It’s a big decision. Any digital marketing agency you work with should treat your business like it’s their own and be passionate about what they do. You can learn a lot of skills, but it’s difficult to fake passion.If they clear those hurdles, here are the 10 questions you should ask when hiring a digital marketing agency:
1. Cultural Fit
The digital marketing agency you choose will be an extension of your company. There should be an innate passion for working with you.
Q: How do you work with clients?
2. Experience
You don’t want people learning on the job with your business. Look for people with experience in your industry and with the type of marketing you plan on doing. Make sure the experienced people will do the work and not hand it off to a junior team member.
Q: Who will work on my accounts?
3. Results
Creativity is great. So are click-throughs and more visitors to your website. However, what you really want are conversions. The measurement that counts is if the cash register rings.
Q: How will you measure success?
4. Transparency
Digital marketing can command widely varying pricing depending on scope of work, quality, and products. You don’t want the lowest price, but you do want the most efficient use of your dollars. Demand transparency in everything.
Q: Will you show me the real price you pay for ad placement and where my marketing will run?
5. Communication
To be effective, it needs to be a team effort to convert the vision to action. Make sure your expectations match with the digital marketing agency you’re considering.
Q: What type of communication and progress reports do you provide and how often?
6. Referrals
Anyone can talk a good game or show you charts and graphs that illustrate success. Ask to talk to real clients that they’ve helped. If possible, find someone in a similar industry or situation. Then call them and talk to them yourself. Any reputable company should be able to provide you with contacts rather than just anonymous case studies.
Q: Can you provide me with references that I may contact?
7. Process
The right digital marketing agency for you should follow a formal, strategic process to guide you. They should have multiple phases:
- Research your company, your competitors, and your industry
- Work collaboratively with you to develop a strategy
- Agree on expected outcomes
- Plan execution
- Measurement and optimization
Q: Can you walk me through your process from start to finish, including milestones and touchpoints?
8.On Top of Trends
Digital marketing is constantly evolving. What worked a year ago might no longer work today. You want to work with people that are on top of the latest trends in digital marketing and can help you decide whether they’re right for you.
Q: What trends do you see emerging in digital marketing that might be right for me?
9. Core Strengths
There are many kinds of digital marketing agencies. Some specialize in SEO and inbound marketing while others are better suited for web design.
Q: What is your core strength and what do you do better than anyone else?
10. Trust
Ultimately, it comes down to trust. You’ll be trusting someone with taking care of your marketing and growing your business.
