3 questions to ask before hiring a digital marketing agency

Hiring a digital marketing agency to work with is a mission critical affair. Your ability to win new business online depends on their ability to not only deliver stellar results but to also introduce your services to the right customers. You could have the best, most life-changing product in the world, but if no one hears about it, you won’t make any sales.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to hiring a digital marketing agency, there are some general rules you can apply. Before diving into these rules, here are a few ways NOT to look for a digital marketing agency:

• Deciding based on their beautiful website: While this could point to great web development skills, digital marketing is another matter altogether.
• Deciding based on the size of the firm: Another likely indicator of pedigree but not for what exactly you may need.

Now that you are not going go hiring a digital marketing agency based on those reasons, here are the right questions to ask.

1. What do I really need?

Before contacting a single digital marketing firm, you need to know what it is you need. Do you need keyword research, link building, an SEO audit, retargeting, PPC, content marketing or any of the more than twenty other digital marketing services available? If you do not know what you need, then it will be hard to find the right firm that meets those needs.

To understand your needs better, look at the business outcomes you want from the digital marketing efforts. For example, do you want a 15% rise in sales? Do you want an extra 1000 visits per day? Do you want signups to go up by 30%? Also figure out the timeframes you are willing to work with to accomplish all this.

2. What have they accomplished in the past?

According to Smart Street Media Los Angeles you have want to start analyzing a company by their results. Do they have case studies? Have they published any whitepapers? Who are their past customers and what did they accomplish for them?

This information will help you measure their capability and see what they can achieve for you. If you need a firm that works in a specific industry, ask to see past work in this industry. At this step, you could go further and ask for referrals.

Call up their past customers and ask them what their experience was. While you should take what they say with a pinch of salt, their feedback will give you an idea of who you will be working with.

3. How will you assist me?

This should be the final filter you apply, and it is the most important. It speaks to strategy and organization. It also speaks to creativity and how the firm understands the tasks you place on the table.

At this juncture, you want the firm to perform a digital marketing audit of your website and business and supply you with a quote. In the quote, look out for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs.) How will they know their efforts are bearing fruit? How will their fee be tied to the results they produce? Etc.

Once these three questions have been answered satisfactorily, it is time to commit. As you do, remember that digital marketing is dynamic and influenced by multiple factors. As such, be prepared to patiently work with the firm through them.