When looking for a digital marketing firm to help with your company’s marketing strategy there are some important things to consider. You need to be sure you can trust whoever it is you’re hiring to run your business’s messaging. Let’s take a look at the different factors you should be considering when hiring a digital marketing firm to handle your company’s marketing strategy.
Consider Your Needs
The first thing you need to do is consider why you need a digital marketing firm. Is your in-house team not capable of a certain task? Are you overworked and need to export some work to a third party?
No matter what the reason may be you’ll want to consider why you may need a digital agency. For most companies that higher a digital agency, they do so to help execute tasks that the in-house team isn’t well versed in. This could be a multitude of things including digital advertising, SEO strategies, content creation, web design – the list goes on and on. However, understanding what you need the most help with will help you to find the right firm that specializes in that specific area.
What Are Some Key Things To Look for In a Digital Agency?
You should look for an agency that has experience in the field you need the most help in. They will be able to provide better service for your business or product than those who aren’t as well versed in certain marketing facets, or those who market themselves as a one size fits all agency. If you need help with Google Ads, find the agency who specializes in that. If you need an agency to build a website, create content, and manage that website, then consider an agency that has a proven track record of success in those fields.
You should also consider their pricing structure as well as their rates since they may vary depending on what type of products or services they offer clients. Some agencies work for a flat monthly rate, while others do billable hours depending on how much work they need to do. For example, if you need someone who can create an app then it would be more expensive than hiring someone who only needs help with creating display ads for facebook. It will take much more time to build the app so it will likely be much more costly.
Look for Proof of Work
Another great thing to see from an agency you’re considering are some whitepapers or case studies about clients they’ve had in the past and how successful they were. This is a great way to find out just how talented and knowledgeable an agency is as this highlights their strengths and how they can use their strengths to help your company.
What To Avoid When Choosing a Digital Marketing Firm?
Similarly to how a case study is a green flag for most agencies, there are some red flags to look out for and avoid. For example, don’t be blinded by the numbers, if they’re feeding you a bunch of great sounding numbers be sure to ask where those numbers came from. If they can’t show that or back it up it’s probably because it’s too good to be true.
Don’t be so quick to dismiss a full service agency. While you may be looking for help for a specific issue, these types of agencies can offer you more expertise on other channels to target, other demographics, and plenty of other great ideas to help grow your business.
Lastly, don’t let prices scare you. In the marketing world a lot of the time you get what you’re paying for so some of these more expensive options will typically return great results that are well worth their going rate. Just always vet their past clients to be sure they produced a successful strategy.
The Takeaway
The key point to remember when hiring a digital marketing firm is to thoroughly vet them and trust your gut. If the connection feels off it normally is. Be sure to review their case studies, talk about their specialties, and be open and honest about what it is you need help with and what you need from them. There are plenty of options to choose from out there so be sure that you take your time and don’t rush into an engagement.