Picture this scenario. You have just signed a marketing contract with a new digital agency and are eager to see your investment doesn’t go to waste. You will want the agency to promote your business so that you see an increase in your sales.
If you hire a competent agency, this is exactly the outcome that will be released. However, you also need to be actively involved. Just because you have hired an agency doesn’t mean your work is finished.
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The work of the marketing agency can only be as the client. This is not meant to assign blame to any one party. It just emphasizes how important cooperation is in ensuring a fruitful client-agency partnership. However, there is always room for improvement for both parties.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you hire a digital marketing agency.
Always Be Honest
Think of your marketing agency like it is your therapist. The more information you share with the agency, the more beneficial it will be for you. You will gain no benefit from masking your past mistakes. This isn’t a contest. No one is judging you here.
Tell the agency what marketing activities you did in the past. Let it know what worked in the past and what didn’t. Don’t create a situation where your new agency also ends up making the same mistake as your previous one. This will only waste your resources as it will help no one.
Be Sure You Know What You Expect From Them
It often happens that clients are not quite sure about what they want from the agency. Before assigning a project, they should be sure about what they require. The digital agency should also not start working until it is sure its work fits into the client’s marketing strategy.
Let’s say the client assigns the agency to publish blog posts. But are they meant to create sales leads through a newsletter subscription or are they designed to attract traffic to their website? It is important to clear this out before the agency starts writing those blogs as it will affect how they get written.
Things get more blurry when we talk about social media. Clients usually are only interested in getting a huge fan following instead of looking at the big picture. Clients should be clear about what they want out of a social media campaign. Some of the objectives could be nurturing loyal customers, getting more customers, or simply creating brand publicity.
Have Realistic Expectations
Clients should give deadlines to their agency that are a bit tighter than what is required. KPIs should also be set in the same way. It is always good to leave a bit of a buffer. Typically, both KPIs and deadlines will get negotiated but it is better to take such precautions. Clients should make sure their requests are doable. They should be realistic with the work they demand and the deadlines they give.
If you work for an agency, try to add an extra day if the clients don’t provide a specific deadline. Seek extra time if you must. But make sure you can deliver according to your committed time. Time is valuable and punctuality should be observed by all. The extra time also comes in handy if a team member falls ill or something else happens that causes a delay in work.
The same approach should be applied when talking about the outcome of a marketing campaign. Never trust an agency representative who makes unrealistic commitments like doubling the sales revenue in a month. This may feel like a very attractive proposition, but you will eventually get frustrated when your unrealistic expectations are not meant.
Summing Up
Undoubtedly, marketing your business online is a challenging task. Even if you have a dedicated marketing department, you will still need to seek the services of a digital marketing agency to get the best results out of your marketing campaign. When you hire an agency, you need to deal with them tactfully to get the best return on your marketing expenditure.
We hope you will find this guide useful. As a marketer, you will be constantly in search of inspiration. Sometimes TV can provide you with such inspiration. Take a look at the Mediacom Channel lineup to sign up for an appropriate TV plan.