What to Look For in Your Next Agency

So that’s it.

You’ve either made the decision to get an agency to help with your digital marketing or you’ve finally made the decision to change agencies. Hooray, may your future be full of more leads than you can handle!

Whether it's tactical, strategic, channel-driven or an unapologetic upheaval of your current marketing status quo – you really need to get this right. To do this, you’ll need to know exactly what to ask your potential agency to understand whether they are the best fit for you AND your brand/company.

Future success is going to need more than just competency + skill. You’ll need to actually feel like you can trust your new agency. It’s your reputation and $$$ on the line, after all, so be wise when picking. If we were looking for an agency, here’re the questions we’d be asking!

So what’s the plan?

Strategic Qs to ask your agency so you can understand how they will approach your brand and get you the results you desire;

• How do you structure strategy and what’s involved in the process?
• How will you know who my target market is?
• With so many aspects to a digital marketing strategy, how will you prioritise deliverables?
• How will you be allocating budget and running reports?

What am I getting?

Specific Qs to ask about the proposal + strategy so you can understand the process, deliverables and what VALUE you’re receiving from the agency;

• What’s the significance of implementing X channel/strategy for my ROI?
• How long will it take to see results in X channel/deliverable?
• Can you clearly outline exactly what value each deliverable will bring?
• How will this tactic directly affect sales?

Who am I working with?

People make or break relationships. You need to know who will handle your communications, your budget and the precious voice your brand has worked hard to develop. People are everything;

• Who’s working on my account?
• What have they done before?
• How does their particular expertise stand out?
• How often can I expect to be in contact with my account manager/specialist?
• Will they come to the more technical meetings/if I need to present to my boss?
• Will they answer my questions directly or skirt around unfavourable results?

Why you guys?

This is where you move past the sizzle and into the sausage. Find out what the agency is about to understand whether they can, in fact, deliver the value which you seek;

• Do you have any stand out stories/clients?
• How will you ensure you get the tone and voice of our brand right?
• What are some insights you have from working with our competitors?
• What’s the advantage here of working with you guys over agency X?
• How do you handle errors and who’s typically accountable?

BONUS TIP – the agency should be able to answer each question thoroughly in a well thought out manner. Watch out for lazy or obscure answers – many of these questions are intentionally difficult and you will be able to tell if the agency just wants to sell you what they’re good at instead of what you need.

For an even more confident approach to choosing an agency, download the “Agency Scorecard” which reveals practical hints and handy tips about the best way to choose your digital marketing agency.

Or you know, give us a call. We are happy to give obligation-free advice – call us on 02 8310 2393.