Whether you’re on the lookout for your first marketing agency to promote your business or are seeking a specialised digital marketing agency to fast-track your growth, there are a few factors to consider to determine which is the right fit for you. With quite literally hundreds of digital marketing agencies out there to choose from, you first need a good understanding of their areas of expertise before you begin to narrow your options down to select the best for your business.
We all know too well the pressure of getting big decisions, such as these, right the first time, so we’ve taken the opportunity to speak to some key team members to get their own insight into how to select the perfect digital marketing agency.
When it comes to choosing a marketing agency that’s right for your business, it’s important to already have an in-depth understanding of what you want to achieve plus any further additional desired outcomes you may have. That means breaking down your goals. Do you want to increase your online visibility? Do you want to earn a greater proportion of the market share? Do you want to generate more sales? Achieve more leads? The list goes on.
However, not just what you want to achieve, but how much by. Aiming to increase your sales is a good starting point, but just by how much? Providing your prospect marketing agency with the desired figures in mind will enable them to better strategise your campaign, helping you both to ensure the desired outcome is achieved.
It’s then beneficial to ask your prospect digital marketing agency how they plan to achieve your goals and what work they may undertake on your website or across your brand to ensure both parties’ goals are aligned and agreed upon prior to any activity being carried out to ensure you’re fully aware of the extent of the work needed to take place and its likely impact.
If your business operates in a specialised niche, try selecting an agency that excels in that area of marketing. For example, we at Absolute have positioned ourselves as experts across 5 specific industries including adult, finance, casino, pharma and CBD.
With a good understanding of what you want to achieve, you can select the best channels to help you achieve your goal. Many agencies will offer several services and, those with a lot of experience, often help guide you towards the best one based on your objectives.
For instance, many of our clients have come to us thinking they want x service, but end up going for something completely different based on what they want to achieve and our recommendations to get there. Remember that your chosen marketing agency is there to support your own business’s growth and will help to dictate what is/ isn’t right for your business. Make sure that the reasons for selecting x service are justified, putting you on the right track from the get-go.
It’s also not a bad thing to ask about the agency’s previous experiences or projects they have worked on. By doing so, you get a better insight into how the agency works and what you can expect in terms of deliverables and results.
Importantly remember that, when it comes to marketing a business, less is often more beneficial than more. Keep your fees down by not feeling pressured into choosing a service you’re unsure will help you achieve your goals and, if there are only a couple of options available, consider sourcing help elsewhere. Your business may require multiple efforts to achieve the desired outcome.
If you think something sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is! Don’t fall into a trap of endless deliverables when, in reality, your campaign will be restricted by budget, time or turnaround.
Make sure that the marketing agencies you approach don’t overpromise the results you’ll achieve, especially within a short space of time. Like many things, marketing takes time to get right. Though agencies have the in-house resource to fulfill the deliverables they set out, success is unlikely to pour in overnight. A trustworthy marketing agency will recognise this, and provide greater insight into their activity than “it will help to achieve x”.
At our SEO agency, we’re keen to help our clients achieve the unachievable and, despite its cliche, act as an extension of their team by supporting them in areas beyond the services we provide. But don’t just take our word for it, check out what some of our clients have said!
“Absolute Digital Media really has gone above and beyond our Absolute of expectations with our content campaign! Being in an industry based on Science and Nutrition, ADM have not only helped strengthen our SEO and shown significant growth in rankings, but also always meet the technical side of scientific content in a way our users truly can understand and relate. We recommend them to anyone looking to use their services.”
Tyler Woodward, CEO & Founder at Eden’s Gate
“Prior to partnering with Absolute Digital we had been through 4 different SEO agencies in 2 years. Each of them made promises and set targets that were never met. Absolute Digital made these same promises. At first I was a bit sceptical. I hoped and expected gains to be made, as we had increased our SEO budget for the year. However, I thought the self imposed target we set for this December were, whilst very much desired, over ambitious. However, I am absolutely delighted that we are now half way into the month of December and well on the way to smashing this target with steady month on month growth over the past 12 months. My Account manager is absolutely tremendous! She has gone above and beyond what was expected. She asks the right questions and shows a real interest in our plans for the future. She, and the team working on my account have been real assets that are now indispensable to us. Really grateful! Wouldn’t use anyone else.”
Joe Brunt, Director at Fast Loan UK
Choosing a marketing agency isn’t just about looking through the case studies they’ve shared on their website, but doing your own, further digging into their overall reputation by reading online reviews. Through doing so, you can get a better insight into their work ethic and campaign results, further informing you as to what type of campaigns they have worked on in the past and where they have seen the most success.
Social media is also an excellent way to see a marketing agency from a new perspective. Their social content, as well as what people are saying about them on the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn, can be telling as to what kind of service(s) they provide and their expertise.
Last but by no means least, it’s important to have good knowledge of the scope of work on offer including further marketing services that may be of interest to you as your business continues to grow. It’s important to not back your brand into a corner so, by ensuring they have further opportunities available down the line when the time’s right, will help to avoid going through the same process to find the best marketing agency at each stage of your growth. Instead, your chosen marketing agency should grow with you, not against the tide.
If you are looking for a marketing agency who can provide support within other areas of your business, it’s a good idea to make sure their wider marketing resource is available to you.
As a multi-award-winning marketing agency, we have a genuine interest in our clients’ growth and success. For example, we’ve recently supported long-term client Vera Clinic partner with Everton FC for a 2-year long sponsorship. Vera Clinic approached us ahead of the partnership, requesting our advice and thoughts about the opportunity. For us and our team, moments like these definitely stand out to us!
It’s not every day your client signs up to be an official partner of @Everton ?⚽️
Who else saw @veraclinic’s first appearance during todays match?! pic.twitter.com/052tA4xBE7
— Absolute Digital Media (@AbsoluteDMedia) September 3, 2022
Choosing a marketing agency requires much more than looking at their existing book, case studies and services on offer. Before signing up, you want to make sure you have a good understanding of the cost of your campaign, helping to ensure there are no hidden surprises once the contract has been signed.
A reputable marketing agency should be able to provide you with a detailed list of deliverables and their cost, helping to break down the total cost plus the time each will take to complete to manage expectation, helping you to ensure the brief provided corresponds to your own deadlines, too.
All successful marketing strategies are ongoing meaning that the marketing agencies you approach should be able to provide open-ended strategies that support your businesses growth at each stage. Essentially, you want to find an agency that will grow with you and not limit your activity against their offering. By doing so, you can ensure you get the very most out of your strategy and the new team you’re working alongside for greater consistency.
However, it’s no secret that every marketing agency carries out various tasks differently. As a potential client, you shouldn’t be worried to ask about how each agency you approach works such as what happens when it comes to reporting, the level of communication available between you and your designated account manager or team or generally how they operate as a business to get a better insight into how your business will be looked after.
You want to choose a marketing agency you can trust and has the right experience to support your own businesses development and growth. A reputable marketing agency will be well-versed in all areas of marketing and will take various trends and patterns into consideration when pitching their ideas to you regardless of service, helping to better your overall approach to achieving the desired outcome.
Choosing a marketing agency, whether it be your first or your fifth, can be a daunting experience. After all, we all want to ensure our businesses growth is in safe hands! By taking our team’s top tips into consideration, you can better understand how to pitch your wants and needs to a team of marketing professionals to make sure you achieve beyond the desired outcome.
