5 Tips for Hiring a Marketing Agency
So you’ve just started a business or considering a growth model, but you are not sure what to look for in a digital marketing agency. There are a lot of aspects to think of, “What direction do I want to go in,” or “Which marketing agency is best for me?” These questions only lead to more inquiries, as they rightfully should. From start to finish you are looking at hiring a marketing agency to help boost your brand’s visibility. If you’re not sure what you need to look for, check out these 5 tips for hiring a marketing agency.
1. Sizing Your Marketing Firm: Is Bigger Better?
When looking into hiring a marketing agency, whether it is a large, well-known agency or a small concentrated team, the size itself will not tell whether the agency is the right one for you. Each size has its own qualities and the most important question is what is the most important quality you look for, rather that focus purely on size.
Large firms have lots of resources, available for huge projects that require lots of manpower, deploying design teams for your site instead of just a handful of well-trained developers. While a smaller digital marketing agency may not have lots of departments with hundreds of employees, in most cases they are more willing to be tentative to a client’s needs, whether big or small. This means faster responses and a more hands-on approach, regardless of the number of individuals working on the project.
Many of the larger marketing firms have traveled down several paths to get to where they are. They know what works and what doesn’t, and will rarely waste time, money, or resources in looking down alternate avenues for new strategies, leading to the implementation of cookie cutting strategies that do work for many cases. Smaller agencies have small concentrated teams to study the market, allowing them to quickly react to changes and make necessary adaptations in order to keep up with rapidly changing trends and are deeply into thoroughly researching what will work as opposed to using pre-used or worn out strategies that have already peaked for other clients.
In today’s marketing world, a firm’s ability is no longer rated on the number of projects they have worked on, the detail of self-presentation, or the elaborate funnel strategies that have worked for years. Now, with markets changing fast, the same strategy that was in use 2 years ago may not deliver the same results. This is where the ability to react, adapt, and change to meet the market’s shifts is critical. How is a small marketing company able to over deliver on a project where a big-time company didn’t?
Larger marketing agencies are not always as flexible as a smaller digital marketing agency, despite their successful track record of past performances. With smaller companies, have a lot more flexibility and willingness to take more risk to push the boundaries of creativity and come up with innovative strategies. In some cases, smaller agencies may be able to cater to a more tailored marketing strategy to fit your business’ exact needs. Whether you are looking into big or small marketing teams, they all started somewhere. Remember sometimes the best is not always the biggest.
2. See-thru Transparency: Clear view of All Project Details
Transparency is nothing new, and as times advance, people expects more transparency in everything and the business industry is no different. We all want to know how, when, what, and why our efforts produce the results they do. When working with a digital marketing agency, walking out of the meeting knowing exactly what to expect next should be a normal expectation.
Creditable firms have no problem bringing you aboard and showing you exactly how the numbers work, how the content is distributed, and how your PPC and SEO are performing in the market. If you have questions, your agency shouldn’t beat around the bush.
Avoid all of the smoke and mirrors and hire a marketing agency that has nothing to hide. If you have questions, you marketing firm should have answers.
3. Seamless Access to Accounts
Can you think of anything more annoying than not being able to access or use something that you own? Neither can we. It’s your business and your data, so why should you have to wait, ask, or demand access to any part of your project. If there is something you wish to know, your agency should not only be willing to provide an answer, but also, they should be willing to grant you access to the information and answers directly.
Your own project should not be a top-secret. Stay involved in the project and know what is happening, while it’s happening. Finding the right marketing agency is not the easiest thing to do. If they are unwilling to give you access and allow you to be involved, unless you are the kind of person who wants to know as little as possible, they may not be the right team for you.
4. Committing Before Submitting
One of the biggest ways people get stuck with marketing agencies is by making a commitment to the services before they’ve even tried the service to ensure that it works. Sure, you want your selected marketing agency to be around for the longevity of your business, but you also want to make sure you guys share the same vision, and that timelines are not committed to before proof of results is delivered.
Test the waters to make sure you and your selected marketing company will fit together and that the relationship can work. Once you are confident in their abilities, then it’s time to think and discuss long-term goals with that agency.
5. Know What’s Involved in Your Strategy
One of the biggest failures that occur when hiring a marketing agency happens during the intro process in most cases. You have to make sure that the agency you are hiring is on the same page as you when it comes to desired results, responsibilities and level of involvement from your end. It can be very frustrating starting a new project having a different vision than the team you are working with. Another reason involvement should be a focus is; you want to make sure that you and your digital strategy team can meet each others’ time availability and schedules. Your time is important, and your marketing agency should value that.
Decision Time: Building Work Trust Based on Face Value
Marketing is considered one of the most crucial departments of a company’s development, and although ideally you would only give your trust after testing the water, testing the water requires a certain amount of trust as a precondition. To go past this difficult initial phase with ease, you want to make sure you considered your company’s marketing needs and goals carefully and find a marketing agency that understand and respect those specifications. That might make that initial trust easier to give and make working together more efficient. That will give the agency a chance to earn your full trust based on performance and good communication. Do not rush into your decision, take your time and make the right choice, by asking the right questions to find the best digital marketing agency that is right for your business.
