The digital marketing agency landscape has changed drastically over the past few years, and finding a reputable agency to work with can be difficult without doing some research first. If you’re considering hiring an agency, or are working with one currently, these nine qualities will help you choose the best agency for your project or business needs.
1) On-Time Delivery
A reputable digital marketing agency should always meet and exceed your deadlines. Missing a deadline can cause irreparable damage to your business, so it’s crucial that you find an agency that understands that deadlines are sacred. If they cannot deliver on time, they will let you know in advance.
If they consistently miss deadlines, consider looking elsewhere. An experienced digital marketing agency is able to maintain multiple projects at once while still delivering ahead of schedule most of the time. Never work with a digital marketing company that misses deadlines or is unable to communicate effectively about their progress with you.
2) Client Loyalty
A good digital marketing agency should offer true client loyalty. After all, you’re working together to create content and strategies that will drive leads and sales for your company. This creates a sense of trust between agency and client, so you can be sure that your interests are being looked after.
How do you know if an agency is truly loyal to its clients? You’ll notice when they go above and beyond to ensure that you are receiving high-quality service every step of the way. When in doubt, always follow your gut instinct—if something feels fishy about a particular agency or their practices, there probably is something amiss. Leave them in search of greener pastures with another digital marketing agency!
3) Expertise in Digital Marketing
A digital marketing agency should be able to demonstrate its expertise in all aspects of digital marketing. This means that they are able to produce results for you and your business is not only SEO but also PPC, display advertising, social media, and other avenues of online advertising.
It’s also important that it can educate you about these strategies and how it will use them for your unique business. If an agency does offer both traditional and digital marketing services, find out whether it can integrate these services well or if there will be a potential conflict with using two different agencies.
2-Year Minimum Experience:
It takes time to become proficient at anything; much less something as complex as digital marketing. So it’s important that any agency you work with has been around for at least two years and can point to tangible results of their work. This gives you an idea of what types of clients they’ve worked with in the past, their specialty areas, and also indicate that they have longevity in a quickly changing industry.
3+ Creative Employees:
The majority of agencies that offer only digital services will have multiple creatives on staff—often those whose sole job is creating content for your website and other online marketing efforts. Any agency that doesn’t employ at least three professionals in creative roles should be avoided.
These individuals are responsible for developing your brand’s voice, writing content, and executing any multimedia campaigns such as videos or infographics. If an agency is even close to its quota in these areas, it most likely has too many employees and can’t provide you with enough attention or resources to make your business successful.
4) Well Trained Staff
The agency you work with should have knowledgeable staff that is able to handle your campaign from start to finish. There should be no outsourcing and your project needs to run through only one point of contact, who is there every step of the way. Great customer service is an essential part of working with an experienced digital marketing agency.
Their professionalism will show in how they treat your account. This is especially important if you are brand new to online marketing as it can seem confusing at first. A well-trained staff allows for constant guidance throughout your campaign to help make sure everything runs smoothly from start to finish.
5) Industry Buzzwords That Don’t Work on You
Try as you might, there’s no way to win over clients by loading your copy with industry buzzwords that do nothing for your credibility. No one wants to work with an agency filled with unseasoned newbies, so if you find yourself needing to spout off terms like inbound marketing or SEO expert, it’s time to re-evaluate your business and make a plan for moving forward.
Taking shortcuts won’t land you any legitimate clients. You have to be able to stand behind what you say. Not only will they be able to tell when you aren’t fully invested in your own success—they’ll know they can take advantage of it.
An inexperienced reputation is worse than none at all because seasoned vets have seen their fair share of those who come and go quickly. You don’t want them thinking, Oh great, here comes another spammy fly-by-night company looking for some quick cash.
6) Start with the Customer
When you run your own business, you get so caught up in what you do that sometimes it’s easy to forget who your customer is. It’s not just about creating something and putting it out there; rather, it’s about creating something that your customers want and need. By focusing on who their audience is, marketers are more likely to succeed at crafting meaningful messages for them.
After all, they know exactly who they’re writing for—and what their needs are. And let’s face it: Your buyers care less about you than they do about solving problems (i.e., finding solutions). If a company can help solve those problems effectively and efficiently, then they have potential customers.
7) No Advertising Spam
A reputable digital marketing agency won’t bother you with spammy advertising; it will only provide its customers with useful, actionable content. No Excessive Fees: A good agency doesn’t need to charge an arm and a leg for its services; it should provide high-quality work at fair prices.
Many agencies offer a free consultation or analysis, so be sure to take advantage! Transparency with Clients: Good agencies are upfront about their abilities and limitations as well as their fees—so be sure to ask around before jumping into any contracts.
Although one big plus of working with an agency is getting access to all of their expertise (such as marketers, designers, developers), it can also be overwhelming if they handle too many tasks within your business—it’s nice to know who does what!
8) Services, Not Products
A reputable digital marketing agency will focus on providing services and strategies rather than products. It’s better to pay for SEO, email marketing, or social media management than to buy your own software. A good digital marketing agency has relationships with industry leaders. Including Google and Facebook, who don’t want their customers interacting with fly-by-night companies.
Your money is better spent on a consultant that understands how to use specific tools as opposed to hiring in-house employees whose skills could easily become obsolete. That being said, there are some exceptions. An established company that creates software in partnership with agencies. It would be an example where it makes sense for an agency. To have its own product as long as it isn’t trying to compete against other agencies.
9) Commitment to Quality and Improvement
Your digital marketing agency should have a strong commitment to quality and improving your website’s performance. Do they constantly make suggestions on how to improve your site? Are they aware of changes in best practices in digital marketing? What is their overall track record for implementing changes that improve performance? Make sure your website will be able to grow with you too. Can they handle e-commerce implementation, or are they strictly PPC specialists?
And finally, do they show up when you need them most (i.e., during major campaigns)? Have any major slip-ups occurred when it really mattered most? Ideally, an agency will offer 24/7 customer service via multiple channels. And respond within an hour of getting notice that something needs attention; if response times aren’t consistent or reliable, then you may want to find a new partner.
Conclusion:
When you want to go for a digital marketing agency for your newly started business or the old one. You should keep in mind all of the above-mentioned points if you want to flourish your business with full zest. If any marketing agency lacks any of the above-mentioned qualities, you should not collaborate with that agency.
