What is a Performance Marketing Agency?

If buzzwords make you bristle, you may be tempted to look past the term ‘performance marketing’. But please don’t. Do it right and it will tip your results from good to great. It’s about taking a holistic approach to your marketing strategy so that the essential building blocks (i.e. data collection, audience analysis and execution) are stacked together to create the strongest foundation for success.

Your Strategic Partner

Enter the maestros of the digital domain – performance marketing agencies.

Performance Marketing Agency Definition

Performance marketing agencies help businesses with the execution and analytics of performance marketing campaigns across digital channels.  

A good performance marketing agency is your strategic partner, leveraging data, technology, and expertise to drive success in the digital landscape. They are the architects behind campaigns that don’t just look good on paper but translate into real, impactful metrics.

What Channels Does Performance Marketing Consider?

Performance marketing casts a wide net across various digital channels. From search engine marketing (SEM) and social media advertising to email campaigns and beyond, performance marketing agencies are adept at utilising the full spectrum of online avenues.

The golden rule is to meet the audience where they are and guide them seamlessly through the conversion funnel, measure results, make them better.

The Benefits of Working with a Performance Marketing Agency

1. Expert Advice
   One of the pivotal advantages lies in gaining access to expert advice. A performance marketing agency brings seasoned professionals to the table, equipped with in-depth knowledge of the ever-evolving digital landscape. Insights go beyond mere trends; they are grounded in a profound understanding of consumer behaviour, algorithmic shifts, and emerging technologies.
2. Industry Leading Tools
   A performance marketing agency is armed with cutting-edge tools which form the backbone of operations. From analytics platforms to marketing automation systems, these agencies leverage the best in the industry to streamline processes, glean actionable insights, and optimise campaigns in real-time.
3. Data-Driven Results
   Data is like gold dust. When it is correctly collected and analysed it can help to unravel patterns, identify opportunities, and fine-tune strategies for maximum impact. The mantra of the data team at Launch is simple: bad data = bad everything. This means that the data we are analysing is robust, and accurate. Second-guessing your audience is the path to failure. Our approach is always to learn from what the target audience is already doing instead.

Performance Marketing Agencies – The Evolution

Performance marketing is an emerging space, answering a need for measurable and accountable marketing strategies within a rapidly changing digital landscape.

The ability to analyse clicks, conversions, or impressions, rather than just ad placement, marked the birth of performance marketing. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising was one of the earliest forms of performance marketing, allowing advertisers to pay only when users clicked on their ads.

As technology has advanced, sophisticated analytics tools and data-driven insights have become integral to performance marketing. Marketers can now optimise campaigns based on user behaviour, demographics, and other metrics, meaning resource can be targeted where it has the greatest impact.

The concept continues to evolve, with businesses leveraging a variety of performance-based models including affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, and programmatic advertising to achieve measurable results and a higher ROI.

How Do Performance Marketing Agencies Differ from Other Agencies?

Performance Marketing Agency vs. Marketing Agency:

While both share a common goal of promoting products or services, the key difference lies in the approach. Performance marketing agencies hone in on measurable outcomes and ROI, whereas traditional marketing agencies may prioritise brand building and awareness.

Performance Marketing Agency vs. Digital Marketing Agency:

Digital marketing agencies encompass a broader spectrum, including brand building, content creation, and social media management. Performance marketing agencies, on the other hand, are laser-focused on driving specific, measurable actions.

Performance Marketing Agency vs. PPC Agency:

Pay-per-click (PPC) agencies specialise in paid advertising, a subset within the expansive realm of performance marketing. A performance marketing agency, while encompassing PPC, goes beyond, integrating various channels for a holistic approach.

What to Look for in a Good Performance Marketing Agency

Multi-channel Experience

A mark of distinction lies in the agency’s ability to navigate diverse channels seamlessly. A good performance marketing agency is well-versed in creating integrated campaigns that resonate across search engines, social platforms, and beyond.

An Experienced Team of Experts

Behind every successful campaign is a team of seasoned professionals. Look for an agency with a track record of success, driven by a team that blends creativity with analytical prowess.

What Does Success in Performance Marketing Look Like?

A successful performance marketing campaign may deliver impressive results on KPIs such as conversion rates, lead value and return on ad spend (ROAS).

To illustrate what a successful performance marketing campaign may look like, here’s an example we worked on for a client called David Salisbury. This luxury Orangery company wanted to reach its target audience more successfully and convert clicks to high value leads.

The plan we executed together led to David Salisbury achieving its highest quarterly sales in company history in Q4 2022. This included a 59% increase in ad conversion rate and a 13% increase in lead property value.

Performance Marketing Cycle

We utilised the performance marketing cycle to achieve this:

1. Data analysis: A team of data and measurement experts use sophisticated analytics software, AI, machine learning and other tools to gather key insights about the target audience
2. Conversion Rate Optimisation: CRO specialists analyse your sales conversion cycle and identify pain points (e.g. is there a stage at which customers are abandoning carts? Why? How can this be addressed?)
3. Campaign creation: learnings from data and CRO teams are applied to paid media campaigns to ensure they are optimised for the target audience.
4. Iteration: Data is gathered and analysed about the campaign and used for improvements and tighter targeting.

How The Campaign Was Executed

For David Salisbury, this meant reimagining the Google ads campaigns using data from machine learning and Performance Max, and collaborating closely with the client to understand the conversion funnel and assign value where it would generate the best possible results. We also ran optimised Instagram ads and expanded onto Pinterest, making use of the Incentive Programme to get value for money.

The campaign was so successful it has won multiple awards, including one for the best Performance Marketing campaign at the 2023 Drum Awards.

The Strategic Advantage of Performance Marketing Agencies

As the data-driven era continues to unfold, your performance marketing agency is the architect of digital marketing success, building campaigns that deliver an outstanding brand experience for your customers and leave a lasting impact. If you’d like to learn more about performance marketing, we’re happy to help. Get in touch with Launch.