It’s a big step for most small businesses to finally take the plunge and hire an online marketing company. There are so many variables, it’s difficult to know where to start. Finding the right company to work with is especially challenging, but there are questions you can—and should—ask before entering into an agreement. Some of them will help you ascertain what you’re going to get for your money, while others will enable you to find out whether the company knows what it’s doing.
1. Can I view examples of your work with other clients?
References and examples are important to enable you to gage whether the agency you’re negotiating with actually has:
- The expertise you need in your industry, and
- The look and feel you want/like.
It’s a bit late once you’re in an agreement to decide you don’t like their style of writing or design elements. Rather establish upfront if you’re on the same page in terms of marketing content.
Don’t stop there, either; few marketing agencies will have material to show that gives any indication that they produced it. Take your research a step further by asking for contact details to verify their claims with other clients, and confirm any testimonials provided.
2. Can you get me on the first page of Google results?
Ok, the answer to this should never be “yes.” And no, we aren’t crazy to say that. Any company that guarantees you anything is taking a chance, because nobody has Google in their back pocket. The best they can do is to show you before and after results of other internet marketing campaigns, with the marketing plans that achieved them and supporting statistics. When you ask this question, the company’s response should be to explain why they can’t promise you anything. Then you’ll know you can expect transparency from them during your relationship.
3. What sort of reports will you give me?
If you’re spending your determined marketing budget with an online company, you’re going to want to monitor your expenditure and make sure you’re getting bang for your buck. Don’t enter into an agreement without establishing in advance the type of reporting you’re likely to receive. A good marketing agency should be able to deliver regular reports showing:
- Trends and changes in your website traffic based on the campaign implementation
- Number of sales leads received and the sales funnel stage they are in
- ROI tracking based on conversions by your sales department, and the cost per conversion calculated by comparing campaign costs with revenue generated.
Ask which tools the company uses to track performance, and find out whether you’ll have access to them or if you’ll simply get standard reports.
4. What steps are taken to nurture leads to fruition?
The majority of visitors (97%) to your website aren’t yet ready to buy, according to research by HubSpot. They’re on fact-finding missions and need more information before they make a decision. Your online marketing company needs to have a plan in place to nurture those leads, using tactics such as automated email marketing and social media engagement to keep them close until they are ready to buy.
Don’t wait to find out the hard way that the company believes you’re going to do this part. Ask them beforehand how they plan to optimize the middle of the sales funnel and tailor your content to meet the needs of prospects in different buying stages.
5. How long will it take for me to start seeing results?
Online marketing takes time and effort, and it isn’t a “quick fix” for anything. A reputable company will explain this and propose an initial time-frame for developing and implementing the program. You can expect not to see significant results in the first few months. Avoid pushing the company to commit to an unrealistic date, because a rushed campaign will do you no favors. Rather, work with them to determine a period that’s acceptable to all parties, and then document the dates to keep everyone accountable.
6. Can you take over everything?
We know you’d love to just have the online marketing company take everything off your plate and just, well – handle it! It’s not that simple, though, and you’ll need to provide a fair amount of input for them to get a feel of your company philosophy, culture, key differentiators and brand personality. If you ask a company to take over everything and they agree, you’re probably going to regret it. Identify ahead of time the role you’ll play and how much work you’ll be expected to do gathering information and providing direction for the strategy.
If you can establish the right relationship with a trusted marketing partner, it can make a huge difference to the success of your efforts. Don’t settle for anything less than that!
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
