Small business marketing agencies sell three different things under one name: the whole marketing function as an outsourced service, a single plan the business will execute itself, or one channel run well. This page separates them for the business choosing: what a marketing outsourcing agency takes on and what it needs from the owner, when a marketing plan agency is the right first hire, what LinkedIn marketing agencies do for a B2B business, and how to brief and score each. The free in-house versus agency worksheet on this site sizes the retainer against a hire; Retainvia Pro keeps the brief, the shortlist and the scorecard for $49 a month.
The marketing outsourcing agency: the whole function on a retainer
A marketing outsourcing agency runs the plan, the channels and the reporting for a business that has no marketing hire, and it needs from the owner what a hire would need: the offer, the customer, the budget and a monthly hour of decisions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics handbook cited below puts the median pay of a marketing manager at $165,780 a year, and the free worksheet on this site compares that loaded cost with the outsourcing retainer from the business's own figures.
The marketing plan agency: a plan the business executes
A marketing plan agency delivers the plan and leaves the execution to the business, which is the right first hire for an owner who can do the work but not decide what work to do. Brief it on the business, the budget and the year; score it on whether the plan was executable by the people the business actually has. A plan the business cannot execute is the agency's failure, not the owner's.
LinkedIn marketing agencies, and the brief for any of them
LinkedIn marketing agencies run one channel for B2B businesses whose buyers are on it: profile, content, outreach and sometimes paid. Brief them on the buyer and the meeting the business wants booked; score them on meetings, not followers. For any of the three, Retainvia Pro keeps the brief, the shortlist and the scorecard per agency, with the retainer record of what was agreed and delivered, for $49 a month.
Questions people ask about small business marketing agencies
Should a small business outsource marketing or hire?
Run the free worksheet: the loaded cost of the hire against the retainer, from the business's own budget and hours.
What does a marketing plan agency deliver?
A plan the business executes itself; score it on whether the people the business has could follow it.
What should LinkedIn marketing agencies be scored on?
Meetings booked with the buyer named in the brief, not followers or impressions.
Does Retainvia work for one-channel agencies?
Yes; the brief, the shortlist and the scorecard are the same record for any kind of agency.