When your digital marketing efforts could use an extra hand, hiring an agency can help you manage all aspects of your campaign and even help your company grow. But choosing an agency is a daunting task. How do you know the company is reliable—let alone the right one for the job?
That's why we asked seven entrepreneurs from FounderSociety the following question:
Q. What’s the No. 1 question I should ask a digital marketing agency before I hire them?
1. How Do You Measure Success?
Ask the agency what kind of tools they use to assess marketing performance. Ask what areas will be tracked for success and why these metrics are important. Ask what kinds of strategies they’ll use to drive the specific results you’re looking for. Any agency worth their salt will be able to provide any metric measurements you require over a given time period. —Jessica Baker, Aligned Signs
2. What Can You Do For Me?
If they guarantee you viral content or a spot on the first page of Google, it's a red flag. Asking them this is essentially a litmus test to see if you’re dealing with an honest agency or a scam artist. The honest ones won’t make promises they can’t keep; the scammers will simultaneously offer you the moon and the stars. —Steven Buchwald, The E2 Visa Lawyer
3. How Do You Work Around Google Algorithm Updates?
The goal of your marketing agency should be to boost your rankings on search engines like Google and Bing while flying under the radar of Google's ever-watchful eye. There are many websites that get penalized for over-optimizing with keywords; many people wrongly believe that simply stuffing their site with keywords will help. —Ajmal Saleem, Suprex Learning
4. What Metric Matters Most?
It's all about performance marketing, not brand marketing. Ask the agency, in their opinion, what one metric matters most for your business and what they can do to move the needle on it (including by how much and by when). —Arry Yu, GiftStarter.com
5. Who Have You Worked With?
Ask to speak with their current and previous clientele. If they don't have happy clients, then move on. Search for reviews of the company as well, and whatever you do, don't sign anything without checking their references' current websites, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts to make sure they are actually doing what they say they can do. —Ben Walker, Transcription Outsourcing, LLC
6. What's the Plan?
See if they're selling turnkey systems, customizing something, or thinking about what will benefit your business. You want to find a company that will think "backward" to help you get in front of your target audience. —Bryan Driscoll, Think Big Marketing, LLC
7. How Have You Benefitted Your Clients?
Ask for clear results from previous engagements and contact info from previous or current clients to validate the agency's claims. Treat your agency relationship like a marriage. Don't jump in until you really know this group is going to be a true partner with you. —Mike Jones, Resound
