email Marketing
• SEO Management
• Analytics

While AERPOWER is not labeled a digital marketing agency, AERPOWER does provide the above services to the Aerospace and Defense industry. You can learn more about our services here.

Marketing agencies serve other businesses by supporting their marketing efforts. A company may hire a marketing agency to gain access to a whole team of specialized people such as a market strategist, a graphic artist, a digital guru, a web developer, a videographer, and so on. This marketing agency then would work alongside a marketing expert at the company whom hired them to help complete marketing initiatives.

Every marketing agency is different so it is hard to explain what working with one may look like. At AERPOWER, we partner with our clients and become an extension of the team. We like to be involved and informed of the strategic direction of the business and understand the goals and vision of the company so that we can truly align our efforts and bring you the most success.

Generally, someone would hire a marketing agency for one of the following reasons…

• A company does not have the manpower and internal resources to get the job done internally (and may not be able to hire an internal expert).
• A company is consistently underperforming or not seeing results, and you don’t know why.
• A company is expanding, and you are ready to up your marketing game.

The investment with an agency can vary greatly. If they are generalized, serving multiple industries, or only offering specific services, you might see a lower cost than if you hire a highly specialized, niche agency. At AERPOWER, we pride ourselves in being transparent about our pricing and what we offer. See example pricing here.

TIP: It is always smart to share any budget considerations or concerns up front. That helps us agency folks diagnose your challenge with a more realistic view of something that you are financially comfortable with.

Choosing the right marketing agency can be challenging. And while most agencies claim to be full-service, they probably specialize in a few areas and would prefer projects in those realms. We recommend that before you start your search, you know your goals and desired outcomes that way when you begin your interviewing process you can ask specific questions.

At AERPOWER, we only partner with a small number of clients at a time so that we can dedicate our time and attention to their success. However, when we do take on new clients, there are certain values we look for. Similarly, we want to make sure we are the right fit for you. You can learn more about our qualifiers here.

This can be a challenging question as it really depends on what you are hoping to accomplish. We have found that some clients are just looking for a tactician to complete a specific project such as designing an ad that the client already has a specific vision for. If this is the case, you would be looking for someone completely different than someone hoping for strategic guidance.

At AERPOWER, we focus on strategy and using marketing to help enable sales. If that is what you are looking for then we would recommend the following…

• Relationships – make sure your agency contact is someone you vibe well with. If you don’t enjoy working together you probably won’t get the full benefit of an agency relationship.
• Referrals, Testimonials & Reputation – ask for a client you can connect with and ask questions. Ask around your industry to see what others think of that agency if you can
• Portfolio & Experience – ask to see some past work or talk about how they have solved challenges similar to yours.
• Process & Communication – Ask what it is like to work together and what the process is like so there are no surprises later. Who will be your day-to-day contact? And what are your expectations of the relationship?
• Core Values and Culture – Do you value the same things and operate in a similar environment?
• Challenges You – Does your agency challenge you to think differently? If not, why did you hire them?