How To Find a Good Digital Marketing Agency, And Why It’s So Important 

Have you been on the fence about hiring a digital marketing agency? Do you have horror stories from using “SEOs” that underperformed and never delivered? Maybe you know someone who spent thousands and never made their money back, or even worse, had their website held hostage!

As a digital marketing agency ourselves, we have heard stories from our clients and discussed every possible objection to hiring a digital marketing agency.

Because of what we have seen, we wanted to provide you with a small guide that prepares you to hire a digital marketing agency and discuss why it’s so important too!

Let’s jump into it!

3 Tips For Hiring Your Next Digital Marketing Team

#1 Not All Agencies Are Created Equal

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that all digital marketing agencies are not created equal. 

The primary reason is that some agencies will specialize in your niche, and others are comprehensive specialists.

Think of it this way – would you trust a painter who moonlights as a plumber to do a house repipe? I would hope not. Their experience, while great for completing simple tasks, does not mean that they are proficient in repiping your entire home!

Similar to the analogy above, a digital marketing team that is not well educated in the nuances of what you do will have to charge more, take more time to finish work, and won’t understand your industry’s specific needs. Things like:

• What your customers value
• Who is included in your target demographics, including age, median income, and purchasing habits
• How to speak to your clients through marketing avenues and content
• What pain points does your company experience from clients
• What services generate high revenue
• And more

When you hire a digital marketing agency that knows and analyzes the above information, you have a better relationship with them because they understand your needs!

#2 Not All Work Is Created Equal

The second thing you need to be aware of is that not all work is created equal!

We mean that if the marketing agency you are working with does not have strongly developed processes to increase your revenue and leads, the work they render may not be as impactful.

While this is very hard to gauge because you may not understand the work being completed, it comes down to a few simple things:

• Has the digital marketing agency I am looking to hire generated other companies like mine more revenue?
• Has the digital marketing agency I am looking to hire shown proficiency in the areas I value (Ranking other companies like yours on Google, Customer Service Concerns, etc)?
• Does the marketing agency have good reviews and recommendations?

In essence, if a digital marketing agency has helped make other companies like yours more money, you can find them easily on Google, and you know they have great reviews or resolve disputes well, you can rest assured that they are performing great work.

On the other hand, if you are seeking to hire an agency to help your company that does not have a track record of the above in your niche, it may be a great idea to interview other agencies that do!

#3 Not All Agreements Are Created Equal

The last thing you want to consider is the agreement you and your agency of choice have in place.

One of the things that we run into all the time is seeing company owners who did not understand the scope of work an agency would be performing or what the agreement was for things like content creation, website hosting, ongoing work, and so forth!

Some things to consider are:

• Does the work performed for you belong to you (website, media creation, graphics, logos, etc.)?
• How will work be reported to you?
• Are there guaranteed deliverables or just hours of work to be completed?
• What happens if you decide you want to cancel services? Is there a fee? Are there hurdles you should know about?
• Does the company provide pro-rated refunds?
• Are there any guarantees of services?

As you can see above, the more questions you ask, the more informed you are about how your services are rendered, when they are rendered, and what happens in the event of cancellation.

In addition, make sure that all of the information is provided on a master service agreement or a terms and conditions page before agreeing to services!

This sets you up to win every time as the consumer of agency services!

Why Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency Is So Important

The fact of the matter is that most people don’t understand why hiring a digital agency is so important – and in many cases, they believe they can do most of the work themselves. In some instances, they very well can!

But what happens when they can’t? Let’s discuss a few reasons that illustrate the importance of having a great digital agency on your side!

• • Saves you time and money!  In many cases, you will waste more time and money trying to learn to become an expert in another field rather than focusing on what you’re great at! To exhibit this, take your current per hour rate and multiply it by  40 hours a month, which is the minimum time it will take to become proficient. In most cases, you could have hired experts for less!
  • Gives you the ability to focus on your business! Frequently, we see company owners so busy focusing on how to generate more revenue through marketing that their processes and procedures begin to suffer. As their company has grown, things are left by the wayside to suffer. These may include client relationship management, follow-up systems, employee retention, employee training, and more! When time is taken away from the business in this capacity, other things begin to suffer.
  • Helps you delegate work for a healthier life! There’s nothing worse than burning your candle at both ends. When business owners take on digital marketing work, it’s not uncommon to see them get burnt out, or their personal life begins to lack fulfillment and purpose due to constantly being involved with new disciplines that take hours, weeks, days, and years to learn. As you can see, this relates to the first point and helps you get more of your time back!

The Final Verdict On Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency For Your Business

We’ve discussed a lot of points here today that apply to multiple scenarios, but there are only a few points you should take away from this informational guide.

Hiring an agency can be a time-consuming process, but it’s imperative to select the right company and understand it is a long-term relationship. In addition, by hiring an agency you can optimize your business for long-term growth and success to focus on helping your company grow in the ways you can specialize in.

After all – there is always a way to be and do better. It’s important that you hire someone that does this in marketing as well as you do it in your own field!