8 Questions to Ask Your Next Potential Digital Marketing Agency

If you’re reading this, you’re probably in the process of looking for a new digital marketing agency or a replacement for your current partner. Or maybe, you are a little under the water and need some help picking up the slack.

Whatever the case, the process of picking the right digital marketing agency is a delicate one. You must be extra careful to identify a partner that’s willing and able to go the extra mile to take your organization to the next level. Otherwise, you’ll end up having a continuous daunting cycle of hiring and firing incompetent digital marketing agencies.

So, how can you weed out the studs from the buds? How do you identify the marketing agency that will give you maximum ROI on your digital marketing spending? By asking them the following eight questions.

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   Who Have They Worked with Before?

So basic, right? Well, there’s more to this than merely asking about their previous or current clients.

Ask the agency to refer you to a few of these customers and do the fact-finding by yourself. Find out why the previous clients left and what the current clients think about the quality of service they’re receiving.

By examining the list of organizations they’ve worked with before, you’ll identify if they have enough experience with businesses like yours. Not to say that digital marketing agencies can’t be versatile, but sometimes it helps to engage an agency that has a proven record within your niche.

For instance, you can’t be so sure that an agency that has only worked with international organizations will fully understand your small business’ unique marketing needs. If they haven’t engaged organizations like yours, they should, at least, demonstrate how they will adapt to your scenario.

2. Will They Engage You in Developing & Deploying Marketing Strategies?

The whole purpose of digital marketing is to help achieve your business goals. So, every action the agency takes must align directly with your company’s objectives.

That’s why your digital marketing partner must engage you when designing and implementing strategies.

The last thing you want is an agency that tries to fix you into its predetermined one-shoe-fits-all marketing strategies. Each solution they deliver must be based on extensive consultation and customized for your unique needs.

Also, the agency should pledge to listen to your views and consider your reservations whenever applicable. How will you contact them, and at what times? And finally, how long will it take them to address your concerns?

3. What Are the Key Performance Indicators?

Sometimes, it may not be easy to measure the returns on investment of your marketing campaigns. It’s not as direct as eating fries and expecting to have a full belly over the next few hours.

Marketing, especially digital marketing, requires consistency and devotion. Sometimes, it will take months (or even years) to realize your desired results.

Therefore, the marketing agency should determine how you will measure success, after how long, and how they’ll respond to strategies that don’t yield results.

4. How Much of The Work Will They Be Outsourcing

While outsourcing some services is a common practice among digital marketing companies, the agency shouldn’t be outsourcing more than what they handle in-house. If they’ll be outsourcing some responsibilities, how can this affect your business directly or indirectly?

Sometimes, it’s more comforting if the agency can handle some tasks like web design internally. This way, you’ll always have experts at your beck and call, especially when your issues need to be promptly addressed.

5. Who Will They Assign to Your Business?

For the best digital marketing results, you should have a concrete team and retain them for not less than 8-12 months. In short, the same people the agency dispatches to your company on the first day should be the same faces you’ll see throughout the marketing campaign.

That’s why you must know the people you’ll be working with regularly in and out. Do they have the requisite subject-matter expertise? Have they led marketing campaigns for organizations like yours before? How approachable are they?

Before you sign that contract, visit the agency’s office at least once and ask to be introduced to the team they’ll assign to your business. If you aren’t sure about anything, trust your gut instincts.

6. How Long Will Your Contract Last & What Does It Cover?

One of the most crucial aspects of any engagement is the contract, and hiring a marketing agency is no exception.

As we’ve said over and over again, digital marketing demands a lot of patience and devotion. If you’re going the inbound marketing strategy way, for example, you cannot expect to see any substantial results within the first three months. Therefore, it’s only right that your contract lasts between 4-6 months or so.

Besides the contract’s life span, you should also consider deliverables to expect. For instance, how many blog posts or social media promotions will you be entitled to, and at what intervals? If you need any additional services, which criteria will they use for pricing?

7. Which Tools Do They Use?

Even the most established digital marketers rely on third-party tools to drive their marketing campaigns.

Before you engage the agency, ask them what optimization tools they’re well-versed in and plan to use to advance your digital marketing strategy. Then research and find out if those tools address your marketing needs.

For example, let’s say your objective is to align your sales and marketing teams. It’s only right that you look for a digital marketing agency familiar with CRM.

Sometimes, you may not even be familiar with these tools. Just ask. Note down their responses and look them up later.

8. What Will They Need from You?

Be wary of an agency that tells you to tick marketing off your worry list entirely as long as you work with them. Digital marketing cannot work without your input.

The right agency will tell you that they require your feedback. Have they identified the correct target audience? Are you happy with the content they’re generating? And finally, what adjustments would you like them to make?

Professional Digital Marketing Solutions

The right digital marketing company should approach you as a partner, not a client. They should extensively consult with you in every step of strategy formulation and delivery.

Above all, they must have the relevant expertise and considerable experience within your specific niche; BizIQ offers both. We boast years of experience in delivering professional digital marketing solutions to over 20,000 organizations across the U.S. You can learn more about what we do by reading our free local SEO guide, or by contacting a member of our sales team, today.