Hiring a professional marketing agency is an exciting decision for your business, but it’s natural to wonder, “When will I start to see marketing results?” After all, you want to make sure you’re making a good business investment, right?

In this article, we’ll explore the different types of results you can expect to see when you outsource your marketing, the timelines involved, and the crucial interplay between time and money.

When Will I Start to See Marketing Results?

Truth be told, it depends. The timeliness of your marketing results is dependent on two primary factors:

1. How much time or money you’re willing to invest.
2. The size of your marketing goal or project.

However, regardless of the nature of your project or how much you can invest, you should be able to see some level of results within the first 90-days of working with an outsourced marketing agency. 

How? By establishing the difference between quick wins and long-term growth opportunities. 

Quick Wins:

In the dynamic world of marketing, quick wins are the low-hanging fruit that can bring quick-to-immediate results. Within the first 90 days of collaboration, you should anticipate seeing some level of positive change towards your marketing goal. 

Some quick wins might include: 

• Re-engaging a dormant email list
• Increasing sales of a particular service or product
• Disciplined tracking of ROI on a marketing campaign
• Decreasing time wasted on unqualified leads
• Increasing the close rate on sales calls

However, it’s important to note that these are just the initial steps; comprehensive results might take more time.

Long-Term Growth Opportunities:

Consider your marketing efforts as an investment in your business’s future. Just like renovating a home increases its value, long-term strategies require patience but yield substantial benefits. 

Some things just take longer to implement, but they are worth the effort and time put in. A skilled marketing firm can help you differentiate between quick wins and long-term growth opportunities. 

Some long-term growth opportunities might include: 

• Recreating your website to convert leads
• Implementing data and email segmentation to drive customer cultivation and increases sales
• Developing content on your website that qualifies leads so that you don’t waste time on sales calls
• Building landing pages that allow you to show up in searches ahead of your competitors

While these strategies may take more time to fully materialize, they are invaluable for building a strong foundation and pivotal for sustained growth.

Getting Marketing Results Is a Matter of Time or Money

Achieving results with a marketing agency is a balancing act between time and money. If you desire significant and rapid results, be prepared to invest in time and money. Outsourcing allows professionals to handle the bulk of the work, but some level of commitment from your team is still required.

When determining how much time and/or money you have to invest, think of it as if you were weighing the choice to clean your own house or hire a cleaner – could you clean your own house? Sure! 

But do you want to? 

Do you have the time and energy for it? 

Or would it get done the way you want it to if you were to simply hire someone? 

Hiring a marketing agency is kind of similar.

Could you figure out your marketing on your own? Yes, if you have the time and effort to dedicate to learning marketing. 

Should you? It depends on your goals. 

Meeting in the Middle: Balancing Time and Money

Many agencies offer varying levels of service to account for the fact that every business has a different level of need to plan and execute their marketing.   

For example, here at Heights Strategic Marketing, our clients entrust our team with the entire marketing process. First, we collaborate with them to determine the strategy. Then, we execute those strategies while they focus on their core business activities. 

However, we also recognize that each client is unique and has different needs and goals. For those with more time than financial resources, we offer collaborative, “done-with-you” projects so that they can reach their goals and get results at the price they can invest. 

What does this mean? For example, we might create a content strategy with a client, planning out the themes and outlines for their blog posts and social media. Then, they would be in charge of writing the content and sending it to our team for edits and optimizations. 

Marketing is an Investment

In the end, working with a marketing agency is an investment that pays dividends over time. Understanding the timeline of results, distinguishing between quick wins and long-term growth opportunities, and finding the right balance between time and money spent are crucial for a successful partnership. 

So, when will you start to see results when working with a marketing agency? To summarize, it depends on how much time or money you’re willing to invest, and the size of your marketing project or goal. 

Ultimately, whether you choose to let the professionals take the reins or prefer a more hands-on approach, the key is aligning your expectations with the realistic investment required for the growth of your business.

Looking to invest in your marketing? Request a call with our team to get the most out of your marketing time and dollars.