5 Considerations When Hiring a Marketing Agency
By Joe Blake
5 Considerations When Hiring a Marketing Agency
If you believe it's time to engage a marketing agency and outsource your company's marketing, there are a few things you should know. After all, these individuals will be in charge of boosting and marketing your brand's online presence, so you need to be sure about who you hire. With that said, below are 5 considerations when hiring a marketing agency.
Understand Your Availability and Involvement
Businesses often outsource to a marketing business to undertake the tasks they don't want to do themselves. The level of involvement you would like to have depends on how available you are for things like project updates and brainstorming sessions and whether you would rather just leave it up to the professionals while you attend to other more pressing matters.
Occasionally, clients express a desire to be engaged in every stage of the process, and some marketing agencies are not thrilled about micromanagement from a client.
It's OK either way, but you should let your marketing agency know-how involved and available you'll be so they can plan resources and timelines accordingly. If you don't meet those expectations, the marketing campaign will almost certainly fail for both sides. Also, consider whether or not you will be able to integrate them into any remote IT infrastructure you might use, as it could save time and help avoid redundant communication issues.
Have a Clear Understanding of Your Goals
You need to know what you are after so that you can give a marketing agency parameters to follow and stay within. The consequences of not doing this could be that you pay for services you don't need and rack of hefty bills in the process. When it comes to digital marketing, it is quite common for a client to say they want to market better, but they don't have clear goals in mind.
To avoid unethical marketing firms, you should first do your homework. Make sure you write out a plan and come prepared to your initial meeting with a clear vision of what you expect out of the relationship. Do you want more sales? More leads? Better marketing collateral? A new website? New social media leads? Just like any transaction, if you come unprepared, you are setting yourself up to be exploited.
Do you want to increase your sales? Are you looking for more leads? Marketing material that is more effective? Is there a new website? If you arrive unprepared, you are putting yourself up to be abused, just like in any other transaction.
Know Their Services
Is the marketing agency a one-stop shop for all of your digital marketing demands, or do they focus on just one or two? You may want a specialized agency for some services like Pay-Per-Click (PPC), social media or Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as building up a successful program requires a lot of expertise and ability.
Other times, a marketing agency will provide a variety of digital marketing services since their skill sets are similar. An agency might offer mail marketing, lead-generating landing page programs, and web design, among others.
What do Previous Clients Have to Say?
You should use a marketing agency that has worked with firms in your size and sector before. If you own a plumbing or HVAC business, for example, you wouldn't do yourself any favours by hiring a marketing agency that specializes in retail or restaurants. Look at the marketing firm's website to check whether there is a section for "Clients" or "Portfolio."
Also, look them up on Yelp, Google, and LinkedIn to see what other company owners have said about them. If they have consistently bad reviews or complaints, it is probably for a reason, and you may want to stay clear. People trust social signals for a reason.
Ask Yourself if You Can Get Along With Their Team?
Although these individuals are not W-2 employees of your organization, you must nonetheless deal with them on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis. If your personalities clash at the start of the relationship, you're likely to have problems later on. No number of client recommendations or success stories can make up for a gut sense that you won't be able to work together, so ask some personality and cultural fit interview questions before hiring a marketing business.
In Conclusion
If you find a reputable firm with bright individuals who understand your industry, there's a strong possibility that working together will pay off very well.
Keep the aforementioned considerations, trust your instincts, and you'll be able to select a respectable marketing business that can help you get to where you want to go.
What does our team do?
The team at Social Hire never just do social media marketing.
Is it important to you to increase the digital footprint of your business by utilising online promotion, but can't work out how to begin?With the professional understanding of our digital experts working in your business, you can begin to see interaction, brand loyalty and enquiries get better without having to take your team out to spend time on ineffective marketing strategies, or spend money on a internal marketing manager with a view to get results that may not deliver!
Our team are a company that assists our customers further their digital footprint by giving digital marketing on a regular basis.
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