The 7 step guide to choosing the right marketing agency for your business
You have DIYed marketing since the start of your business. I’m sure you are pretty good at it and might have saved a lot of money.
But it costs your time. It’s okay to DIY when you are starting. As you grow your business, it’s time to scale your marketing strategy to the next level.
And now, your time will cost more money because you have important things to do. (Like business strategy and funding etc.)
You do not want to invest your time in doing social media, blog posts, paid campaigns, and more.
A marketing agency can come to your rescue.
What is a marketing agency and how can it help your business?
A marketing agency helps businesses achieve their marketing goals with customized marketing strategies, techniques, tools, and experienced marketing professionals.
An agency can be a one-man army or team/ teams working together.
They help the lives of CEOs easier by taking up the marketing of the business. The services include website creation, social media, content strategy, paid campaigns, and analytics.
How to choose the right marketing agency?
You know that a marketing agency can help you, but which one will do the best?
With so many marketing agencies out there, it could be tough to choose the right one.
If you are running a business, then you very well know the B2B buying process. It is kinda similar while hiring a marketing agency too.
Here is a 7-step guide to choosing the right marketing agency for your business.
Step 1: Figure out your ‘Why’ and budget
Start with understanding why you need a marketing agency. Digital marketing is an ocean and different agencies focus on different niches.
Here are a few examples for you.
Example 1:
You are a B2B SAAS-based company. You want to provide value to your target audience with free content.
You managed to write blog posts and create social media posts in the past. You have a lot in your mind about the content for your company but are struggling to put it into action.
A content marketing agency could be a good option for you. An agency that deals with content strategies, social media marketing, and brand building.
Example 2:
You are an E-commerce company that sells Mom & Newborn essentials. You have everything set up — The website, blog posts, social media. You seem to have good engagement on your posts too and are doing great sales organically. Unfortunately, your sales conversions from the campaigns are losing all your money.
An agency specializing in performance marketing can help you win with your campaigns. They can identify the problems and optimize your ads for better conversions.
Step 2: Brainstorm and make a list of marketing challenges
Now you have identified what kind of agency you need to hire. The next step is to ask your team’s challenges with marketing.
Block an hour for a brainstorming session with your team. The only agenda for the meeting is to speak about the challenges.
You’ll be surprised to know most of them.
Now make a list of these marketing challenges and share it with your team.
Step 3: Turn on your search mode
It’s time to hit the internet and search for the agencies. It is not going to be easy to search. So, here are a few methods to get the best.
Method 1:
Search your emails to see if you have already subscribed to any of the agency’s newsletters.
Method 2:
Check your connections, online and offline. There is a huge probability that you have agency owner connections on LinkedIn. You can use them.
Method 3:
You can search on Google with keywords like “marketing agencies near me”, “marketing agency for content”, “best marketing agencies”, etc.
Step 4: Credibility check of the agencies
Now that you have finished the initial research by making a list of agencies, it’s time to do some deep research. Here are a few things to look at during the credibility check.
#1 Website — Check the website of the agency. It is a place where you’ll get most of the information or no information at all. Websites can give the vibe and culture of the agency.
#2 Portfolio — Go through the portfolio section of the website and look at their previous projects. Do those projects resonate with your project requirements?
#3 Internet Check — Check out the agency on LinkedIn and other review sites like yelp. You can also dip deep and run through profiles of the people who work at the agency.
#4 Social Media of the Agency — Keep a tab on the social media profiles of the agency like the content and consistency. This can help you understand their work.
Step 5: The Discovery Call
Most of the agencies offer a discovery call to see if it’s a good match. Once you run the credit check, sign up for a discovery call. Make sure to prepare for this discovery call and ask the right questions.
Here are a few questions for a successful discovery call:
Question #1 Have you worked in a similar industry before?
If yes, great.
If not, ask them their approach to a new industry. Sometimes, a new set of eyes can bring in different perceptions.
Question #2 Who are their clients?
Question #3 What is the longest time a client has been with the agency?
If they have more clients with long-term relationships, you can consider it as a good agency.
Question #4 How do you handle crisis/ urgent situations?
Question #5 What are the services that suit my requirements?
Step 6: Request for a proposal
Post the discovery call, if the agency looks promising then request for a proposal. Make sure to include the marketing goals, deliverables, and results in the RFP email.
This can give better clarity to the agency owners while drafting the proposal.
Step 7: Mini paid assignment
Once the proposal is reviewed and everything looks in sync with the business goals, you should be good to go.
Before going ahead and handing over a big project to an agency (irrespective of the size), it is highly recommended to test the water by hiring them for a mini assignment.
Post the mini assignment, you’ll have every detail of the agency to make a hiring decision.
Bonus tips:
It is not easy to make such a huge decision for your business. So, here are a few bonus tips to help you through the process.
Tip 1: Know everything about the pricing. Get details of every element on the invoice. You do not want to be surprised by a miscellaneous fee in the invoice.
Tip 2: It’s okay to try new agencies until and unless they serve you right.
Tip 3: Size of the agency doesn’t matter, their work matters.
Tip 4: Make your goal, deliverable, and result clear to the agency.
Tip 5: Beware of agencies that promise unrealistic results.
Hope this guide can help you choose the right marketing agency fit for your business.
Let me know which step has been very helpful for you during the process. I would love to know!
Follow me Aishwarya Gindham for more blog posts on B2B/ marketing.
