1. Today’s marketing is about content, not distribution.  You don’t need big budgets for TV/radio/print ads.  You don’t need PR agencies’ access to gatekeepers.  Where distribution is a polo game for the elite, content is a scrappy, pickup game anyone can play.  The challenge now is breaking through the cacophony of content online… but that just requires brains, not budget.

2. Marketing tools are freely available.  No need for expensive monitoring tools only big agencies can afford when there’s a myriad of inexpensive ones (e.g. HubSpot, Radian6, Cision).  To create content, you don’t need professional equipment or staffing.  HubSpot’s latest marketing video was born from a great idea, one hour of scriptwriting, and two hours of shooting using a $100 camcorder.

3. You can be a virtual, full-service agency.  Inbound marketing doesn’t require a huge, integrated staff.  We built the HubSpot Marketing Services Marketplace as an eBay for marketing services (open to both HubSpot and non-HubSpot customers).  It turns out that marketing agencies also use it to find collaborators for projects.  One agency may be great at graphic design, offering call to action buttons or landing page design services, but collaborates with freelancers to provide clients with blog writing services or social media marketing services.  Flexible staffing in the virtual agency model makes them more nimble, specialized yet general, and thus able to charge more competitive rates.

4. You can afford — and win with — guerilla tactics.  Most big firms won’t change their practices quickly, even if they see the steamroller (or in this case, many tiny steamrollers) coming.  Smaller firms, unencumbered by a broken business model, have little to lose trying new things.  Think outside-the-box to take capture business from traditional firms.  Contemplate la carte jobs, which often lead to ongoing business.  Embrace performance measurements (such as the ones on our Marketplace directories) and consider performance-based pricing from the resultant traffic, leads, or customers from your services.

1. Today’s marketing is about content, not distribution.  You don’t need big budgets for TV/radio/print ads.  You don’t need PR agencies’ access to gatekeepers.  Where distribution is a polo game for the elite, content is a scrappy, pickup game anyone can play.  The challenge now is breaking through the cacophony of content online… but that just requires brains, not budget.

2. Marketing tools are freely available.  No need for expensive monitoring tools only big agencies can afford when there’s a myriad of inexpensive ones (e.g. HubSpot, Radian6, Cision).  To create content, you don’t need professional equipment or staffing.  HubSpot’s latest marketing video was born from a great idea, one hour of scriptwriting, and two hours of shooting using a $100 camcorder.

3. You can be a virtual, full-service agency.  Inbound marketing doesn’t require a huge, integrated staff.  We built the HubSpot Marketing Services Marketplace as an eBay for marketing services (open to both HubSpot and non-HubSpot customers).  It turns out that marketing agencies also use it to find collaborators for projects.  One agency may be great at graphic design, offering call to action buttons or landing page design services, but collaborates with freelancers to provide clients with blog writing services or social media marketing services.  Flexible staffing in the virtual agency model makes them more nimble, specialized yet general, and thus able to charge more competitive rates.

4. You can afford — and win with — guerilla tactics.  Most big firms won’t change their practices quickly, even if they see the steamroller (or in this case, many tiny steamrollers) coming.  Smaller firms, unencumbered by a broken business model, have little to lose trying new things.  Think outside-the-box to take capture business from traditional firms.  Contemplate la carte jobs, which often lead to ongoing business.  Embrace performance measurements (such as the ones on our Marketplace directories) and consider performance-based pricing from the resultant traffic, leads, or customers from your services.