You’ve made the decision to hire an agency to assist with your digital efforts. That’s great! Now, you’re trying to decide the right way to go about finding the best digital marketing agency to work with to help you meet your revenue goals. This is what we like to call the “dating stage”, and it’s really the most important stage of the process to ensure a successful partnership in the long run.
So, how do you go about that vetting process? It’s all about asking the right questions and determining what is important to you (WITY). Speaking of which, let’s dive into your WITYs and figure out what they are. This is an essential step before you ever get on the phone with a potential digital marketing agency. It will prepare you for the first question they’re going to ask you –
What are you looking for in a digital marketing partner?
Identifying your WITYs
When determining your WITYs, some key things to think about are:
What are your business goals? These should definitely include your revenue goals for the year and the near future, plus any other marketing-driven goals, such as brand awareness, lead generation, and building a community of brand advocates.
What services will you need your digital marketing partner to provide? Services could include:
- Marketing strategy plan
- Developing and implementing marketing automation
- SEO strategy
- Content writing
- Website design & development
- Email marketing
- Social media management
- Buyer persona development
Once you’ve established your WITYs, we suggest meeting with your leadership team (if they were not involved in the initial meeting) to make sure everyone is aligned.
Now, let’s move on to questions to ask when interviewing and vetting potential digital agency partners to make sure they are a great fit.
What to Ask to Find the Best Digital Marketing Agency
You’ve now met with your internal team, determined your business goals, and identified your WITYs. The next step in finding the best digital marketing agency for your company is interviewing, typically over the phone.
We’ve put together a list of five questions to ask in your agency interviews to help you determine if they’re the right fit.
1. What are your team’s capabilities/skill sets?
This is the question that will help you identify whether or not an agency can provide the services you need. For instance, if you want to redesign your website, you need to make sure they have someone on their team who specializes in website design.
2. How do you keep up with today’s digital marketing trends?
An agency that doesn’t prioritize staying up-to-date on trends is most likely going to struggle to get you to where you want to go with your digital strategy. Some key things to note are whether or not they attend digital conferences, participate in relevant training, etc.
3. How will you familiarize yourself with my industry? What's your research process?
This is especially important if your business is in a niche industry. You want your digital marketing agency partner to fully immerse themselves in who you are as a company, what your industry looks like, and who your competitors are.
4. How will you help me reach my revenue goals?
If you haven’t already had a preliminary conversation about your company, current state, and your main goals, this could be a tough question for an agency to answer on the spot. If they need to get back to you, that’s okay; as long as they respond with an answer that makes you feel confident they aren’t using a cookie-cutter approach. If an agency mentions something about a package of deliverables, that's a sure sign they are going the cookie-cutter route. Instead, listen for mentions of how they’ll address your challenges and goals, a marketing action plan (or similar terminology), and how they’ll engage with your brand.
5. About how much should we expect to spend on (mention the services you’re interested in)?
Sometimes, even when an agency seems like a great fit from a culture and strategy standpoint, they may not fit your budget. So, definitely make sure to ask this question.
Other Considerations When Searching for a Marketing Agency
There are a few other things to think about in your initial conversations with potential digital partners.
- They are going to ask you a lot of questions too. Be ready to tell them all about your company and what you’re looking for.
- Who will be their main point of contact? Having one or two main contacts for your agency partner will help them have more focused conversations and address your needs in a timelier fashion.
- Be prepared for a lot of collaboration, especially in the beginning. It may seem time-consuming, but it will really pay off. Collaboration will help them fully understand your brand, your industry, communicate with your target clients, and ultimately grow your business and revenue.
Now that you have your WITYs, interview questions, and have set some expectations, you’re ready to start the vetting process to find the best digital marketing agency partner for you and your company. And as you are searching, feel free to contact us if you think LAIRE could be the right fit. We would love to talk to you!
