Are you considering hiring a digital marketing agency to help drive business? If so then you have probably already started your search and you have noticed that there is a lot of options.
There are hundreds of agencies that all claim to be the best. So, how do you know who to trust. Logic tells you that they can’t all be the best, right? Well there are some things you can look for that will help you weed out the field.
There are a lot of fakes and those that simply don’t know what they are doing when it comes to marketing. The barrier of entry is low and anyone can start an agency and run it out of a basement. Make sure to look for the following things while searching for the right digital marketing partner for your business.
Case Studies and Examples
This is an important one. Ask them to show you what they got. They should be more than willing to wow you. They should expect this. If they give you some BS excuse like they “can’t because of NDAs” just walk about.
Anyone that is serious about winning your business (and that can actually deliver results) will be more than happy to show you case studies, examples of previous work, and whatever else you want to see.
Their Own Work Internally
Imagine being a digital marketing agency but having poor SEO or website structure? Well it happens a lot. There are so many fakes out there that think their customers are stupid.
“See how their own agency’s website ranks on Google and how it’s technically structured,” advises Henk Schipper of Jaloezieen Fabriek. “If they don’t rank for anything run away.”
Many agencies that are faking it will say something like they are too focused on their own clients that they don’t work on their own website. That is ridiculous. If they were good, wouldn’t that want to use that skill to drive business for their own agency?
Transparency
If they tell you that they use top secret strategies or mention “secret sauce” you are dealing with an amateur. Look for an agency that offers transparency when it comes to pricing as well as the work being done.
You have to have complete trust and if you don’t have that the relationship will never work out. Ask questions about what methods they use and see how the respond. If you get a bad gut feeling walk away.
Experience in Your Industry
This is important. Different industries and business types require a different digital strategy.
Now, if you are a medical office and you are looking for an agency to help drive patient leads, do they have experience? Or are they only experienced driving e-commerce sales for products like CBD oil, check in luggage and headphones or a car audio system?
Work with an agency that has experience and success working on campaigns similar to yours. You don’t want to be their test into a new market. You need to hire based on experience, not willingness to learn.