Top Red Flags to Watch Out When Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency
Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency? Here is what to look out for!
If you ask someone what the most crucial aspect of a business is, the answer would be Marketing. Without proper marketing, your brand is a failure. It won’t succeed in reaching the target clients, let alone make an impact.
Thus, a simple solution is to create a marketing department that deals with your business’ sales. However, an in-house marketing team is a big expense. You need to hire experts, strategic planners, and marketers who will put your brand in the spotlight. Also, there is only so much variation an in-house marketing team can bring.
This is why hiring a digital marketing agency is a good idea. At a fraction of the cost of an entire marketing team, digital agencies do the tough work for you. Choosing the right marketing agency can make the entire difference to your business’ performance.
It can craft the best growth strategies specific to your business. Moreover, marketing agencies are aware of the competition hence they design the ideal strategic plan for your business.
But as we speak highly of hiring a marketing agency, we must also mention the challenges of finding the right one. Without proper research, your business could suffer at the hands of an incompetent marketing agency. The dangers of hiring an unsuitable marketing agency cannot be ignored.
This is why we have compiled a list of Red Flags to look out for when hiring a digital marketing agency.
Red Flags of a Digital Marketing Agency
No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on a service that doesn’t deliver any return. However, it is possible to fall in business with the wrong service provider and hurt your brand image consequently. This is why research is important. Here are some qualities of a marketing agency you must be wary of.
They Promise Fast Results
Sure, we all would love for Jack and the Beanstalk story to come true in our lives but realistically it is impossible. The same is the case with the marketing agencies. Any firm that promises immediate results is a big red flag. This doesn’t mean it is justified to wait for months before actual progress shows up. But a realistic timeline to witness measurable results is what we are talking about.
Similarly, any agency that promises exact figures (not a rough idea) also indicates a red flag. This is because marketing is a long and continuous process that requires time and delivers varying results. Any service promising you the number 1 spot the next morning is a sign not to be ignored.
On the contrary, if quick results do happen, they are not long-lasting. Let us explain to you how:
Unprofessional marketing agencies may purchase leads and form unstable backlinks to increase your ranking (temporarily). But as soon as Google’s search engine starts its screening, your brand’s ranking will be badly hurt. Or in worse cases, your website could be banned entirely.
What else to expect instead?
- Slow progress over a long period
- Continuous change in marketing practices to find the best strategy for your business
- Ups and downs during the marketing process
- Campaigns that promise long-term projected results
- Facts and figures with an approximately estimated result
How to Avoid This?
To avoid a marketing agency that makes unreal promises, start with a one-on-one consultation initially. Top agencies aren’t reluctant to disclose their strategy with your brand nor are they reluctant to explain the realistic timeframe for results to show.
No Proof
Proof of performance is the tag a marketing agency proudly wears. A marketing agency that promises unreal results with no case studies is a huge red flag. Case studies are a pivotal point to differentiate a real marketing agency from a company that is all bogus.
Moreover, it is equally important to do your homework about a marketing agency before hiring it for your business. Even if they present all the famous case studies themselves, doing your research is recommended. Read directly from the brand’s website for which they have worked. This way you will know both sides of the story. Here are some ways to gather the proof of performance:
- Check the marketing agency’s social media platforms
- Read customer testimonials
- Book a consultation before hiring
- Ask about their long-term plan with your business
How to Avoid This?
The simplest way to avoid being defrauded is to do your online research. Read the case studies via multiple sources. For one step further ask for referrals. A wise approach is to contact the brands the agency has worked for to gather real insight into the customer-brand relationship.
The Don’t Ask About Your Goals
An incompetent marketing agency will pretend to understand your business better than you do. This is a huge red flag as such agencies aren’t eager to know your brand. And once they pay no heed to your brand’s individuality, they are probably not interested in crafting personalized strategies.
An agency that only speaks about what they want to do with your brand is a red flag. If they are constantly praising their services, that is also a red flag. The reason?
A good digital marketing agency understands the different requirements of different industries. They know, no size fits all. Hence, before devising any plan for your business they wish to understand your brand at a personal level.
Fortunately, an unsuitable marketing agency seems incompetent clearly. Here are some ways to identify such agencies:
- Only a limited number of services (such as website design, content or SEO).
- They are not ready to listen to your business problems.
- Unclear communication about their services.
- They are not ready to modify their ways of dealing with customers.
How to Avoid This?
A good way of catching such fraud is to search their services online. With your research, you can find out whether the service they offer is good enough or not. You can also ask these agencies to provide you with proof of performance.
Too Low Price
Budgeting low is important but not when it comes to your brand’s reputation. This doesn’t mean you have to empty your accounts paying an agency’s fee. But a price too low for tough work such as brand exposure, is indeed a red flag. Since a digital marketing agency is a long-term investment with continuous work, you cannot expect cheap prices to deliver extraordinary results.
The truth is, that cheaper marketing plans can cost you twice more money in the longer run when you are paying to fix the bad marketing practices. Or they might just waste your months promising results to be out any day now.
How to Avoid This?
The key here is to plan the budget, search your options and choose the best agency with a credible name. make sure to keep the budget flexible so you aren’t likely to fall into the fraud pit of such agencies.
They Focus on Single Service
A digital marketing agency with a tagline promising a single goal is a clear indication of wrong business. For instance, an agency promising ‘more traffic’ doesn’t have a hint about marketing.
Therefore, it is important to look for a partnership goal rather than a service goal. The right marketing agency will strive to be your long-term partner by offering you multiple solutions directed at a single goal. They will focus on more business and long-term clients rather than quick results that are only short-lived. Here are some promises these fake agencies make:
- Quoting one specific metric of success
- No clear strategy or planning
- Offering only one or two services
How to Avoid this?
Look for an agency that wants to become your partner. That is eager to understand your target audience. They must also work on the Ideal Customer Persona (ICP) of your brand so they can reach the desired audience smartly.
Advantages Of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency
The benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency include long-term success for your business. Other than just saving you the in-house marketing team expense and effort, a marketing agency will offer expert insight into your brand.
They propose strategies to make your brand shine and deliver promising results. A marketing agency is a cost-effective solution to cover a business’ marketing needs.
Bottomline – Tips for Hiring the Right Digital Marketing Agency
Just as not all businesses are created equal, not all agencies work similarly. Therefore, an agency suitable for one business might not fit well to your needs. The first key to hiring the right marketing agency is to do your homework.
List down the things you expect from a marketing agency and make sure to surf the market before making your decision. An ideal approach is to consult with several leading marketing agencies in your region and then choose one with the best plans, pricing and strategy for your brand.
