So the first piece of advice from the business2community.com website reads as follows: Be very sceptical about anyone who claims they alone can provide you with all the solutions you need. That can hardly be the case – unless you are looking for a supplier of services in only one or two disciplines. It certainly is not applicable if you need to guarantee digital marketing as a whole.
In order to be successful with an agency, focus on the following factors:
- Expertise
- Execution
- Empathy
Your agency must understand and be aligned with what you intend to accomplish. It must be willing to install KPIs and be held accountable for achieving them.
Building awareness, reputation and translating this into increased sales – all this takes time. You need to appoint a good leader as the contact point between your company and the agency – someone who is able to remain calm and make decisions.
Meet with them and ask questions
Your interview with the agency should be about the kind of people you will be dealing with. You want experienced and capable professionals to do the work for you, not only promote the agency in the selection process. Be sure to meet the individuals you’ll be working with. Talk with them about who will be accountable for delivering results.
Agencies need to optimise the time load of their staff. Ask about how much work each team member in the agency is responsible for.
Did the agency recommend you use a blog with regularly updated content? Check whether they do the same. If not, ask why. If they talk a lot about social media, check their activity there.
Think twice if you have doubts about whether they really do practise what they preach.
-jk-