Buy Cheap, Pay More: A Metaphor for Marketing Agencies

The lesson of good blue jeans and digital marketing

My wife wears a pair of jeans that makes me smile. No, let’s get our minds out of the gutter 🍑

Twelve years ago, we prepared to board a 5-day cruise, fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a pirate.

And there they are. Crisp and vibrant in the old photos—the most expensive jeans she’d ever bought. A pair of Gap Vintage Slim Jeans that cost about $300 USD + a poor exchange rate.

At the time, it seemed irrational and even foolish. But I was too happy (and sunburnt) to care 🌞

But guess what?

My darling jeanophile was about to teach me a lesson in economics.

My $960 Lesson

Still looking great after more than a decade, these Vintage Slims are older than our four children and probably in better shape than our marriage (only kidding, babe!)

Now, I’m what you might call snappy-casual. Jeans I purchase are American Eagle cheapies, at $40 a pop.

They get worn out in a matter of months. In fact, I’d estimate that one low-end pair lasts me about six months of none-stop-wear – this means, in the lifetime of the $300 Gap Vintage Slim Jeans, I’ve spent a total of $960 on ‘cheap’ alternatives.

Not to mention the cost of getting said jeans. The time, the gas, the annoying self-checkout, and bumping into my ex-wife. Priceless.

Let the cost of time and money sink in. Seriously, life is too short.

Quality Marketing is like a Good Pair of Jeans

This brings us to marketing.

The title of this article should probably have been ‘What my wife’s twelve-year-old jeans can reveal about digital marketing.’

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, SociallyInfused Media is the Gap Vintage Slim Jeans in this equation. Our price might be higher but finger our fabric, and you’ll recognize why. Huh?

Many clients have reached out after being burned by the SEO or digital marketing equivalent of a Walmart bargain.

In theory, it makes sense. Same services, lower cost.

But there’s a cost to going down that road. Just over the next hill, that low price comes with more time and money that you need to spend.

It’s the fact that an inexperienced marketer is:

  1. ‘Learning on your dime.’
  2. Delays and misses deadlines because this is their side-job.
  3. Forces you to cancel a contract because you’re just ‘not seeing any value.’

And don’t forget the costs you might not realize – the poor return on investment, the absent communication, the unnoticed opportunities for SEO.

Here’s the thing.

Real marketing is an investment, and you get what you pay for.

Local businesses earn an average of $3 in revenue for every $1.60 they spend on quality marketing. #google #seo #marketing Click To Tweet

An excellent digital marketing agency can provide:

  • Strategic, right-the-first-time implementation that yields results.
  • Invaluable SEO tactics, customer engagement, and UX.
  • Garden-fresh ideas you might not have considered.
  • A reputation built on hundreds of clients and years of work.

So, pay for quality and save yourself a lot of anxiety, mistrust, and hassle.

As my shabby wardrobe proves…buy cheap and you pay more.

Or, in his case, 24 times… đź‘–

DMCA.com Protection Status