There’s no question, if you want your business to grow, you need a strategy for reaching out and connecting with your target market. The problem is knowing how to do this. You need a way to reach them where they can be found, and to connect with them on their terms. Today, the internet is where this is going to happen.
You already know this, but the world of digital marketing seems complex. You’ve heard buzzwords like SEO, PPC, ROI…and it all sounds like the beginning of a pot of alphabet soup. You know digital marketing is important, but you have neither the time nor desire to tackle it on your own – after all, you’re already busy running a growing business.
What to Look for in a Digital Marketing Agency
The logical thing to do here is to outsource your digital marketing to an agency. A quick look online tells you that there’s no shortage of digital marketing or creative agencies to choose from, but you have enough business sense to know they’re not all created equal. You want to work with a top agency that knows exactly how to elevate your digital presence and generate results for your business. To help you cut through all the clutter and connect with an agency that’s worth their weight in gold, here are 10 things to look for in the digital marketing agency you choose.
They Fit Your Specific Needs
Digital marketing and SEO agencies come in all sizes, and everyone seems to have their own opinion on whether it’s a larger or smaller agency that’s going to maximize your digital performance. There really isn’t a one size fits all answer to this conundrum because there are advantages and disadvantages to each. The top agency that’s the perfect size for you is the one that is most aligned with your needs and goals.
Generally speaking, you want an agency that isn’t so small and overstretched that they can’t devote the time needed to your business, and not too big that they’re inflexible. An agency that’s the right size for you will provide enough flexibility to adapt as your business grows over the coming months or years.
Relevant Industry Experience
You want to connect with a digital advertising agency that’s experienced and has a proven track record of delivering results. What’s important to remember is that experience in your particular industry is what really counts. Critical marketplace knowledge is developed through hands-on experience and knowing how to intuitively adapt a marketing strategy for a specific industry.
Today’s consumer expects a certain experience. They want personalization and a marketing approach that demonstrates an understanding of their needs. This is going to be different depending on the industry you’re in, which is why it’s imperative that your digital marketing agency have industry-specific experience.
Results, Not Promises
Of course, you’d like to shoot for the moon with your marketing efforts, but if the results an agency are promising seem too good to be true, they probably are. An experienced, successful agency understands that building your digital presence is something that needs to be nurtured. It’s true that certain strategies can produce results faster than others – like the faster results generated by a pay per click campaign over the slow build of SEO.
All that said, a top digital marketing agency knows that there’s testing, analytics, and continual tweaking involved in creating a marketing strategy that produces great results. It doesn’t happen overnight, and an agency that’s worth the investment isn’t going to fill your ears with false promises.
Where Is Their Focus?
In line with the above statement about looking for results rather than false promises, top digital agencies will use extreme caution in quoting how their marketing efforts will impact the bottom of your funnel – referring to conversions and ultimately your sales potential. When you’re first discussing a marketing strategy with an agency, there are simply too many unknown variables that can affect this outcome. Look for an agency that focuses on meeting your goals through an effective approach for nurturing traffic into and through your funnel, rather than focusing solely on the endpoint.
A Sparkling Digital Presence
The telltale sign of a great digital marketing or SEO web design company is that they practice what they preach. Take some time to look over their own website, check out what they’re doing with their social media marketing. Maybe even sign up for their email newsletters. The goal here is to look at what they’re doing with their own brand, and what their image is from a customer perspective. If what you see doesn’t impress, and generate some excitement about working with them, they might not be the agency that’s the best fit for your business.
They Match Your Style
There are a lot of exceptional digital marketing agencies out there, but this doesn’t mean that they’re all going to deliver stellar results for your business. In addition to looking for industry-specific experience, you also want to work with an agency that matches the style and personality of the brand you’re trying to build. Who are their clients, and what type of “feel” is there to their online presence?
For example, if you’re a smaller, niche business that leans toward being a little quirky and innovative, an agency that’s experienced in cultivating serious or sophisticated brand images (think along the lines of banks, doctors, or attorneys) might struggle a bit in aligning a marketing strategy with the style and personality of your business.
Value
Unless you’re one of the few businesses out there with bottomless pockets, price is a consideration when choosing a digital marketing agency. You don’t want to blow the budget, but you also don’t want to skimp and risk spending any money in vain on lackluster results.
So, what’s the balance point you should be looking for? Is it better to aim for a lower-priced agency and hope for the best, all while giving yourself a little budget wiggle room, or should you go all-in on the most expensive agency out there? The answer is somewhere in between. You don’t want to break the bank on the most expensive agency out there, but the marketing team you choose should be charging you enough to pay for their exceptional staff and provide you with all the perks and attention you expect and deserve.
Do You Mesh?
You want to interview a digital agency before you commit. This isn’t only to cover the basics like services and pricing, but also to get a feel for how well you “mesh” with their team. You’re looking for smooth communication, the ability to share thoughts and bounce ideas off of each other, all without causing any tension or conflict.
The fact is, there will be times when you’ll work more closely with your digital agency, and communication will frequent. A top agency won’t expect you to take a hands-off approach but will want your input throughout the process. The importance of being able to communicate with their digital team can’t be overstated.
How Do They Handle Reporting?
When working with a digital agency, you should demand transparency. With the best agencies, this isn’t an issue because they’re open and communicative about the performance of your digital strategy, with little or no prompting on your part. This isn’t to say you need to be updated every day, but you should know when you can expect to hear from them and feel confident if a major issue does arise that you’re not the last one in the line of communication.
They’re Using the Best Tools
You might not be a marketing expert, but that doesn’t mean that ignorance is bliss when it comes to the tools your agency is using to enhance your marketing strategy. When interviewing them, ask them which tools, software, and other implementations they regularly use and then ask for their opinion on which tools are most important for creating a successful digital strategy for your business. They should be able to provide you with an answer and an explanation for their opinion, even if in the end the process ends up looking a little different.
Work with a Digital Marketing Agency That Acts as an Extension of Your Team
Choosing a digital marketing agency is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your business. The right marketing team can cultivate a brand, increase visibility, and build a stellar reputation that’s so important for attracting and engaging with today’s digital consumer. There are a lot of agencies out there, so it’s important to take your time and make sure the one you end up working with is not only the best in the industry but also the best for you.
At Double Up Digital, our team members are here to produce results for your business. We offer a full spectrum of digital marketing services and are ready to roll up our sleeves and formulate a strategy to build your business online. We’re also ready to sit down and talk about how we’re going to accomplish this. The only thing we need is for you to contact us at Double Up Digital today.
