How to choose a digital agency in 2023
Digital marketing agencies are everywhere, and it seems as though there’s a new one showing up every single day. There are thousands of different digital marketing agencies around the world, some with thousands of employees, and others consisting of a small team of 20 people.
On top of that, there are digital agencies that focus specifically on one area or service, and others who cover just about everything you can imagine from SEO to design and web development. It’s incredibly difficult to choose one agency that you can trust among so many different options.
It’s easy to get in touch with an agency and discuss what they can do for you. However, this is often a problem because of how competitive the industry is. As a result, some agencies will give you false promises just to get you to sign the contract and when they are not able to deliver the results, they’ll have nothing short of a hundred excuses lined up as to why it didn’t work out. At the end of the day, it’s your time and money that has been wasted — that’s why finding the perfect digital marketing agency is crucial. Below are a couple of factors t consider when choosing a digital agency for your business to partner with.
Don’t be Afraid to Spend
Business executives are used to saving as much money as they possibly can. However, when it comes to digital marketing agencies, don’t be afraid to spend some more money if it means that you get reliable results from a good agency that you can put your trust in.
Choosing a cheap digital marketing agency will give you cheap results. Unfortunately, this is not an area that you should be taking shortcuts in. Good digital marketing agencies don’t often look as great as others on paper because they are more expensive, and they don’t promise those explosive results that everyone is after. However, at the very least you can be assured that what they do promise you, will be achieved.
Consider Their Track Record
When choosing a digital marketing agency you need to consider their track record. An agency’s experience can make all the difference if your business is chasing results. The more years the agency has under their belt, the better their work will be.
Just like in other industries, experience matters. There may be thousands of digital marketing agencies out there, but many of them are still young, and it takes several years before an agency can refine their processes, and operations, and achieve better results for their clients.
Aside from seeing how long they have been operating, there are a few other ways that you can determine whether a digital marketing agency is worth considering. The first is by looking at their client testimonials. They should have plenty of clients who are raving about the excellent results they got from working with the agency, and if they don’t, then that should be an immediate red flag for your business.
Another factor to keep in mind is the agency’s experience in a specific industry. You can’t expect a digital marketing agency to understand everything about the automotive industry if they have been working with healthcare clients for the past 15 years. Ideally, you want to find an agency that has a niche related to your business and has been pressing into that niche for several years. This means that they are experts in their field and have the knowledge and ability to get you the results that you’re after.
Look Into Their Range of Services
The term “digital marketing agency” is extremely broad. There are agencies that focus solely on social media and offer influencer marketing, social media management, and perhaps some video content creation. On the other hand, there are agencies that offer web development, copywriting, and graphic design. You need to make sure you choose the right agency based on what your business is after.
It’s not a good idea to ask a social media agency to help you out with the graphic design. While they could possibly do it, they certainly won’t be the experts and they won’t be able to get you the best possible results.
One element to look out for is agencies that offer anything and everything under the sun. It’s simply not possible unless it’s a massive agency with thousands of employees. Every agency will have their specialities and they will be better in these areas than others.
Agencies that claim to be able to do everything will specialise in nothing, which means that you’ll get every service, but none of them will be spectacular. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need an agency that can do something special and unique.
Expect Realistic Promises
No matter what agency you consult with, they will all give you promises of the results that they can achieve. However, there are many agencies out there that will give you false promises that they can’t deliver on. Unfortunately, they know that they won’t be able to deliver on the promise they’re making, but they’re still trying to land new clients.
The best way to avoid this is to ask them to show you how they’re going to achieve the goals that they have set out for your business. They need to have a plan of action and realistic goals that are achievable, even if they’re not as impressive. Agencies need to be able to show you what tools and processes they are going to use to deliver the results that they have promised.
On top of that, they need to have a reliable reporting system that keeps them accountable and helps both your business and the agency to keep track of their progress. Not only will this help you to monitor their performance and progress, but it will also help you to see what’s working for your business, and what’s not working. If they’re falling short of expectations, what needs to be changed to deliver the results they promised? If they’re performing particularly well, what are they doing that is working well for your business and how can you optimise that?
