The pressure for brands, businesses and independents to select the perfect digital marketing agency to deliver successful projects and campaigns has never been greater. But with so many agencies to choose from, how do you know you’re finding your right fit?

When it comes to digital marketing, it is important to stay with the latest trends; the best way to engage on social media, carrying out SEO best practice, writing the best content and general web development tactics.

76% of marketers believe that the industry has changed more in the last 2 years than the last 50. This is because the industry for online marketing today is bigger than ever and growing ever rapidly. Following, it is no wonder that 80% of marketers plan on increasing their digital marketing budget by a huge 80% in 2017.

With this in mind, it seems to be ever more important that whoever you entrust with your digital marketing strategy needs to fully understand you, your customers and more importantly, the industry.

Do you want a local agency (Hampshire, London or North)? A specialist agency? Or even just one that is just highly recommended? If you answered yes to any of the above, then read on! What follows are some tips from a real digital marketing agency in Winchester, Hampshire, who has seen and heard the issues that many clients have had to overcome from previous agencies before they come to us for help.

Rooster Marketing’s Essential Guide to Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency

1. Choose an Agency that has Experience

We’ve seen and heard some horror stories that could have so easily been prevented had the simple questions been asked in the initial meeting.

If your agency doesn’t understand you as a business, how are they going to understand your business objectives? By asking the right questions about their company, their staff and their way of working, you can begin to understand who an agency is and how they work. However, you shouldn’t be asking all the questions, they should be asking you about your business, your objectives and more importantly how much you want to spend.

2. Have Clear Objectives

Before even looking for your perfect agency, it’s important to have considered the following:

Do You Know The Problem That Needs Solving?

This could be anything from people not knowing about your brand to not having enough traffic or simply that your website doesn’t work for you anymore and you want to update it.

Do you Know What Success Will Look Like?

By knowing what your KPI’s are, you can set clear goals to what you expect the agency to achieve and whether it’s even possible. Some will promise you the moon and stars on a plate, and others will talk to you about achieving it over a certain period of time.

Does Your Campaign or Project have A Budget?

The budget is always a difficult topic for SMBs, especially when it comes to defining one, as often they want to invest based on expected ROI. It’s a mistake to hold back on revealing the available budget to an agency, as a campaign or project can be delivered with varying degrees of quality based on spend. It’s important to focus on value, not just cost.

If you’re clear about what you want the agency to do, and the impact that will have on your business, then you should be able to put at least a guide price on what the desired service is worth.

3. Is Outsourcing an Option?

Outsourcing is simply the same as what you are looking to do, something that you don’t potentially have time to do, someone else does and it’s sometimes cheaper to outsource overflow work than hiring someone permanently.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing if it’s outsourced to a specialist and the relationship is strong. However, keeping all your marketing with one agency is what we recommend. That way you know exactly who is doing the problem-solving.

4. Make Sure They Report To You!

Monthly, weekly, fortnightly or even quarterly reports are a great way to keep a track on KPI’s that can show whether the agency is a good return on investment. The last thing you want from your agency is to disappear into the dark when you sign on the dotted line.

Feeling More Confident?

With these things in mind, you’re well on your way to choosing a digital marketing agency that is right for you. With a clear direction of focus for your online marketing and agreed KPI’s, you can be assured that there are clear guidelines for your new agency.

But don’t forget! We’re a digital marketing agency too! Rooster offers an array of different digital services:

If you’re interested, why not contact us.