The strategies for marketing your business online seem endless with different options such as social media, Google AdWords (PPC), email, SEO…the list goes on.
This is where digital marketing agencies come into the picture in order to ease the process and narrow down the list based on what is suitable for your business. However, we understand first that deciding what agency will best deliver optimum results is not an easy task.
In your local area alone, there is probably over hundreds of thousands different agencies you could work with!
SO HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
Okay, let’s narrow it down.
First, why work with an agency and what can they offer?
Nowadays, there is so many “how to” guides that explain how to utilise different marketing tools online – so why pay someone to do it for you?
Agencies understand your audience and which platforms they give a higher amount of time to. For instance you’re more likely to attract a younger audience on Snapchat and Instagram instead of an older generation or business owners which would be predominantly active on LinkedIn. Plus, there is always constant updates and changes in algorithms that busy businesses owners simply don’t have the time to stay on top of.
Marketing agency services are a long-term investment for businesses as they are able to increase sales and brand awareness through specific strategies. Agencies offer insights of the businesses market through researching consumer behaviour and competition through SWOT analysis strategies. This helps determine how well your business is performing and the room for improvement which is available. Depending on research findings this then influences what strategy is put into place and which areas are focused on for instance running google, social media campaigns or focusing on website SEO and SEM.
Now we know what you’re thinking: what are right questions to ask?
- What marketing requirements does your business have?
This is the first step in finding the right match is understanding what YOU need!
Consider if you need a new website to be developed or do you currently have one that isn’t generating enough leads? Do you want your website to rank higher? Want to raise brand awareness? How established is your business?
By understanding what you need this allows you to narrow down who can offer you optimum results.
- Are they the right match for me?
There are specific characteristics to look for when searching for the right match.
- View their previous work and client results (Keep in mind you don’t need to know their past clients or have heard of them however if your unable to view their previous work then it’s unlikely they have worked with other businesses previously – THIS SHOULD BE A WARNING SIGN PEOPLE!)
- INDUSTRY REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING! This is when you start looking at reviews and customer feedback
- Ensure that the agency you are wanting to work with shares the same values and culture as your own business – Why? Because it’s easier to persuade your values to your audience if the people creating your content already understand you.
- Commit to an agency that offers you a TAILORED STRATEGY vs committing to a package deal which is used for every other business over and over again without considering the different target markets… This buys you price not quality.
Tip: To know if an agency can offer a custom strategy analyse the questions, they ask you e.g., What the main competition is like, what your goals and objectives are, setting realistic goals for a strategy.
- What results do they guarantee?
Look out for those who promise you the world but don’t actually have resources or capability to deliver it to you, they simply just want to lock you in and start draining your pockets.
Yes, indeed marketing is one of those industries which has too many freelancers and marketing agencies which claim to deliver optimum results for a nickel. YOU NEED TO FILTER THROUGH THIS!
Ask how they plan to execute their strategy in order to reach optimum results, make sure you understand how they plan to create content for your business and lastly understand timeframes and when results should start to become prominent this is based on how saturated the market is already, if your business has a large volume of competitors chances are it will take longer to see results.
Finally…
PRICE
We understand marketing is an investment for a business, this is why price plays a big role in who they ultimately choose.
Price is also a great tool to filter out marketing agencies who are unable to deliver results.
Chances are low pricing = low quality of work
Realistically marketing agencies are a business to, the lower margin made on your sale the lower attention and revisions they are willing to commit to you. Spending extra time and having the project run for longer than anticipated means running at a loss or breaking even. As a business owner surely, you will understand this simple concept, always keep this in mind when committing based on price.
Another point to be considered based on price and we’ve seen this time and time again is the fact that many agencies have large hidden costs which aren’t discussed with clients initially. Ensure you understand the pricing and what exactly you are paying for when making your final decision in order to understand what the final investment is going to cost you.
So, to sum it all up make sure to understand why you are choosing to work with an agency, do your research, ask the right questions and never base the quality of an agency’s services based on pricing.
