Categories: AdvertisingBusiness Practices

How to choose the best digital marketing firm for your business needs

As a business, marketing is the driving force that draws in new customers and keeps current customers up to date on new products. It is vital to any successful business to have a strong digital marketing presence. This can include your website, newsletter, social media, and much more!

As the importance of digital marketing increases it is time to consider outsourcing your digital marketing to an agency. Agencies are experts in the digital side of your marketing plan and can reach your digital audience faster than marketing team that specializes in all areas of their field.

Choosing a digital marketing agency can be tricky. We’re here to help! During this guide you will learn:

Why you need a digital marketing agency to assist your business.
What does a digital marketing agency really do?
What questions to ask a digital marketing firm during the interview process.
What to expect from working with a digital marketing company.
How to set proper expectations when working with a digital agency.

We’re excited to discuss this topic – so let’s get to it!

Why you need a digital marketing agency to assist your business

Digital marketing does not only encompass your website maintenance and a few posts of Facebook and Twitter. Digital marketing has increased into a highly specialized field, with experts that on incredibly specific areas of the digital world, becoming experts in their field.

Take SEO for an example. Becoming first on Google is the aspiration of every business. However, Google’s algorithms change at a steady pace, and having a digital marketing agency with a team devoted to learning the ins and outs of Google and staying on top of the changes is vital to your success in search engine rankings.

Your website content, code, and even the design needs to be as unique as your business but fine-tuned enough that everything plays together nicely with the search engines. If Google and Yahoo can’t find your webpage – your business may as well not exist.

It takes many experts on a digital team to create the correct digital campaign, and unless your marketing team is ONLY devoted to the digital side of your business, they will not be able to launch and maintain the results needed to survive in this incredibly competitive marketplace.

Using a digital marketing agency takes the guess work away from your marketing team and brings a tangible return on investment to your business.

Take a look at a few facts from Konzept about the digital world and how the world uses social media.

As you can see, social media and a digital presence are incredibly important to reach over 3.7 billion individuals actively using a digital platform.

What does a digital marketing agency really do?

Digital marketing agencies like Kaizen Sigma differ from your standard marketing department for one reason – they focus on higher results in a shorter amount of time. We have to be real – the landscape of marketing has change. Traditional marketing is failing to reach the largest audience possible, and this is where a digital agency can help.

Digital marketing is a data driven and targeted marketing plan that uses technology to increase your return on investment. Digital marketing includes things like mobile apps, your business website, blog posts, podcasts, social media, and all other forms of digital media.

A digital marketing agency takes your marketing goals and turns them into an incredibly specific, incredibly targeted plan that will convert your viewers into customers.

A good digital marketing agency will have the ability to handle your entire marketing department. They will use their expertise to understand your goals, get to know your brand, and develop a plan that will achieve maximum results.

Image courtesy of Digital Obsession

Data is their middle name. They use data they compile from all sources and this real time data allows them to change courses in your marketing campaigns mid-stream, and not worry about the consequences.

Digital agencies will not throw ideas and campaigns at your viewers and hope they stick or convert to clients. They will take what they have learned from previous campaigns, and the knowledge of your customer base, and create a winning strategy target to YOUR client. They focus on your unique business offerings and sell that – establishing your brand through content created specifically for you and your business.

In a nutshell, digital marketing agencies are a laser focused way to get your message out to your specific viewer base, maximize results, and follow the data that they receive in real time to make educated marketing choices for your business.

What to expect from working with a digital marketing company

When you decide to bring a digital marketing agency into your business, it can be a little intimidating trying to learn what they need from you, and what you can expect in return.

There are several types of digital marketing companies, and depending on which you need, depends on what to expect. Total Product Marketing defines digital marketing agencies as the following:

Each type provides a different service, and each is just as equally as important. This guide is acceptable for all the types of digital agencies mentioned above, as none are better than the other!

When you initially start talking to digital marketing agencies, they may all seem to take the same approach. However, the smart and savvy agencies tailor their approach to the client they’re working with.

A good digital marketing company will sit with you and your leadership team and ask a LOT of questions about your business, your business goals, where you’re falling short in your marketing plan right now, and what your end goals are for them and your partnership.

All of these questions show that they want to gain an understanding of you and your unique business offerings, and that they are not trying to make your business fit into the molds of other businesses in their client base.

The agency will review your budget and let you know what is and what is not possible with the amount of money you want to spend. Be leery of digital marketing agencies that promise you the sun and moon with any budget… they probably won’t be ale to deliver the results you’re hoping for.

You can expect a good agency to discuss what they need from you as their client in order to create a successful marketing campaign. This includes deadlines, approval processes, and anything else that they need from you to launch your campaign.

The biggest thing to expect from a good digital marketing agency is open communication. They should want to learn everything they can about you and your business, discuss the options of the campaign in detail, and get your final approval before launching anything to your client base.

What questions to ask a digital marketing firm during the interview process

Now that you understand the importance of hiring a digital agency, and what an agency can do for your marketing efforts, what is the best way to ensure that the digital agency you’ve found is the best for your business?

The biggest piece of advice to consider when choosing a digital marketing firm is this – do not be afraid to ask questions! Also, make sure you check out all of your options.

There are hundreds of digital marketing agencies around today, and each has their own specialty. Using the image above, determine which agency type will be best suited for your and your business needs. From there, research a few in your area, look at their testimonials and online reviews, and set up a time to discuss their product offerings!

Here are a few things to think about when you’re ready to hire a digital agency.

Pretend you are hiring a member of your internal staff… because, guess what? You are. Although your digital marketing agency won’t sit on site with you and your team, they will be part of your business and need to fit into all aspects. You want to hire an agency that is qualified and that has relevant skills they can bring to your business.

The questions that you ask your potential digital agency are incredibly important to the interview process. Here are specific questions you can ask to get more information from the agency:

Do you have an agency specialty? If so, what is it?

This question will help the agency representative really narrow down what they are the best at. If they are a full service digital agency, great! But they should be able to explain what that means, and how they have specialized teams that focus on each area of digital marketing.

How can you help my business grow, and what process do you utilize?

This allows you to get into the head of the agency. They will review their process of how they do what they do, and why this is the best way they’ve found to achieve measurable results. Once they give you an overview of their process, follow up with these:

- What are the steps we’ll take a team to build my marketing program?
- How can you be sure you understand my client base and customers?
- What tools do you use to track data, and how will I get the reports of results?
- How often to you change course if a plan is not performing?

Will I have an assigned representative that I will work with on a regular basis?

This is an important question that should be followed up with “when can I meet them?”. It’s VITAL to the success of working with your digital marketing agency that you like the person you’re working with on a regular basis, and that you feel 100% comfortable asking questions and providing instruction. If you don’t click with your account manager, asked to be reassigned.

Can I see a portfolio of work you’ve created in the past?

Any size agency will have a portfolio of work for you to review and should have references for you to follow up on – giving you a glimpse into what the customers think of the agency and how they worked for them.

What results have you been able to provide other clients with business like mine?

Understanding that when you ask this question, they more than likely cannot give you specific clients and specific results, they CAN provide you with an overview of what your results could look like with similar budgets, campaigns, and client base.

Feel free to add to this list of questions as you meet with your potential agencies. Remember, you are paying them to be the experts in your marketing team and want them to drive results. It is perfectly acceptable to ask questions that make you feel like you’ve entrusted your marketing to the right person!

How to set proper expectations when working with a digital agency

You’ve selected the digital agency you want to work with and are now ready to get going on your first marketing campaign. Congratulations! Now… how do you set the deadlines and expectations that you want with the agency itself?

It all comes back to communication. During the interview process, the agency should have reviewed their process for creating a campaign, needing your approval, and launch of the campaign once everything was ready to go.

If any of these deadlines do not work with your timeline, it is acceptable to explain to the agency what your hopes were for a deadline. However, make sure you back up your request with facts, not just that you’d like a campaign to happen faster than it is.

Remember, you are not their only client, as much as you may feel like you are! You must be open to communicating your needs, but also open to hearing no from the agency. The digital agency does work for you; however, they are the experts in their field.

If a campaign requires a specific time period to see successful results, you have to trust that they know what they’re doing – and they will not steer you in the wrong direction!

In Conclusion

It’s time to give up on the traditional marketing ways of years gone by. Digital marketing is the present and the future, and a digital marketing agency is the answer to your marketing needs. Hiring the right digital agency may seem like a chore but following the ideas in this article can take away some of the unknown to the process.

Don’t forget to visit Kaizen Sigma for all of your digital marketing needs – we’d love to have you as a new client and are ready to talk about creating a unique brand for you and your business!

[tweetshare tweet=”How to choose the best digital marketing firm for your business needs”]

Kaizen Sigma, LLC

Growing your brand with expert digital marketing strategies. Your target audience needs to know, find, trust, and advocate for your brand. We convert them into loyal followers. Are you looking for ways to boost your traffic, enhance your brand awareness, or increase sales? Your business may be struggling because: • You don’t know how to produce relevant, high-quality content that your readers love. • Your content isn’t attention worthy. • Your brand message isn’t cohesive. • You have no idea how to build a loyal audience. • Your website isn’t converting visitors into buyers. How we drive results We use proven digital marketing tactics to help brands achieve more. Whether you’re marketing a product or wish to monetize your social media audience, we can assist you. STEP 1 Magnetic content marketing We offer more than execution. We create purposeful content to attract prospects to your brand. Our content delivers your brand message to your ideal buyer, converting them into paying customers. The result? You’ll witness six times higher conversion rates, become a leader in your sector, and achieve a loyal audience that your competitors only dream about. STEP 2 Strategic social media management Educate, inform and entertain your audience with irresistible social media content. We build trust with your audience, creating a meaningful relationship to ensure high engagement and reach. We help make your content go viral via the power of sharing, increasing your brand presence. STEP 3 Successful advertising campaigns We deliver consistent A/B testing to generate a high ROI. Our advertising campaigns effectively convert readers into prospects, growing sales and your business. STEP 4 Full production video and imagery Our outstanding image and video content significantly boosts conversions and sales by building trust with your audience, and engaging them for longer. The average attention span is just 8 seconds long. With imagery and video content, you can deliver concise information to engage your audience and solidify your brand messaging. Why work with us? We take care of the hard work, so you don’t need to. Our hands-on approach elevates your digital marketing, ensuring you’re ahead of the game. We’re passionate about improving your business, continuously pushing for the best ROI. Every business has the power to evolve. Using proven digital marketing tactics and streamlined processes, we drive your business forward, improving traffic, sales, and brand presence. Many businesses lose money quickly Digital marketing works. But, using the wrong strategies for your business is costly. Why waste money implementing useless tactics. We can turn your business into a profit generating machine without any stress. It’s the easy way to generate results. We do the heavy lifting for you! By working with us, your brand will distribute highly valuable and relevant content which resonates with your clearly defined audience: • Launch a successful YouTube channel, achieving millions of organic views • Start and maintain a podcast that establishes yourself as an authority within your niche • Grow your social media following like a pro. Deliver engaging content to build a deeper connection with your audience so they keep coming back for more! • Enhance your brand presence by utilizing new platforms. Your audience will want to know more and more about you. • Convert prospects into loyal customers. Ker-ching!! • Build trust with your prospects. They won’t even acknowledge your competition.