Last Updated on October 15, 2019 by
With an abundance of new marketing tactics cropping up almost every day, many businesses opt for a digital marketing company over in-house marketing to save money and stay competitive. When it comes to choosing the right company, however, it’s not a decision that should be taken lightly. Tim explained previously that the process of finding the right creative agency is time-consuming and full of potential risk. With that in mind, the following guide will be able to help you choose the right digital marketing agency for you.
Calculate Your Budget
Before you go hunting for a digital marketing agency, determining your budget is a crucial first step. This is especially true for small startup businesses, which a 2018 CMO survey indicated spend 7.3% of their revenue on marketing. Budgeting may seem like a logical step but many business owners rush into finding a company that meets their specific needs but don’t consider their budget, which can have financial consequences down the line. While more experienced agencies could cost you more, going with the cheapest option may also not be the best idea. Remember that there’s no set price here, so it’s important to determine how much you’re going to spend and be amenable to working with a reasonable budget.
Determine Your Specific Goals
After calculating your budget, another first step before hiring a digital marketing agency is to determine what your goals and top priorities are. For most businesses, increasing sales and acquiring more customers are shown by an Ascend2 to be the top priorities with 64% and 55% respectively in 2019. But this may be too broad. Instead, take a more detailed approach and ask yourself what do you need to lead to increased sales. A better website? A redesign to make it more appealing? Or maybe you have a business with no online presence and you need social media marketing specifically. The more specific and clear you are about your goals the better you’ll be able to choose an agency that caters to your specific needs.
Find An Agency That Meets Your Specific Needs
With more businesses becoming highly specialized, digital marketing agencies are adapting and the ‘do-it-all’ agencies are giving way to more highly specialized ones to stay competitive. An agency specializing specifically in your business better understands your goals and struggles and its services are holistically tailored to your needs. For example, while many digital marketing firms offer social media services among many other services, specialized companies like Marketing Hy are described by Business.com to focus solely on social media. In this sense, niche agencies focus on one marketing aspect, target specific demographics, or solely specialize in aspects like global marketing. So, if your startup is looking to service global markets, for example, then Hong Kong-based Ayima recommends agencies with a vast international footprint and global SEO expertise. This is because each country has its own distinct culture, media, language, and online habits, among others, which are crucial factors for your marketing. Choosing an agency that specializes in these aspects then, can help provide your company with region-specific content and target the right demographics.
Look For Credibility and Transparency
When looking to choose a suitable digital marketing company, their credibility and operational transparency are the most commonly overlooked red flags. Be sure to determine the agency’s credibility from client testimonials, review sites, etc. You can even ask for references, especially from a client account that didn’t go so smoothly, to determine how the agency coped with problems. Additionally, look for telltale signs like an address, bios of company principals and a client list. If these elements are missing then the agency is most probably not worth your time. If your gut says they might be hiding something, then they probably are. Finally, look at whether the agency has a good website? After all, if their website is intuitive and organized, appears high in search results and they have well maintained social media pages with quality content, then chances are that they take pride in their work and will be able to meet your requirements.