On your marks, set, GO!
If you were to reach the finish line of the marketing race, how far would you go? How far you wish to get will determine how much you want to get out of your partnership with a marketing agency.
Here are 10 easy tips on how you can make this partnership worthwhile and always get a run for your money.
Set clear goals for your business
Before you place a demand on something or someone, you’ve got to have your demands laid out. The same principle applies to your partnership with your digital marketing agency.
Be sure to articulate and lay out in detail your business goals. These goals will serve as a yardstick for you and your digital marketing agency.
For you, your business goals will help you know how far and well services from your agency are working for your business.
For your digital marketing agency, they will use the goals to ascertain appropriate digital marketing solutions for your business.
Know the digital marketing services you will require
The span of digital marketing services is one that is vast and broad. To cut through the noise and get the most out of it, streamlining your options will do you more good.
Surely, you may choose to use all the services for your business. However, it is relevant to point them out clearly and discuss each in detail with your digital marketing agency.
Each digital marketing service brings a unique feel and benefits with it. Understanding them and how they can help your business succeed is therefore something you should consider.
Once you’ve picked out the services you want from your marketing agency, you proceed to discuss your expectations from these services.
Note that only a full-service marketing agency can be your one-stop shop for all the services you may need.
Here are some digital marketing services that will benefit your business largely;
- Social media marketing: Social media marketing leverages social media platforms to attract new customers with quality content creation in the form of images and videos.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Search engine optimization (SEO) is a digital strategy used to rank websites on search engines. Businesses with SEO success have an established online presence.
- Email marketing: Email marketing involves engaging potential customers via emails with compelling content with hopes to convert (deliver results).
- Digital advertising: advertising may be traditional or digital (Google ads, pay-per-click or PPC advertising, and more). They can be done on social media or search engines as in the case of pay-per-click or PPC marketing.
- Web design services include web design and development, designing a landing page for a specific purpose, etc.
Communicate your social media marketing goals and needs
You have your goals and the services you’d need out of the way, the next thing is to communicate them. Marketing companies prioritize their clients and in this case, that is you.
If you never communicate your needs every step of the way, your agency may create a strategy that does not align with your business’s identity. And this is a sure recipe for disaster.
Know your project manager
Get yourself acquainted with the man of the year. The very one to take your company to the next level. Give room for a healthy relationship where you can both share ideas and insights on how to increase sales in your local area and beyond.
Feel free to go over market research of your industry with your agency. Also, ensure that they understand your target audience and they are on the same page with you on every matter.
Stay in the loop
Your marketing agency isn’t exactly your employee. They are your partners. Like the popular quote, “If you want something done well, do it yourself”, you will need to be in the field with them.
As much as you can, acquaint yourself with the affairs of digital marketing agencies. Not to pry or do their jobs for them, but to be able to evaluate your business’s online marketing.
This way, you can be sure you’re getting your money’s worth and not just take whatever you’re told.
This is of course only applicable if you want to get the most out of your partnership with digital marketing agencies.
Support
In any way possible, support your marketing agency. They may only achieve so much on their own but with your support, they can turn your company to the next big thing.
Support may take the form of listening and giving timely feedback, sharing insights and data, keeping them updated on new developments as regards your company, and the list goes on.
Consider your marketing company as part of your team
This cannot be overstressed. Even the best marketing agencies need to be included in your company’s affairs to fully function.
Without the right amount of disclosure and inclusion, your marketing firm will be ignorant of key information that would help its marketing strategies to achieve measurable results.
For example, in the case where a marketing firm is providing a full-service package to a brand but isn’t up-to-date on the affairs of the brand, it may fall short in proper crisis or reputation management. And this would be disastrous.
Establish safe space
Growing businesses that are new to the marketing industry may find it difficult to loosen the reins and trust marketing firms with their businesses.
Digital marketing companies help businesses thrive and they can do the same for yours. However, this is especially true when there is mutual trust and respect.
Establish a safe space with your marketing director where you can comfortably collaborate and exchange valuable ideas that will generate leads.
Encourage creativity
If lead generation was so easy and could be achieved the conventional ways, then top marketing agencies would be extinct.
They didn’t make it to the top by playing it casually. And you should understand that your “expert team” can only function as far as you let them.
Through the process of creating suitable strategies for a brand, whether for social media management or web design encourage your team to think outside the box.
Analyze performance and give constructive feedback
Conversion rate is the quickest way to access the efforts that have been put into both outbound and inbound marketing for your brand.
Even if it is from social media marketing, paid ads, a new website, or search engine optimization (SEO), the overall expertise of your team lays bare in your sales.
Using various tools, you can monitor each service and strategy that has been put in place. Equally important is what you do next after assessing performance.
Constructively give your feedback to your marketing company whether it is positive or negative.
Final Word
Medium-sized businesses may play it cool with their marketing companies, but big brands do not. You may have one or plan to partner with the best marketing company for their expertise, make it count. If you do not already have a digital agency or you are considering a fresh one, here’s your chance to get it right.
Contact our digital marketing agency today for a good deal and more sales guarantee.