What Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency
One of the key elements for the success of any business is having a strong digital marketing strategy in place. However, not every brand has the time or expertise to manage their own marketing, which leads them to seek the help of a qualified digital marketing agency.
While trusting your marketing efforts to experts is a smart move, choosing the right agency to work with can be overwhelming. With so many options out there, how do you know which one is the best fit for you?
To help make your decision easier, we have compiled a list of questions to ask a digital marketing agency before hiring them.
Why is it Important to Ask the Right Questions?
Hiring a digital marketing agency can not only save your company time and resources but also help you reach goals faster. When searching for the right match, it’s very important to ask the questions that matter to you.
If you align with an advertising agency on vision and budget but completely disagree with their communication strategy or other tactics, you’ll find that the partnership won’t be as productive as one where everyone is on the same page.
What Questions Should You Ask a Digital Marketing Agency Before Hiring One?
Experience and Expertise
What is your agency’s core expertise?
Digital marketing is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of tactics and strategies. Before signing a contract with an agency, it’s important to understand which digital marketing services they offer and how those align with your business goals.
Suppose you’re looking for an excellent influencer marketing agency but are connecting with a business that only provides mobile app services. In that case, you may not receive the targeted expertise you’re looking for.
Can you share some examples of your work?
When considering questions to ask a digital marketing agency, it’s important to determine whether your advertisers of choice have experience with your industry and niche. Ideally, they’ll have a breadth of experience to showcase, so you can get a sample of what services you would receive as a client.
What kind of results have you achieved for similar businesses?
When evaluating an agency, don’t simply rely on their claims. You’re entrusting expert marketers to help your business thrive, so it’s important that a potential agency can demonstrate the success you desire. Take the time to explore their website or request case studies showcasing their work with various businesses or any accolades they’ve earned.
Strategy
How do you approach crafting a digital marketing strategy?
A digital marketing strategy should be data-driven and angled toward growing your business. It’s important to ask a marketing company how they will create this plan.
Different agencies will take different approaches, so it’s crucial to ensure you’re aligned with what they have to offer early on. For example, if you’re looking for organic engagement from always-on social media feed posts, it’s worthwhile to know whether your potential marketing agency has experience with that specific strategy.
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Can you explain your process for creating and executing campaigns?
Marketing campaigns can be complex – that’s why you’re outsourcing them. An expert digital marketing agency should make the complicated nature of advertising simple for your business.
From the account managers you would interact with as their client to behind-the-scenes optimization specialists, there will be a lot of people working on these campaigns.
- When determining what questions to ask advertising agencies, it’s important to know how the campaign process works and who is involved so you know what to expect and where to ask questions.
How do you stay updated with the latest digital marketing trends?
The last thing you want when hiring a marketing agency is to pay for out-of-date knowledge. The digital landscape is constantly changing, so learning how your prospective agency rides the waves of trends will help ensure your efforts will be relevant in the future.
How do you differentiate your agency from others in the industry?
To ensure you’re heading in the right direction when hiring a digital marketing agency, you can inquire about their standout value proposition. Look for their ability to tailor marketing strategies to your specific needs, utilize advanced technologies like AI for measuring success, and more. Choose a partner that delivers results and drives your business forward.
Reporting and Communication
How often will we receive updates and reports?
If you’re unsure which questions to ask an advertising agency, be sure to get information on how they will keep you informed of their progress. Some agencies report topline findings weekly, and others create in-depth reports once per quarter. Especially if this is your first time trusting your brand to a marketing agency, it’s important to set an expectation for how often you would like to be updated.
Who will be our main point of contact?
Building connections with the team at your chosen marketing agency is a great way to form clearer lines of communication. It’s important to ensure that you’re comfortable with the individuals who will be representing your business and that they have the skills necessary to drive results.
How do you measure success?
Knowing how an agency measures success is important for two reasons. First, it ensures that you’re on the same page in terms of what you’re hoping to achieve. Second, it allows you to hold the agency accountable for producing measurable results. When it comes to questions to ask a digital marketing agency, it’s crucial to request the specific metrics or KPIs they track so that you can gauge the success of your campaigns.
Pricing and Contract
How do you structure your pricing?
With your specific goals in mind, it’s important to ask how a marketing company structures their contracts. For example, they may dedicate significant resources to a service like community management. If you already have an employee who performs these duties, you may not want to pay for a second pair of eyes.
Further, some agencies offer fixed work for a fixed price. Others create projections, ask for a down payment, and then charge based on the time it takes for teams to complete their work. This question will help you know what to expect when invoice day rolls around.
How long is the contract, and what happens if we want to end the contract early?
After knowing the answers to all of the above questions, hopefully, you won’t be in a hurry to end your contract with a marketing agency early. However, it’s worthwhile to know the duration of your contract before signing. It’s also important to understand the potential financial penalties you may face if you realize that you and your agency aren’t working together as well as you had hoped.
Key Takeaways
Knowing what questions to ask an advertising agency can ensure that you’re making an informed choice. By fully understanding and keeping their answers to these questions in mind, you’re well-positioned to find a marketing partner to accelerate your company’s growth.
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