You’ve done some digging into the agency vs. in-house marketing dilemma that many organizations encounter as they grow. You’ve learned all about the benefits that an integrated marketing approach can offer. And now you’ve done the due diligence to evaluate all your options for the best-fit integrated marketing partner to take your brand to the next level.
If your must-have criteria for a marketing agency includes maintaining strong B2B industry acumen, offering integrated capabilities, providing fast quality, and consistently demonstrating great results and ROI, then it’s likely that Sagefrog has made your short list. You’re on the brink of engaging in a very strategic partnership.
As with most savvy B2B professionals, having a clear idea of what to expect within the first few days, weeks, and months of a new business relationship is key to feeling confident about an impending investment. Let’s take a look at your first thirty days with Sagefrog.
Step 1: Simple & Effective Onboarding
Regardless of whether you’re partnering with Sagefrog for project-based work (e.g., a brand strategy or new website) or for retained marketing services (like those offered through the Sagefrog Integrated Marketing Program, or SIMP), the first step is onboarding. Because you’re most likely engaging with an agency to ultimately reduce your team’s marketing-related workload, we don’t ask too much of you to complete this initial step.
You’ll be promptly greeted with a welcome message from your assigned Account Manager (AM), who functions as your main point-of-contact and liaison to all of the departments at Sagefrog. You’ll also meet our Account Supervisor, who oversees the performance of AMs and the overall satisfaction of clients and is your resource for communicating any high-level questions or concerns throughout your partnership with Sagefrog. After collecting some foundational information from your team, such as relevant digital marketing, website, or CRM logins, our operations department will get you up and running on our back-end systems. From there, your dedicated account team begins an internal discovery process in which we review your existing marketing assets, tactics, and goals and conduct research on the current state of your market and top competitors.
An in-person or remote kick-off meeting will be scheduled within the first few weeks with an agenda to meet each other’s key personnel and align our objectives, processes, timelines, and expectations to ensure we’re all prepped and ready for an optimal engagement!
Sagefrog’s Promise: We’ll communicate consistently with you to keep everyone aware of status and progress, and to keep expectations clear on both sides.
Step 2: Strategy Setting & Tactical Execution
No matter what type of work you’ve employed Sagefrog for, you can expect us to start with strategy. The adage “tactics without strategy is a nightmare; strategy without tactics is a hallucination” rings true through our office halls. Strategy can look like many things, depending on the project. It may involve brainstorming ways to address what’s worked and not worked in the past, optimizing or overhauling your current brand messaging and visual identity, or establishing buyer personas to facilitate more targeted tactics. In the end, we’ll get clear on what results you can expect by reviewing the various measurables available.
Sagefrog measures the success of marketing programs and projects in three core ways.
- Measurables & KPIs: We identify and agree upon specific, quantifiable goals and key performance indicators. If possible, we ask that you provide regular sales data and feedback to close the loop and see the results of the work we produce together.
- Project Scope: If marketing tactics go beyond the agreed upon monthly hours of a retainer agreement or the project terms, we notify you via email and request your written approval to proceed.
- Reviews & Approvals: We send all work to you for review and approval, including details about your preferred deadlines and timeframes, so your expectations align with everything we deliver.
Clients that leverage our digital marketing services and receive regular check-ins with our digital marketing specialists, have 24/7 access to key performance data through customized dashboards and on-demand reports.
With strategy in place, your account management team will tap into all the necessary capabilities at Sagefrog to get your work underway. This means you’ll receive deliverables that are produced by our certified team of passionate professionals spanning creative direction, copywriting, graphic design, web development, and digital marketing, supported by Sagefrog’s premium partnerships with resources such as Google and HubSpot.
Sagefrog’s Strategic Integrated Marketing Program
Step 3: Responsive & Reliable Account Management
Unlike most marketing agencies, Sagefrog operates like a professional services firm. This is a unique advantage that provides you with all the creativity of a typical agency plus the reliability, stability, and business acumen of an experienced industry firm. Because of this, you can expect superior responsiveness, quick turnarounds on high-quality work, and transparency in our processes and at the leadership level.
If you’re utilizing the SIMP, you can expect standing calls with your account management team and our certified professionals as our work requires. You’ll be informed weekly, if not daily, on the progress of your program—with timelines and updates proactively sent your way. At Sagefrog, we abide by this simple rule of thumb: when entering the weekend, every client should feel confident and informed about the status of their marketing program. Beyond that, you can expect ongoing optimization of your marketing plan and rest assured that all marketing efforts are being consistently monitored and improved upon.
At Sagefrog, we recommend taking advantage of three consistent forms of communication that our Account Managers establish with most clients.
- Status Calls: Regularly scheduled status calls used to share updates, introduce new projects, and continually optimize integrated marketing programs and projects.
- Quarterly Conversations: Check-ins held once every quarter via phone to discuss our progress and our partnership and to adjust strategies and tactics as needed.
- Bi-Annual Meetings: Face-to-face meetings with your main point of contact and any other contributing team members to ensure we’re aligned and collaborating effectively.
Whether you’re ready to sign on the dotted line or you’re still moving through your short list to find the right marketing partner, consider all the ways Sagefrog can leap into action to accelerate your success.
For more insight into what an integrated marketing agency like Sagefrog can do for your business, schedule a time to speak with our business development specialist, who will listen to your needs, challenges, and goals and offer recommendations on how we can help. If you’re interested in moving further along in the process, you’ll then meet with CEO and Co-founder Mark Schmukler to get more information on our services, processes, and team members to see if we’d make a good marketing match. Schedule your chat with Sagefrog today!
