Thinking of Working With a Boutique Agency? Read This First.
So you’ve decided to hire an expert agency to manage your paid media–great choice! Now you must choose an agency that fits your needs, goals, and values. Having so many options might feel overwhelming. One place to start is identifying the pros and cons of the size of the agency you’re considering partnering with. In this article, we’ll share some of the benefits of working with a boutique agency.
Better Communication (both Quality & Quantity) - The people who you speak with on calls are the same people who are in your paid media accounts every day. We can speak at a high level of detail about your campaigns, audience targeting, and performance because we are the ones who are building and optimizing the ads. Compared to larger marketing firms, we tend to manage a fewer number of accounts, which allows us to give greater attention to each client. This also means we can provide a greater flow of communication and quick response time; in fact, one of our commitments to our clients is to respond to every email within 24 business hours!
Greater Flexibility - Since the people you work with are the same people who manage your accounts, we have the ability to make changes quickly and often (if needed). We frequently optimize and reallocate budgets for campaigns based on performance–quite the opposite of “post and ghost!” We are nimble and we pride ourselves on doing things differently. In fact, one of our commitments to our clients is utilizing 15% of the monthly budget for testing, whether this be on audiences, creative, or copy.
More Personalization - Many large marketing firms follow routine processes and systems because they have proven those are what work best for their internal structure. Boutique agencies, however, typically don’t have rigid protocols. Eliminating this “one size fits all” approach means we can be flexible with our clients’ priorities, values, goals, and processes.
Higher Specialization - Not to be confused with personalization, many boutique agencies tend to specialize in one vertical and/or one industry. By doing this, we can stay up to date on industry news and be experts on the topics, as opposed to knowing “a little about a lot.” We believe many of our clients value the fact that we specialize in paid media in their domain.
Strong Culture of Teamwork - Boutique agencies have a small number of employees that can frequently meet as a team. For example, every Wednesday a team member trains us on an industry best practice or trend. Every Friday, we have a team meeting strictly meant to build culture and get to know each other–we aren’t allowed to talk about work! We frequently reach out to each other as resources to learn ways that have worked for each others’ clients and campaigns. This value of teamwork is extended to our clients by way of seeing ourselves as an extension of their marketing team.
Access to Leadership and Senior-Level Talent - Like other small businesses, boutique agency leadership gets their hands dirty with the day-to-day operations. This means you will likely be in direct contact with leadership. Our founding partner, Nikki, is frequently on client calls, chimes in on client emails, and leads the team in making decisions.
In summary, bigger isn’t always better. Boutique agencies offer a lot of benefits, such as providing a more personal and customized approach and being nimble. Learn more about how you can benefit from working with a boutique agency by contacting us.