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More agencies have cropped up as more businesses seek digital marketing services. It’s now easier than ever to find a digital marketing agency.
Suppose you want to find an SEO expert. It only takes a quick Google search to find several companies near you.
This is good news for your business, as it gives you more options to choose from. But it also means finding a high-quality agency in a crowded market can take more work.
So, how do you ensure you’re hiring the right digital marketing agency for your company? Here’s a guide with eight detailed tips to help you make an informed decision.
Before you start your search for a digital marketing agency, you must set clear goals. Defined goals serve as the bedrock for building a clear vision that you can transform into a practical marketing blueprint.
In digital marketing, goals can help you determine which strategy to choose. If you want to boost sales in the short term, you may need help improving your email marketing strategy. Goals can also be the foundation for defining performance expectations with your agency.
Digital marketing goals, like any other goal, must be SMART. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.
Digital marketing services come with various price tags. So it’s important to have a budget. On average, hiring a digital marketing company can cost anywhere from $150 to $300 per hour.
Of course, rates can vary based on factors like the scope of work and the level of experience needed. So, it’s essential to consider your budget carefully. Determine what you want to achieve through digital marketing before hiring.
Ensure you’re getting the most value for your investment. Focus on return on your investment (ROI) and long-term gains. View your marketing costs as an investment rather than an expense.
Ask your agency to tailor services to your business. A top digital marketing agency offers various marketing services and packages. As such, it allows you to customize your approach based on budget constraints.
You may also focus your budget on specific channels and strategies to save costs. Not all digital marketing channels and strategies are equally expensive. For instance, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising may need a larger budget than content marketing.
While cost is a crucial factor, it’s important to consider the value of each service. A higher-priced agency may offer a proven track record, which can translate into better results.
Digital marketing encompasses a variety of services and strategies tailored to enhance your online presence. As you search for a digital marketing agency, seek out one that offers the exact services you need.
Common digital marketing services include:
If you’re starting out, you might enjoy partnering with an all-around digital marketing agency. This type of agency offers a one-stop solution for your online marketing efforts. It allows you to work with one company, which can be both cost-effective and convenient.
If your business has been operational and you’re seeking a new agency, specialized services may be a priority. Established agencies often have the expertise to provide niche-specific solutions.
Opting for an agency that offers many services can also contribute to consistent branding. In cases where you need several services, collaboration within an agency can lead to seamless integration.
Once you’ve narrowed down a list of companies that seem like a good fit, conduct thorough research. A simple but effective way to do this is by looking at reviews and testimonials.
Reviews can give you a clear picture of how professional and trustworthy your agency is. Usually, people tend to go for businesses with good ratings and positive feedback.
Take a look at your agency’s website to see if they have a section for reviews. Pay special attention to video testimonials. Videos can show genuine emotions and give you a better sense of what others have experienced.
Asking for references is a powerful method to gain valuable insights into an agency’s performance and reputation. Seeking references is as good as asking other clients about their experience with the agency’s services. This allows you to get a sense of your agency’s track record, reliability, and quality of work.
When contacting references, consider asking specific questions about their experiences. Inquire about the agency’s communication style, timeliness in delivering results, and overall satisfaction with the services provided. Also, ask if there were any challenges or issues encountered and how the agency handled them.
Remember to request diverse references to get a well-rounded view of the agency’s capabilities. This might include clients with different project scopes, industries, or business sizes.
Remember that a reputable agency should be more than willing to provide references. If an agency is hesitant or unwilling to share references, it may raise a red flag.
To make sure you get the most out of your investment, choose a marketing company that understands your specific field well. Niche expertise gives your agency a big advantage, especially when it comes to creating a custom digital marketing plan.
A “niche” here means the specific market your business serves, like an HVAC or plumbing company. This could focus on a particular product, a specific group of customers, a certain area, or a location. For example, a dental clinic in Colorado might find it more helpful to work with a medical marketing expert who knows the field in that area rather than a general digital marketing agency.
When an agency knows your industry, they can create marketing strategies that connect with your audience. They can use their knowledge of what’s happening in the industry, what your customers like, and who your competitors are to devise plans that are just right for you.
Plus, a marketing company with niche experience is more likely to offer solutions that fit your field’s unique challenges and opportunities. This means your marketing efforts will not only be on point but also stand out in a crowded market.
Portfolios speak volumes in digital marketing hiring. Whether you’re considering an SEO specialist, web designer, or email marketer, having tangible evidence of their work and its impact is crucial.
A portfolio showcases the projects your agency has completed and allows you to assess the quality and creativity of their work. It’s a tangible representation of their skills and capabilities in action. This is especially important in a field where the actual output is highly visual and results-driven.
Additionally, portfolios provide insight into the diversity of their experience. You can see if they’ve worked with businesses or industries like yours and if they’ve tackled projects of varying scales and complexities.
Looking at the results achieved is equally important. Metrics like increased website traffic, higher search engine rankings, engagement rates, or conversion numbers are all valuable indicators of their effectiveness.
Focus on more than just the aesthetics when evaluating portfolios. Pay attention to the strategy behind their work.
How did they approach the project? What was their thought process? This gives you a sense of their problem-solving skills and ability to align their work with your objectives.
Every business is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Ensure you discuss your project to enable the agency to customize your strategy. That way, you can be sure that the tactics employed align with your business model.
Effective digital marketing often requires a balanced allocation of resources across various channels. After discussing your strategies, you can collaboratively determine where to use your budget for the best ROI.
Open communication establishes a feedback loop, which is essential for fine-tuning strategies over time. Regular discussions allow for evaluating performance metrics and identifying what’s working. This allows for implementing the necessary adjustments for improved results.
Conducting research is important when you want to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Picking the right digital marketing agency helps improve your marketing and make more sales.
Whether you’re in Colorado or Texas, if you need digital marketing help, you’re in the right place. Contact us to learn more about how we provide the solutions your business needs to thrive.
As veteran of the NYC & Dallas Advertising Agencies, Kurt has managed paid media for many of the top brands within the country including DIRECTV, Charles Schwab, Ralph Lauren, and the NBA.
His focus involves designing a fully integrated paid media strategy tailored to each business’s goals and objectives. After moving on from the larger Ad Agencies, Kurt shifted his focus on aiding small and mid-sized brands craft their integrated paid media strategy. Outside of his paid media interests, Kurt spends his time rooting for his beloved NY Mets as well as traveling with his wife Lauren and two daughters Chloe & Camille.
Our clients at Hero Marketing Agency consistently praise Kurt for his high-touch communication style, thoroughness, integrated media knowledge, and his strategic approach.
Throughout my 25-year career as a multifaceted and data-driven entrepreneur and senior marketing executive, I have amassed a wealth of business knowledge by starting up five companies, three of which were successfully acquired. In addition, I have consulted in over 70 industries, giving me a unique and multidimensional perspective on business growth and development.
In my current role as Founder and CEO of Hero Marketing Agency, I understand the importance of strong relationships—our agency exists to help companies achieve transformational long-term success. I have a deep passion for working directly with organizations to realize real marketing returns and provide the best and most strategic services available.
I carry a DoD Top Secret Clearance, effective 17 April 2020, received a nomination for the Colorado Springs Advertising ICON award, recipient of multiple ADDY awards, and was honored to be nominated for Businessman of the Year by the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce.
Joanna is a creative director, an art director, and a designer with 20+ years of experience delivering world-class creative content. Her career has taken her from London (UK) to New York City, then down to the heart of Texas with her family.
She is a creative leader with proven strategic thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, and management knowledge who forges meaningful connections with internal and client teams. In her role with Hero Marketing Agency, Joanna collaborates with brands, content makers, and storytellers to formulate and bring to life the creative vision through compelling human-centered, results-driven user experiences.
Joanna has worked with various startups to global giants, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Google, Unilever, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Imagine it’s 2001, and you have a new, yet heavy, phone in your hand with the latest technology— get ready to be in awe — it has a single-color display! Instead of black text on a gray background, you get to look at black text on a blue background.
Yes, it sounds underwhelming, but that’s what level of tech we were excited about. It’s the same year wireless phone providers began to connect networks for text messaging. And it’s the same year Heather entered the marketing workforce.
She has had the benefit of experiencing first-hand the evolution and digitization of marketing tactics. From oil & gas to technology transfer, no industry has been left untouched from the vast increase in data now available at our business fingertips. As a data-driven marketer, Heather has not only an appreciation for, but also a solid understanding of tracking and analyzing data to devise strategies and evaluate performance.
At Hero Marketing Agency Heather collaborates with clients to help them achieve a sound strategy for marketing. First to define and distill their goals. Then to develop strategies for goal achievement, articulating objectives, tactics, and success metrics. Great strategists are dynamic storytellers who have the ability to make the incredibly complex feel simple.
A native Texan, Heather has recently moved back to Texas after 14 years in Northern Indiana. She graduated with a double major in marketing and advertising from Indiana University South Bend with scholarship awards. Her collegiate career began at the University of Texas at Austin, but life and her husband took their adventure north.
She is happy to be back in central Texas where they are close to family and do not need a snow blower in the garage. She enjoys emerging technologies and new consumer electronics. An avid runner, some of her best creative ideas have happened mid-run.
Bob has always been an entrepreneur. He will tell you he has lived the American dream, starting and running his own businesses, which have included oil and natural gas exploration, healthcare, publishing, consumer electronics, e-commerce, franchise operations and marketing agency.
Graduating from the University of North Texas with an accounting degree, Bob received his CPA while an Audit Supervisor for the State of Texas. In 1983 Bob started his first business, an independent oil and gas exploration company, which he operated until 2007.
As the Co-Founder of Hero Marketing Agency, Bob is an invaluable part of the brand, and his talents expand beyond his dynamic abilities with projections and figures. Bob sits on the board and counsels on all matters relating to the brand’s financial well-being, in addition to consulting and handling the business management side for clients of Hero Marketing Agency.
In 2018 Bob added the title Director of Digital Strategy to his name, where his background in auditing and time as a CPA migrate perfectly to crunching data and making clear sense of the ever-changing world of digital strategy for Hero Marketing Agency clients.
Splitting time between Colorado and the Texas Hill Country, Bob is married to his high-school sweetheart of 51 years and loves volunteering in his hometown, where he serves on Boerne’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He also loves exploring the outdoors, bow hunting, cycling, and hiking.
Bob has always been an entrepreneur. He will tell you he has lived the American dream, starting and running his own businesses, which have included oil and natural gas exploration, healthcare, publishing, consumer electronics, e-commerce, franchise operations and marketing agency.
Graduating from the University of North Texas with an accounting degree, Bob received his CPA while an Audit Supervisor for the State of Texas. In 1983 Bob started his first business, an independent oil and gas exploration company, which he operated until 2007.
As the Co-Founder of Hero Marketing Agency, Bob is an invaluable part of the brand, and his talents expand beyond his dynamic abilities with projections and figures. Bob sits on the board and counsels on all matters relating to the brand’s financial well-being, in addition to consulting and handling the business management side for clients of Hero Marketing Agency.
In 2018 Bob added the title Director of Digital Strategy to his name, where his background in auditing and time as a CPA migrate perfectly to crunching data and making clear sense of the ever-changing world of digital strategy for Hero Marketing Agency clients.
Splitting time between Colorado and the Texas Hill Country, Bob is married to his high-school sweetheart of 51 years and loves volunteering in his hometown, where he serves on Boerne’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He also loves exploring the outdoors, bow hunting, cycling, and hiking.