Hiring a digital marketing firm should be an opportunity to take your brand to the next level. However, you want to be selective on the partner you choose. That means you’ll need to do some due diligence on prospective companies. After all, you’ll be investing in such a team to hit your marketing goals.
You’ve no doubt heard cautionary tales from peers about partnerships that didn’t work out. The best way to protect your business is to assess them on things that matter. If you see these red flags, you may need to keep looking.
No Portfolio or Examples on Their Website
How can you evaluate a digital marketing firm’s chops without looking at previous work? That would be nearly impossible. Without a portfolio that shows their web design and branding work, it isn’t easy to understand their capabilities and style. Without some tangible proof of their deliverables, you can’t make an honest assessment of their abilities. It’s a huge red flag and probably not the best fit for your marketing budget.
They Aren’t Responsive from the Start
The first step in hiring a digital marketing firm is to have a consultation and discuss your objectives and how the company can support you. If they are slow to respond to the initial request, how will they treat you when you’re a client?
Initial responsiveness will set the course for the relationship. If you don’t feel important from the start, you likely never will.
It’s a Marketing Mill
There are thousands of digital marketing firms in the U.S., and some of them operate as a marketing mill. By that, we mean they have preconfigured, standard plans with no personalization. They just throw out the same strategy and game plan without considering your industry, audience, or requirements.
You’d likely encounter this in the initial proposal. If it’s obvious that it’s generic, this could be a very bright red flag. Your business is unique, so you deserve a customized strategy. Otherwise, you’re unlikely to see the results you expect.
They’re Mum on Metrics
Many digital marketing companies don’t want to let the world know about their “secret sauce” for success. That’s not the expectation. However, they should have some wins they can provide in an anonymized way. Without data around areas like improving traffic, conversions, and engagements, everything else is just fluff. If they can’t give you any concrete information, you should probably keep looking.
Their Expertise Is Narrow
As a small business, you don’t want to hire multiple vendors to support your marketing efforts. Many firms do specialize in areas like social media marketing or SEO services, but you’ll be better off to work with one partner that can do it all. All the areas of marketing are connected. They don’t live in silos, so it makes sense to collaborate with one company with specialists for each area.
Hiring a Digital Marketing Firm: Making a Decision That’s Mutually Beneficial
Ideally, hiring a digital marketing firm should bring value to both parties. You’re part of their revenue stream, and they should be adding to yours. With this paradigm, the relationship is mutually beneficial, as it should be.
If you’re looking for a partner, then we’d love to be it. There are no red flags here — just a smart, innovative, and responsive team ready to help you grow in all the right ways. Contact us today to learn more.
