There are a number of digital marketing businesses in the industry and it can be a difficult decision whether you go through a bigger agency or a smaller agency. There are many benefits to choosing a small, Australian agency for your digital marketing.

👉 Support your local community

This is so important these days. COVID really changed the way the world works and so many incredibly talented businesses went under. We have to stick together! Know that by investing in an Australian business, you’re helping your local economy. Even better, if you’re in the same region as your business, you’re supporting your local community even more. Most agencies will work with clients across Australia as the work can be done remotely, however being close by means you can meet face to face for meetings or informal catch-ups. We love meeting our local Brisbane clients for coffee every now and then - it helps solidify our partnership.

👉 Small agencies are more committed to your success

A small agency is more committed because it is their sole purpose and source of income to market your product or service successfully. They will go the extra mile to ensure you are getting the most out of your marketing so you can stay on as a client and refer new clients too. A larger agency usually has a large sales team and will easily find replacements for your business if things don’t work out. There’s more at stake for a smaller agency. At PupDigital, for example, we really like to get to know our clients and our best clients have been with us for over two years (or even since we started three years ago). This is because we go above and beyond to ensure we get them the results they need and offer solutions to their unique problems.

👉 Small agencies offer a more personalised service

Smaller agencies can be much more flexible than your larger agencies. Larger agencies tend to have a very specific guideline of what work they will or will not do. Smaller agencies are more accomodating in that they will do what is necessary to get the result you agree upon. Most small agencies will tailor their solution based on the individual client’s needs and are more willing to do so because they know this will result in a happier client. At PupDigital we tailor every solution based on what the client needs and their unique business model and working style. There is no one size fits all approach, which means they get the service they need and reap the benefits with the outcomes of their marketing.

👉 You’re not just another number with a small local agency

Because you are so important to a smaller agency, you will be treated as a VIP and usually will be dealing with the agency owners directly, or at least have contact with them at some point too. Larger agencies usually have large sales departments and large client management departments. One fuels the other. Sales teams have large targets to meet and client managers have strict KPIs to ensure client retention. Sometimes the quality of work is not as big of a priority as it is to obtain a sale or keep a client on the books. At PupDigital, we are not afraid of walking away from a sale if it’s not the best solution for the client, nor do we pressure our clients to stay on board with us if things aren’t working out for them. We completely understand that running a business is challenging and sometimes the priorities shift. We are after all a small business ourselves.

👉 Status or Partnership levels - bigger is not always better

Some larger agencies will tout being premier partners with Google Ads or Facebook Ads as a way of offering a competitive advantage over smaller agencies. Whilst this may sound appealing to the unsuspecting potential client, the higher the partnership status doesn’t necessarily mean the better the service you’ll receive. 

An example of this is the Facebook Partner status. Currently, there are three tiers for Facebook Partnership status - Account, Preferred and Premium. The Account tier is given to any qualifying business with minimum requirements such as ad spend and the number of active clients. This is PupDigital’s tier. 

For us to get a Preferred or Premium badge there are extra requirements for us to meet. One pathway to the next tier requires that our agency spend is over USD$750,000 in the last 180 days (that’s about USD$4,000/day). If a client spends on average USD$50/day, that equates to about 80 clients. Another path to achieving this metric is to have over 500 active pages that are advertising a minimum amount each month. 

These are quite high numbers for a small agency to be managing effectively. As a small agency, we don’t overload our staff, we have a small team so managing such high numbers wouldn’t be realistic for us, nor would we want it to be! This isn’t what we’re about. Be conscious of the number of clients your agency or client manager works with at any given time. This can give you an idea of their workload and how much focus and attention you will receive from them.

PupDigital was created because the owners had big agency experience. They could see the staff and clients not being provided with the level of care and attention that they deserve. We make sure that the clients that our team are managing are getting A+ service. We pick and choose our clients as much as you pick and choose your agency. We are all about sharing our passion and ambition of marketing for small businesses and helping them grow. If this is something that you’re interested in, please contact us today.