Top Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Company
Top Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Agency – We’re here to help businesses understand the challenges in hiring a firm for their digital marketing. Being in the business professionally for over 20 years ongoing, it’s amazing how – after all this time – it’s still clear there are a ton of charlatans in the space. In fact, I’d argue – this is getting to be an even larger problem. The proliferation of simple tools that will visually do 90% of what a client needs, but requiring minimum skills – while at the same time the important parts of the process have (in some cases) gotten much more complex and complicated (an example is Google Analytics 4 and/or Google Tag Manager) coupled with the hustler economy where anyone can try to “outsource it” to someone that knows what they’re doing – and it’s a recipe for disaster.
So it’s important to be cautious while searching for a digital marketing company.
Top Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Company
So what are you to ask your digital marketing company? Well look no further than the list below – we help you sort through the mess and provide you with a simple framework to work from.
Before we get to the list however, a quick step back…
What DO YOU Want to Accomplish?
Having worked with clients of all sizes over the last 20 years, I see this as a massive problem with companies and organizations of all sizes. No one has any idea what they want. Now, obviously a part of that is understanding what’s realistic – what the market looks like – all things a competent digital marketing agency can assist with – but before you even talk with a marketing agency I highly recommend you think about where you’d like your company to be in 6 months – 1 year – and 5 years. The biggest problem I deal with time and time again – is that clients grow too quickly and although their marketing is on point and the deals are flowing in – they simply can’t handle the additional work… they can’t handle the additional sales, the additional administrative steps or have the team in the background to handle fulfillment.
Alright with that out of the way let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this here post shall we…
Top Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Company
1) What services do you specialize in?
You want to understand if the agency’s core strengths align with their specific needs, whether that’s SEO, PPC, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, or another area. One important thing to understand is that in digital – everything overlaps. The way you build your website plays a HUGE role in your ability to rank via Search Engine Optimization. Keeping things nicely organized as a potential client, means your digital advertising company can do more, more quickly, and less expensive.
2) Can you show me examples of your past work or case studies?
Seeing tangible results achieved for other clients helps them gauge the agency’s effectiveness and expertise in their industry or similar campaigns. This is hands down one of the most important top questions to ask your digital marketing company… why? Because the proof is in the pudding. Watch carefully for any kind of song and dance… did they actually develop the website? Did they design it in house? Did they do the SEO? How? What were the results? Similarly here – I’d recommend asking for a reference related to whatever case-study they provide – to ensure the #’s match with reality.
3) How do you measure success and report on campaigns?
As a client you are interested in how your prospective digital marketing agency tracks progress, the metrics used to measure success, and the frequency and detail of reporting they can expect. Does this align with your own business? Are they flexible? Does the information they provide help and provide value?
4) Who will be working on our account?
Understanding who in the agency will be directly involved with your project, their experience, and how communication will be handled is important. Knowing this ahead of time to the best of the companies ability is helpful and comforting. Often times sales persons often aren’t involved in fulfillment (they can’t). One frustration we’ve seen time and again is U.S. sales forces handing off support and ongoing activities to overseas teams that frustrate cleints to no end – but they’re stuck in multi-year 6-figure agreements.
5) How do you stay up-to-date with industry changes and trends?
The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, so clients want to ensure their chosen agency keeps pace with the latest developments.
6) What is your strategy for our specific needs/goals?
Clients look for a tailored approach that shows the agency has not only understood their unique challenges but also has a strategic plan to address them.
7) How do you handle pricing and contracts?
Transparency about costs, what’s included in the agency’s fees, contract terms, and any other financial commitments is crucial for clients.
8) Do you offer any kind of guarantee?
A guarantee in today’s day and age is fairly simple for a company to setup and uphold. If a company isn’t willing to put their own money where their mouth is – odds are it’s not going to be a great company. But watch out for companies that create less than transparent guarantees and offers that stick you with the bill – even if the company doesn’t perform.
9) How do you ensure our brand’s voice is accurately represented in your marketing efforts?
Clients want to make sure the agency can authentically convey their brand’s identity and values in their marketing campaigns.
10) What makes your agency different from others?
Clients are looking for what sets the agency apart, whether it’s their approach, team expertise, innovative solutions, or something else.