In 2023, you must have a strong online presence to get clients. Sure, people looking for your services (or services similar to yours) will struggle to find you online if you don’t invest in digital marketing. However, even those who look for you directly may be disheartened by the inability to find you.
So, you need digital marketing, which means you need a digital marketing agency, but how do you find the right one for your enterprise? This is not a question that’s easy to answer, but let us try our best to give you a few questions to help you in your search.
1. What are your previous experiences (with businesses similar to ours)?
Even with an unlimited budget, not everyone knows how to run a digital marketing campaign. However, what if the budget is not unlimited? What if you need to make a boost with a small budget provided by a business that still doesn’t have that much to spare for digital marketing?
Then, it’s important to mention that every industry is different. Even if you just focus on organic search, making a regular e-commerce or one-time purchase campaign can be incredibly different. Then, there’s the question of how you construct a SaaS campaign. The bottom line is that you must take a completely different approach to each of these industries.
So, you must first ask whether you have worked with companies like yours; if they say yes, ask them which companies. Asking for a reference is always a good idea.
2. What happens if we need more (or less)?
What happens if you decide to spend more money on marketing in the future? Will they be able to keep up?
What if you ask for a higher rank, more ads, more links, etc.? The thing is that, even with all the digital tools acting as an equalizer, not every digital marketing agency is the same. So, make sure that you start by reflecting on your growth plans and look for a partner you know can keep up in the long run.
There’s nothing wrong with changing partners when you have to, but the transition can be long and unnecessarily difficult. So, looking for scalable solutions from the start is always better.
Just keep in mind that while scaling up is sometimes the outcome, sometimes, you might have to cut back on some of the costs. While cutting costs on digital marketing is not the best of ideas, it sometimes has to be done. Keep this in mind, as well.
3. Can you show me some examples of your previous work?
Simply put, you want to see results.
- Show me the landing pages that your technical SEO experts have optimized!
- Let me read some of your writers’ and video editors’ content!
- Show me some of the articles that you’ve published or ads that you’ve made!
This is such a simple and logical request that they can’t refuse, and it will tell you all you need to know about the quality of their work.
You don’t have to download a widget or go into deep analytics. Try taking the customer approach. Ask them for a business they’ve worked with, then ask what industry they belonged to. The next thing you have to do is find them organically. If, for instance, the business they mentioned sold gardening tools, which keyword would you use to find them? See how high they pop up.
The bottom line is that, in digital marketing, the results are measurable. This is something that a client can do, just as well as a business.
4. When will we see the results?
The results of different digital marketing techniques take different times to materialize. The thing is that, as a business, you need to know how long this will take. For instance, seeing the results may take weeks to months if you’re doing SEO. The results will be immediate with PPC, but this boost will only be present while you pay.
You need a way to manage your expectations, and the best way to do so is to ask your digital marketing agency when can you expect to see the results. While every campaign is different, they should be able to give you an approximate timeline. Even better, they’ll provide you with a roadmap, which will be useful if you establish a long-term collaboration.
Remember to do some research of your own, as well. Just think about it; they could technically say anything they want. What’s there to prevent them from telling you that it will take years to see the results, siphoning your resources while virtually doing no work and taking other clients? They won’t, but they could. This is why it’s so important that you do your research and even shop around a bit.
5. What can you offer that others can’t?
Now, this is not necessarily a fair question. What you’re doing by asking this question is virtually telling you to give you a pitch to share their USP. In other words, you’re incentivizing them to tell you what you want to hear; however, even a pitch can contain a grain of truth. What does this mean?
Well, usually, companies aren’t just throwing wild promises out there. If they say that they’re cheaper than your competitors, this is something that you can easily check. If they promise an extra feature, it shouldn’t take you too long to figure out if they’ve made a promise that they can’t, or have no intention to deliver on. In other words, even if they’re overselling their services, their direction should indicate the direction of your future collaboration.
If you’re lucky, the company that you’re working with will give you a unique offer.
This is one more reason why it’s so important that you do your homework beforehand. For instance, when looking for SEO services, you’re buying an increase in rank. Revenue will increase, but this will come as a passive benefit, not a direct action. So, if the marketing company you’re dealing with talks about the increase in revenue all the time and barely mentions the metrics they actively improve, it’s not a good sign.
Wrap up
Ultimately, it’s incredibly important to understand that it’s not just the partner determining if the match is good enough. You need to know the needs of your business and even understand your personal preferences before making a decision. Take some time; it’s a decision that will be with you for a while.
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