Running a business often centers around one primary goal: generating sales. With sales comes revenue, which leads to opportunities to hire great people, expand product and service offerings and grow your business. But without a plan to promote your products and services to generate sales, it can be challenging to make your business stand out in competitive B2B industries.
Working With a Marketing Agency
Businesses work with marketing agencies in several ways, depending on their goals and the agency’s areas of expertise. A company may partner with a web-focused agency to build a new website and SEO/GEO strategy. An agency with a strong print and digital design portfolio may support a business in developing materials for trade shows, events and sales calls. Advertising agencies can work with businesses that want to explore paid digital or print promotion avenues to generate leads. A company may work with a public relations agency to develop messaging guidelines, receive media training or facilitate reputation management during a crisis.
Each of these scenarios is a valid reason for a B2B company to engage with an agency, whether or not it also has an in-house marketing team focused on moving the business forward and generating sales.
Full-Service Marketing Agencies
While many marketing agencies have specific areas of expertise or niche focuses, others offer a range of services across multiple communication segments. These full-service marketing agencies typically offer a broader scope of work and employees with knowledge in several fields that work together to build comprehensive marketing strategies for clients.
Full-service marketing agencies, such as TRINDGROUP, provide clients with expertise in multiple communication-related fields that integrate seamlessly together, including creative design, traditional and digital marketing, public relations, videography, website design and more. Agencies typically provide work in either a project or retainer format.
Project vs. Retainer Work
Project work is what it sounds like: a business contracts with an agency to complete a specific task. This could be a website build, trade show booth design, video shoot, new logo, ad campaign, press release dissemination or other work with a specific start and end date. The client pays per project, and once the project is complete, the client moves on or may initiate a new project.
In a retainer, clients work with an agency in an ongoing relationship to complete a variety of tasks across a longer amount of time. Particularly in a full-service agency setting, like TRINDGROUP, this means a client may specify multiple priorities within a given month, and the agency’s team will work on those tasks simultaneously and continuously. Clients pay by the hour for a set amount of time each month, and the agency uses that time to accomplish the prioritized tasks.
Full-Service Retainer
Includes all services the agency offers, including public relations, marketing and design
Design Retainer
Supports internal marketing teams with all creative design needs
Public Relations Retainer
Supports all public relations needs of an organization
Video Retainer
Serves as in-house video production team for an organization
Benefits of Marketing Agency Retainer Work
Cost-Effective
Working with a marketing agency on a retainer basis is not as expensive as it seems. TRINDGROUP offers retainer clients a discounted hourly rate. While saving on the cost of the work itself is a perk, retainer clients can also save on personnel costs.
Team of Experts
In a retainer relationship, the client gains access to the entire TRINDGROUP team. That means the marketing guru, public relations expert, design team, videographer and leadership team are all strategically working together to develop the best, most well-rounded approach to support your business. Clients can be assured that their company is being prioritized by multiple members of the team, not just one project manager.
Flexible
Additionally, full-service agency retainer clients are not limited in the types of marketing services they can access. While retainer clients typically work with TRINDGROUP to determine the services that would best meet their business goals, because they are not limited to a specific project scope of work, there is more flexibility to incorporate other services the agency offers into monthly retainer tasks.
For example, while a client may allot a certain number of hours each month toward social media content development and email marketing, if a new product is launched, TRINDGROUP can pivot to strategically adjust priorities and hours to also include a news release and new product page on the company’s website to support the launch. No additional project request needed.
Why an Agency Retainer Relationship Works
A business that keeps a marketing agency on retainer receives more than just a checked-off list of tasks accomplished each month. A retainer is a relationship that builds trust and transparency between the client and agency, which leads to clients often regarding their agency as an extension of their own team.
As you consider where your company stands with its marketing plan, know that a retainer relationship with a full-service agency like TRINDGROUP can play to your advantage. Our team of B2B communication experts is here to help you reach your sales goals and grow your brand.
