How to Choose a Digital Marketing Agency
Considering hiring a digital marketing agency? It’s scary to place the fate of your brand in the hands of a partner. And it should be - for every partnership that provides ROI, there’s at least one that fails.
So how do you carefully navigate hiring the right partner? In this post, I’ll use my agency experience to help you decipher whether or not you need one and how to vet your options.
Benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency
Hiring an agency can mean less hassle, more creativity, and more access to resources overall. Here are some of the common reasons people prefer to partner.
Tap into a team. By outsourcing, you’ll be able to use many brains on one project. You have a full company’s worth of knowledge at your fingertips, which is much less stressful than hiring a single marketer who needs to know it all.
Take advantage of a vast suite of tools. Agencies usually have a very expensive (and expansive) set of tools on-hand, which is easy for them to pay by splitting the cost between every client. By partnering with an agency, you can expect access to performance dashboards, special link building tools, and in-depth diagnostic scans.
Reduce HR stress. Hiring an agency requires less HR resources than hiring a full-time employee. Plus, contracts can be anywhere from monthly to annually, so it’s easy to switch partners if things fall through.
Disadvantages of hiring a digital marketing agency
A lack of industry knowledge reduces effectiveness. If you hire an agency based on channel expertise rather than industry expertise, you may run into a problem. They now have to write ads and blog posts of minimal understanding. Can they truly convey your product’s unique value without having experience working in the industry? Even if you provide them with your insights and brand messaging, they won’t be able to change direction quickly and optimize campaigns.
The team is not incentivized to go above and beyond. Unless you have a bonus structure in your contract (such as a pay per lead model), agency employees don’t have incentive to provide extra results. As long as there is ROI and they believe you’ll continue signing your contract, they have no reason to provide more. On the other hand, a direct hire will see more opportunity to grow with the company and get raises.
Experience high turnover rates. Agencies tend to experience high turnover rates with their employees. In fact, many marketers start out in agencies to learn the ropes and gain exposure, then move on to take their experience in-house. So expect your project to go through many hands over the years!
Scenarios where it makes sense to hire a digital marketing agency
Here’s my unpopular opinion - despite all of the mentioned advantages of working with an agency, you probably won’t get the result you’re looking for. My exception to the rule is working with an agency that specializes in one industry.
For instance, let’s say a small personal injury firm wants to boost awareness with paid search. They’re competing with hundreds of other established firms with large budgets, often spending millions in advertising annually.
This law firm’s best bet would be to find a paid search agency that specializes in law firms. This agency has already tested hundreds of concepts and built upon them. They likely have a formula for success that they can apply. Better still, their familiarity with law firms helps them work with industry jargon and strict regulations.
In any other scenario, it’s probably best to hire in-house or find a freelancer. Find someone who you can train in your industry, who is committed to fully understanding the nuances. They will be able to come up with new and creative ways of communicating your product’s value.
Questions to ask an agency
Here’s my checklist of questions to ask your agency candidates, and an explanation for why you’ll need to ask.
What type of dashboards do you have?
An easy-to-read client dashboard is the best way for you to measure ROI of working with your agency, and keep tabs on their progress.
What type of industries do you have experience with?
A lack of expertise in your industry means they have no formula for success. They’re starting from square one.
What kind of marketing do you consider your core competency?
Agencies go through dips where they feel unstable and need to grab business left and right. If you catch an agency in this phase, they are going to try to get a contract signed even if they know it isn’t their specialty.
How are your teams structured?
Look for specialization in their teams. An SEO specialist should not be running paid search ads and social media for best results. Furthermore, if that person leaves the agency, no one will be able to seamlessly jump in.
What is the project structure and billing style?
Is it like a subscription where you pay a monthly fee? Are you going to be paying by the hour? Hourly models can lead to higher turnover rates, since employees spend much of their day tracking and planning time (rather than actual work they enjoy). Furthermore, there may be a higher focus on completing hours than achieving results.
What would you recommend for my company at a glance?
This is the quickest way to gauge industry understanding and experience. Do they already have a basic plan in place? It doesn’t take a full audit to find some weaknesses and opportunities. Look for answers like “I see opportunity to do __ with your blog,” or “In your industry, I see more success allocating funds to social media than ads.”
Remember - an agency is only as creative as their product knowledge.
Contrary to popular belief - I don’t believe that tapping into many brains fosters creativity. Knowing the product inside and out fosters creativity. If you want to work with an agency; look for industry specialization, a team who is eager to learn about your company, and a culture of producing results (not completing hours).
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