Preferring the right digital agency is critical to your bottom line. The incorrect one can instantly drain your resources and negatively impact your company. So, here is the suggested strategy for determining a digital marketing agency that can help your business grow.

Understand your requirements and your budget.

The first step in the process is knowing your requirements. The better your conversations will be with prospective digital agencies, the better you can determine your business requirements in terms of search engine optimization (SEO), website, advertising, social media, and graphic design. You should also know your budget and what you are ready to spend. There is no set price. A great marketer should be able to work with any sound budget and place your expectations accordingly.

Demand full clarity.

Loss of transparency is the most essential and also the most ignored red flag. Review an agency’s website and, if you don’t recognize an address, bios and a client list, this agency is possibly not deserving your time. If an agency seems like it is covering something, then it probably is. It’s that simple. For example, many offshore agencies are making big words with low rates.

Reliability is important

Read through client credentials on its website and review sites. Be sure to discover the agency’s reliability and experience. Do the credentials seem real? Ask for client recommendations, including one from an account that did not go so well. All agencies have had meetings that did not go so well, and it’s essential to get an impression of how they dealt with them and support from the good ones. Call these references instead of sending an email, you will be amazed by how much more knowledge you can get from a phone call.

Industry knowledge can be misleading.

Does the agency know your industry? If it does, then ask about those actions, what went well and what was challenging. If it does not, this is not a red flag. Instead, ask how it proposes a new industry. We have noticed many industry-specific agencies go with a cookie-cutter strategy, and we oftentimes see this in remnants of code and content showing use for other businesses. A fresh set of eyes and a new approach are often needed to unlock a stagnant marketing strategy. A good marketer can assess a client’s industry, online presence and competitors and devise an effective plan.