As a business owner, you stay busy running your company. Whether you sell products or offer services, there’s always something more to be done: ordering supplies, taking care of customers, paying rent, and more.
One of those things on your neverending to-do list is marketing your business. Are your marketing initiatives actively helping to grow your business, or are they sitting on the backburner waiting for you to have more free time in your schedule?
If your answer was the latter, it might be time to think about hiring a marketing agency to help. Marketers live and breathe creative ways to promote businesses and can help alleviate one of your many checklist items.
So, how do you choose a digital marketing agency? Read our five tips on finding an agency that will serve as your marketing team and help grow your business.
5 Tips to Choosing a Marketing Team
#1 – Outline Your Goals, Outcomes, & Needs
Before you reach out to an agency to discuss your marketing needs, first think through your business goals. Do you want to sell more products throughout the US? Do you want to be the number one (fill in the blank) in the Tri-Cities area?
To get to the heart of your goals, think through the answers to questions such as:
- Who are your competitors?
- What kind of customers do you want to attract?
- How do you want your brand to be perceived?
- What sets you apart from everyone else?
- Where do you want your business to be long term?
- What products/services need to be promoted the most?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you’ll be prepared to meet with potential agencies to determine how they can help you accomplish these goals.
You’ll also want to think through if you need a local agency or if a remote agency can work for needs.
Hiring a local agency can be important if you value meeting face to face with your marketing agency. It can also be helpful if you need services such as photoshoots, video shoots, or even regularly printed materials.
If you need more digital services to boost your online presence (such as search engine optimization, paid advertisements, web design, email marketing, etc.), then you can likely work with an agency that’s further away.
#2 – Review Portfolios & Case Studies
As you’re reviewing agencies, be sure to check out their portfolio and/or case studies to see actual work they’ve done for clients.
Good agencies showcase their work on their website so that you can have an idea of what all they specialize in. See if they’ve worked with your industry before and how they helped grow a business like yours.
You can also get a feel for an agency through the work they do to promote their own brand. Is their website relevant and current both from content AND design perspectives? It’s easy to tell if an agency will put a lot of hard work and creativity into your brand if they are jazzed about their own.
#3 – Read Reviews & Chat With Past Clients
As you do research on agencies, be sure to read reviews about the company. You can read reviews on an agency’s website, but also be sure to check out their Google profile and social media platforms. You’ll get to hear from real customers on how easy or difficult it was to work with that agency.
Most agencies would also be willing to give you a list of previous clients whom you can chat with personally about their experience.
(* P.S.—read our blog post if you need to catch up on how to get more Google reviews for your own business!)
#4 – Weigh Cost Vs Value
When hiring a digital marketing agency, cost will likely be one of the main items on your agenda.
It’s often tempting to go with the cheapest agency on the market in order to save yourself money, but doing so could cost you a lot of money in the long run.
As you discuss the cost of marketing services, be sure to weigh the value these services will bring to your business.
Good agencies offer quality work and produce great results for the fee they charge. You don’t have to hire the most expensive agency on the market, but be sure to think through the investment you’re making and how good services can produce more leads (which means more money for your business!).
#5 – Trust Your Gut
You’ll be interacting a lot with your agency, so you want to make sure you trust your gut. Think through your first impressions, personalities, follow-up conversations, and delivered promises. How did you feel?
Your agency should be excited to do work for your business and have creative ideas on how to accomplish your goals. They should also provide excellent customer service and treat you with respect.
If you feel like they dread the work, offer cookie cutter solutions, or don’t get back with you in a timely manner, then you’re seeing the first (of many possible) red flags.
Partner with Eldie Inc. For All Your Marketing Needs
Our team would love to partner with you for all your marketing needs. We are committed to adding value, exceeding expectations, and growing your business—we keep these values at the forefront of everything we do.
Let’s discuss which of our marketing services make the most sense for your business. Schedule a free discovery call with our team today to get the process started!