12 Points To Consider Before Selecting A Digital Marketing Agency For Your Business
Marketing is an indispensable part of any business. Today, however, more important is your digital marketing strategy. You are aware that the consumer has become digital-first today, and it goes without saying, digital market penetration is a must. While we all are digital-savvy in one way or another, you will still need expert advice when it comes to marketing in the digital space. Therefore, every business whether small or big should harness the skill of agencies with digital marketing services, content marketing, social media marketing services, etc. They help you understand and navigate the digital space better, so that you can focus on other aspects of your business- the product and/or service.
Digital marketing services leverage the digital space to achieve your marketing goals. That’s the easier version of putting it out there. In detail, you need to deploy various digital marketing services like social media marketing, Google advertising, search engine optimization, content marketing, content creation, influencer marketing, web designing, app designing etc. individually or in a combination to target and reach your potential customers/ consumers. Agencies offering digital marketing services start with understanding your product or service as well as your target segment in depth and follow through all the way to the creation of assets like websites, social media handles, creative communication, etc. to ultimately utilizing them to drive your target audience closer to your business using the internet and the World Wide Web.
While there are multiple large agencies, mid-sized setups, social media marketing agencies, design studios, boutique agencies, and more – all delivering various digital marketing services, choosing the right one for your business is vital in determining the success rate, both qualitative and quantitative. While there’s no one way to go about, and as they say, experimentation in marketing is the flavor of all seasons, you may start by asking these below explained points while deciding the right digital marketing or social media marketing agency for your business/ organization. Keep reading to get the comprehensive list of what to ask while looking for digital marketing services.
1. Why do you need digital marketing services
It starts with you– Nivea Men said it right! Before you start researching and dialing your network looking for recommendations, or simply searching online for the best social media marketing agency, award-winning agencies, etc. ask a simple question- why do you need digital marketing services? The answer is to connect where your audience is online, but try going beneath the surface. If you’re a skincare company, you need a social media marketing agency and influencers to promote your products; if you offer a local service, you may need Google Ads and Local SEO in your arsenal- ask is simple, define the expertise and help you need and then go out looking. If possible, create a brief note with bullet points stating all the areas where you need help and also the results you are expecting.
2. How good are their digital marketing services or business credentials?
For the first round of screening, simply check the agency online – how do you feel when you visit their site; does it reflect professionalism; how responsive is their website; are they active on social media platforms; are they running ads on Facebook and if so, what kind; is their content optimized; what about the clients listed, are there any from your sector; what do the testimonials say; and so on and so forth. Here, the idea is just to get a breeze of their digital marketing services and other information put out by them. Read about the founders and also checking their blog section will help you gain certain insights about them.
3. Do their case studies substantiate the digital marketing services offered?
The second round of screening can be through their case studies. There are three ways of going about – first, check their website for past achievements or case studies; second, check online for articles written by their client brands; and third, if not available online, ask the client to share a few when you approach them. Judging case studies of digital marketing services should first and foremost have numbers – hits, leads, conversion, etc. Check that and you can gauge further by reading into their content.
4. Are their accolades for digital marketing services genuine?
Here’s the thing- awards add bling but did that piece match the client brief or are those awards distributed to whoever pays the nomination fee? When judging a social media marketing agency or any agency for digital marketing services, don’t get swayed by just the award titles, see the work instead. Make your judgment based on whether the work was realistic or just gimmicky to fetch brownie points in the name of abstract creativity?
5. How well do they present their digital marketing services during a pitch?
After shortlisting down to a single-digit of agencies, invite them over for a pitch presentation. Be mindful to only callout a few since screening becomes easier for you without feeling overwhelmed. While judging digital marketing services or a social media marketing agency, look for technical and platform expertise rather than just creativity. While that is important but using it to optimize your requirements is a must.
6. How pronounced are numbers on the pitch for their digital marketing services?
Following up on the last point, look for technical inputs that add value to their proposal. If a social media marketing agency shows you just creatives rather than telling you how they will utilize various technical aspects of marketing available on different online platforms they intend to use, you can consider it as a red flag. Digital Marketing pitches cannot be like Advertising Agency pitches. In Digital Media, a creative campaign and messaging can be changed quickly as compared to traditional media, and it can also be phased out based on various ad formats to be used. What’s more important is the technical expertise of the digital marketing agency in running targeted campaign on multiple online platforms and get results.
7. How big do they claim with their digital marketing services?
Given that digital marketing services should give results but unlike instant coffee, this will not work for businesses. Digital marketing can fast track your business, but not make you a unicorn overnight! Marketing is a continuous process, so be prudent when a digital or social media marketing agency claims to turn around your business in no time! After the first meeting, if you like their presentation, vibe, team, energy, etc, it’s advisable to get an idea on their pricing structure and price range before jumping the gun. If they seem affordable as per the budget in your hand or a bit flexible, you can take the process ahead by asking them to come back with a more detailed and focused digital marketing plan with campaign estimations to give an idea of the RoMI, if they are hired. At this time, if you do not have an experienced digital marketer in your team, it’s recommended to take help from a consultant in giving the brief to the shortlisted agencies and also analysing their phase 2 pitches. If you do not have the budgets to hire an agency as per the pricing details shared by them, be upfront and tell them so. No need to waste your or their time by inviting them for the next rounds.
8. Who is the team working behind those digital marketing services?
Once you have shortlisted two or a maximum of three digital or social media marketing agencies, your next step should be to meet the team. Unless you’re hiring for just a quick project, any short or long-term association means you should know the people working for your business. In any business, people matter, so take time to know them and how interested they are in knowing you and your business. Get to know who will be servicing your account and see if that gives you a good or bad feeling. You can always ask the agency to replace him/ her later if it doesn’t work well with an account servicing person. But, s/he is going to be important as you will majorly interact with him/ her almost every day. Also, ask for those who will be working on your account and their experiences to get more comfortable with your decision.
9. How justified is their pricing for digital marketing services?
Now, you may be tempted to hire an agency that quotes less monetarily. Less price doesn’t always mean substandard work, but that’s for you to decide. Whether you go to a big marketing firm with more resources that may or may not employ the best team or much time to your account, or a smaller agency lacking some resources but are devoted to your account- the choice is entirely yours. Both have merit and demerits, so don’t choose or reject a digital or social media marketing agency based on pricing for their digital marketing services. Most of the businesses who make a choice only based on the quoted fees, usually suffer and end up spending more later in damage control.
10. How reachable are they beyond just offering digital marketing services?
The point is about transparency between the agency and the business. This is twofold- one, how credible are their digital marketing services which we discussed above; and two, how is the communication channel between you and the agency. Here are simple pointers to look out for – take note of their TAT (Turn Around Time) to respond to your emails, time commitments in terms of sharing what was promised on time without any follow-ups or communicating in advance about a delay, the language or tone used in the mails and even texts, the format in which documents are submitted, etc. Be like James Bond and observe everything!
11. What estimates do they come with based on their digital marketing services?
You can send out a small task asking what kind of numbers are they envisioning for your business. A digital or social media marketing agency would ideally be able to strategize better once they fully know your business, but an initial screening based on market research, competitor brands, brand study online, current target group behavior, etc. may give a fair view to make probable assumptions. This will reinforce their technical expertise and the ability to share campaign estimations with logic.
12. How well do they connect with you besides just offering digital marketing services?
In the end, here’s another thing- if they don’t believe in you, can they drive an audience for your business? This point is not about morality or whether a digital or social media marketing agency understands the intricacies of your product and/or service, it’s about genuine intent and going the extra mile to work for your success. How do you judge this? By discussing with the agency and observing how much they know about you, and what pain points are they looking to address. What questions they ask should give you an idea on their intelligence levels and homework done before the pitch, and will help you further with the selection.
Summing up
When you decide to hire a digital agency for their digital marketing services or a social media marketing agency, there’s no quick fix to getting the right fit. Philip Kotler said, “Marketing takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master”, so why not while hiring the right digital marketing expert for digital marketing services that will take you and your business forward? Follow the above mentioned guidelines and there is a huge chance that you will make a right decision eventually.
All the best!
Team – The Clicks Technologies (TCT)
