5 Things to Look for in a Marketing Agency

The best marketing agency for our company is the one that has the expertise and capabilities to help you reach your goals. See what else matters.

May 1, 2024

The best marketing agency for your small business or medium to large-sized company is the one that can help you reach your goals. This agency should have the necessary skills and abilities. They should be able to understand your needs and provide effective solutions.

Find a marketing agency that has a track record of success in similar projects. Make sure they have the expertise to meet your specific objectives. Keep reading and check out our case studies to see what else should matter to your company when searching for a marketing agency.

Choosing a marketing agency can be overwhelming. As more businesses realize the value, more agencies work to meet demand. How can you tell the difference between a good agency and the right one for you?

As a marketing agency, here's our opinion of the 5 most important things to consider first.

#1 Relevant Service Offerings

Not all agencies offer the same marketing services. Some agencies specialize in website development and SEO, marketing strategy, digital advertising, or analytics.

These agencies can bring you many satisfied customers and success. However, pretty landing pages and flat business goals are pointless if they don't provide the marketing strategy you need. 

Find an agency that offers the services that will help reach your goals. Are you planning a large marketing campaign and need help developing digital marketing strategies? Do you need assistance with your user-friendly online presence, lead generation and brand loyalty?

Perhaps content creation is your weak point? Do you need assistance with generating leads for potential customers and increasing conversion rates? We can help answer that in a complimentary consultation.

#2 Experience

Looking for an agency that has experience is important. One of the first questions to ask is if they have any other clients in your same industry.

This is a good sign. The marketing team may already know what you do. They may also know how to promote your products or services.

Companies in the same industry may share similarities. Avoiding simply copying another company's marketing strategy is important. Make sure your agency is developing their own unique approach. This will help your company stand out and attract customers.

The agency may be familiar with your industry. However, they are there to understand your company, goals, audience, and what sets you apart from competitors.

They want to learn more about your business and what makes it unique. Their goal is to gather information about your company and its strengths. They want to learn about your industry and user experience, as well as your company. 

Note: just because an agency you’re considering doesn’t have experience in your industry doesn’t mean they are a good fit. They may have experience with similar B2B or B2C projects that will equip them to serve your company well! 

Workshops, Consultation, Strategy Sessions

Workshops, consultations, and strategy sessions are important for agencies. They can provide valuable insights for other considerations. These activities are crucial for gaining experience and providing high quality performance. 

Be mindful when agencies immediately offer to help you and start quoting monthly retainers and projects. Trusted agencies provide workshops, consultations, and strategy sessions to help you determine your company's needs and how to get started. 

We’ll give you an example. To create a new website or add more web pages, a complete redesign could cost up to five figures. This means it could cost anywhere from $10,000 and beyond.

We provide website consultations at a lower cost. We offer affordable website consultations. During the consultation, we assist in planning your current and desired sitemap. We also identify key areas to focus on for search engine optimization. 

This consultation provides a clear and extensive starting place so you spend every dollar on your website project efficiently. 

Another example is our Messaging Workshops. Before creating content for our clients, we have a workshop to understand you and your audience better.

In this workshop, we will gather information and examine your social media platforms. We will then create a strategy that resonates with your audience. This process helps us tailor our content to effectively communicate your message to your target audience. It also helps us create comprehensive digital marketing campaigns.

What kind of personality does your brand have? What phrases or call to actions should we use or avoid when discussing your products and services? What is your vision? Your voice?

Defining your messaging is essential for brand consistency and ensuring that we effectively communicate with the right audience. 

#3 Communication

One thing to expect is for your marketing agency to handle all your marketing efforts. Another thing is to never hear from them again.

Your marketing agency should communicate with you regularly. They shouldn't only reach out when it's time to pay bills or renew your contract. Keeping in touch consistently is important for them. Exaggerating aside, this is a crucial aspect of a successful partnership. 

Look for a marketing agency that’s committed to building a relationship. One that initiates meetings, offers project updates, answers questions, and celebrates new clients with you.

Your relationship with your marketing agency should be a partnership, not an informal business transaction. 

#4 Results

And, of course, you want a marketing agency with a history of success. When selecting an agency, it's important to consider more than just their track record. While experience and communication are crucial, ultimately, their ability to deliver on their promises is what truly matters. 

Success in marketing can vary based on individual perspectives. One way to measure the effectiveness of an agency is by examining their past projects and success stories. Top marketing agencies regularly evaluate their successes and failures.

This helps them improve their ability to assist clients in achieving their goals. By reviewing their performance, they can make necessary adjustments and enhancements. This continuous improvement process is essential for staying competitive in the industry.

#5 Transparency 

Lastly, you don’t want an agency that only answers your questions with, “don’t worry, we’ve got it covered.”

We talked earlier about how marketing should be a partnership. You may be outsourcing most of your marketing to an agency, but your insights and collaboration are an asset. No matter how much you trust an agency, it’s still beneficial to know what they are doing and why. Especially if you have an internal sales team that will be talking to the leads your agency is delivering. 

Transparency can be as simple as making you part of the process. It can also be a company’s willingness to tell you the truth and own up to mistakes. 

At Electro, transparency is a core value. We believe it is essential in defining our agency. Transparency helps us show who we are.

There have been times we’ve met with potential clients where we knew we weren’t the best fit for them. Instead of bragging about what we can do to get new clients, we concentrated on finding the right solution for them. Sometimes, this meant recommending a competitor.

We also never sell someone something they don’t need. We won't tell you that you need every marketing solution. You may only need a new website or a monthly content plan. 

No matter your industry or needs, start with these 5 criteria when choosing team members for your marketing plan. Want to see if we check all your boxes? We’d love to chat.

Writer: Gabrielle Mingus
Editor: SK Vaughn, Lindsay Miller

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