In today’s ultra-digital world, the online economy is no longer an emerging opportunity. It is the new marketplace with over 4 billion potential customers present.
Consumers expect to be able to find businesses online. The majority will conduct research online before they make a purchase, while 76% say they trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family members.
In 2020, 70% of marketers are investing in digital marketing tactics like content marketing. You have probably already started seeing the effects of this. Perhaps you have noticed that your competitors are more visible in online searches, or perhaps your business growth has hit a plateau. Moving your business online is an excellent way to mitigate these challenges.
But you’re going to need much more than just a new website. While a well-designed website is integral for your marketing, what you really need is a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. And unless you are a multi-disciplinary digital marketing genius with hundreds of hours of experience, getting the best results usually means hiring a digital marketing agency.
If you have done an online search for digital agencies, you may have discovered that there are probably thousands of agencies calling for your attention, with each one claiming to be the best thing since sliced bread.
How do you choose the best one? Making the wrong choice will often mean hours of frustration with an uncommunicative agency or worse, an expensive digital strategy that does not work.
You’re going digital to make more money, not waste it!
We’re going to show you a foolproof way of hiring the best digital marketing agency, regardless of where you are in the world. If you want to get a sure Return on Investment (ROI) and grow your business, be sure to follow these steps.
Digital Marketing Agency Services
What exactly should you expect from a digital agency? There are various types of digital marketing agencies which focus on various niches within the industry. Here are the most popular types:
1. Web Design Agencies
These agencies are focused on making well-designed and highly functional websites such as e-commerce stores. A top digital marketing agency like Xanda will have a resident team of top website developers who are able to develop custom solutions that can meet any of your unique requirements.
2. Social Media Agencies
Social media agencies will help build your brand and nurture an online community of people interested in your products or services. Social media marketing agencies can help you determine which social media platforms to focus on and then execute the day-to-day tactics.
3. SEO Agencies
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), is a crucial part of the digital marketing puzzle. SEO helps websites rank on the first pages of Google search results for relevant search queries in their area of focus. 92% of all traffic goes to search results on the first page of Google Search Engine Result Pages. Therefore, being on the first page of Google results for your industry could mean significant growth for your business.
4. Full-Spectrum Agencies
As you can probably see by now, creating and implementing a fully functional digital marketing strategy is a full-time job for several people. If you’re running a business, taking on your digital strategy by yourself might mean starving other areas of the business of your attention.
A full-spectrum digital agency like Xanda will take charge of the entire process, often beginning with website redesign if necessary. They will help you define your digital objectives and will map out a clear plan for how to achieve these. They will then have in-house experts who will go ahead to execute the plan on your behalf, maintain regular communication with you whilst also sending monthly progress reports.
Picking the Right Digital Marketing Agency for Your Business
As you perform a search for a digital marketing agency, here are some tips to help you pick the one that is best for your business:
1. Don’t search for a cheap digital marketing agency
Good digital marketing agencies won’t promise you the world in exchange for peanuts. It costs money to hire, train, and pay genuine digital marketing experts. You may have a limited marketing budget but instead of going for a cheap agency, you should choose an agency that explains how they are going to provide a return on your investment.
2. Check for reputable digital marketing agencies
Digital marketing agencies are good at marketing themselves. They are, after all, marketers. It is, therefore, important not to simply take their word for things. To get a good idea of the quality of their work and their achievements, you need to do some research.
Check out their website and assess its quality. If there are avoidable errors like typos on their website, that might be a hint that they might not be thorough with your work. Their website may also help you figure out their values and areas of expertise.
You should also find out if they are a good fit for you by checking their portfolio to see if they have worked with businesses like yours in the past. If they have, what are these past clients of theirs saying about them?
3. Make contact with them
Reach out to them through their website or some other means and schedule a time to discuss your business and what they have to offer you. You can also ask agencies to send you proposals.
During meetings, ask questions. Even though some of the answers might be technical and beyond your understanding, you can get a good feel of whether they know their stuff. Some important questions to ask include:
- Do you have any samples of work you have done in the past that yielded success?
- Have you ever worked with a company like my own and, if so, what was the end result?
- Who exactly will be doing the work and what are their credentials?
- What metrics will you use to measure success and ROI?
Also allow them to ask you questions and pay attention to see if they care at all about your business and your specific needs. An agency that only boasts about itself and what it can do without taking your unique situation into consideration may not be one you can rely on.
Getting Started with Digital Marketing
Hiring a full-spectrum digital marketing agency takes away the stress of managing your online presence while helping your business grow. Taking the time out to find the right one will be a worthy investment.
If you would like to discuss your digital marketing goals, get in touch with us and we would be delighted to speak to you and walk you through our processes.
