You’ve decided that your business needs the help of a digital marketing agency. Congratulations! This is a great decision. But now you might be wondering how to hire a digital marketing agency. What qualities should you look for? What questions should you ask? Here are some guidelines to help you find the best digital marketing agency for your business.
Define Your Goals
Before you start looking for an agency, you need to have a good understanding of your goals. What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing campaign? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive more traffic to your website? Boost online sales? Once you know your goals, you can start looking for an agency that has experience achieving similar objectives.
Consider Your Budget
How much are you willing to spend on a digital marketing campaign? Make sure you have a clear budget in mind before starting your search. This will help narrow down your options and make it easier to find an agency that fits within your budget. Keep in mind that agencies typically charge either an hourly rate or a flat fee, so be sure to ask about pricing before making any commitments.
Ask for Recommendations
If you know anyone who has worked with a digital marketing agency in the past, reach out and ask for recommendations. Getting first-hand accounts from people you trust is always a good idea when making any type of business decision. You can also check out online review sites like Google, Yelp, and Clutch to see what other companies are saying about various agencies.
Evaluate Their Portfolio
Once you’ve compiled a list of potential agencies, take some time to look at their portfolios. This will give you a good idea of their previous work and whether or not they have experience in your industry. If they don’t have any relevant experience, it’s probably best to keep looking. You want an agency that knows what they’re doing and has a proven track record of success.
Set Up Interviews
After narrowing down your options, it’s time to start setting up interviews with potential agencies. This is where you can really get to know them and see if they’re a good fit for your business. Be sure to ask about their experience, their process, and their pricing structure during the interview process. And most importantly, trust your gut! If something feels off, move on to the next agency on your list until you find one that feels like the right fit for your business.
Ask these 10 Questions
To help you out, we’ve put together a list of 10 questions you should ask when interviewing potential agencies. Asking these questions will help you narrow down your options and find an agency that is the best fit for your business.
1. What services do you offer?
The first step in finding the right agency is to make sure they offer the services that you need. For example, if you’re looking for help with social media marketing, there’s no point in considering an agency that doesn’t offer that service.
2. Have you worked with any businesses in my industry before?
If an agency has experience working with businesses in your industry, that’s a good sign. They’ll already have a good understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that come with marketing your type of business.
3. Can you provide examples of your work?
Any good agency will be able to provide examples of their previous work. This will give you a good idea of their style and whether or not their work is up to your standards.
4. How do you measure success?
Before hiring an agency, it’s important to agree on how success will be measured. This could be things like increased website traffic, higher conversion rates, or more social media followers. Once you’ve determined what success looks like, you can use this as a metric to see if the agency is actually delivering results.
5. What is your pricing structure?
One of the most important factors in choosing an agency is price. Make sure to ask about their pricing structure upfront so there are no surprises later on. Additionally, don’t just choose the cheapest option—sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more for an agency that will provide better results.
6. What are your policies on revision and changes?
Before hiring an agency, it’s important to establish ground rules for revisions and changes. Otherwise, you could end up stuck in a never-ending cycle of revisions with no real progress being made.
7. What kind of guarantee can you provide?
A good digital marketing agency should be confident in their ability to deliver results and should be willing to back up their claims with some kind of guarantee—whether that’s a money-back guarantee or something else.
8. Do you have any promotions or discounts currently available?
You never know—sometimes agencies have current promotions or discounts available that could save you money on your total bill. It never hurts to ask!
9. When would be the earliest start date for our project?
Make sure to find out if the agency has any current projects they’re working on and when they would be able to start working on yours. You don’t want to have to wait months for them to begin working on your project because they’re already too busy with other clients’ projects.
10. Do you have any other questions for me?
This question may seem odd, but it’s actually quite telling—if an agency doesn’t have any questions for you about your business or what you’re looking for, they’re not fully prepared to take on your project and deliver great results. Any good agency will want to learn as much as possible about your business before getting started so they can tailor their approach specifically for you. Asking questions also shows that they’re truly interested in working with your business and not just trying to get another client.
Red Flags
As you’re talking to different agencies, be on the lookout for any red flags that might indicate that an agency is not a good fit for your company. Some red flags include:
- The agency is unable or unwilling to provide examples of past work.
- The agency seems more interested in selling you on their services than actually understanding your needs.
- The agency uses high-pressure tactics or tries to push you into signing a contract before you’re ready.
Hiring a digital marketing agency is a big decision for any business owner or CEO—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By taking the time to define your goals, consider your budget, ask for recommendations, evaluate portfolios, and set up interviews, you can find the perfect agency for your business without any stress or hassle. By keeping these tips in mind, you can be sure that you’ll find an agency that is a good fit for your company and will help you achieve your marketing goals.