Every marketing agency worth anything has a fancy website that lists all of their services and accomplishments (I know we do). If I were to ask you to make a list of your top ten favorite marketing agencies based on their websites alone, you might end up with ten marketing agencies that for one reason or another would not be right for you. So, if websites only tell half the story how do you know when you’ve found the perfect agency for you? While nothing is a sure thing, the best way to end up partnering with the right agency is to ask the right questions.
With that in mind here are 3 questions to ask a marketing agency before partnering with them.
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What Are Your Strengths?
This should not be a surprise to anyone. You need to discover the areas in which the marketing agency excels. SMA is an agency filled with multi-talented individuals and thus is capable of offering a lot of different services at a high level. However, we obviously believe that there are things we do well and things we do significantly better than everyone else. No one agency is going to be “the best” at every single aspect of marketing. If one of them tries to convince you that they are equally good at everything we suggest you find a new agency.
How Long Until I See Results?
We know that this feels like a clich√©d thing to ask but let’s be real. It’s essential information that you need to know before agreeing to partner with a new marketing agency. Even the best content marketing can take time to catch on, but then it quickly becomes an unstoppable force. However, a media campaign or paid social media advertising is known for producing immediate results. Choose to work with an agency that is willing to be honest about their projected timeline and expected results.
What Type of Work Will I Get with My Contract?
This one mght be the most critical question to ask. Countless times we have witnessed a business contract with us for a specific list of services but then expect to get access to all of our services. We offer a wide range of services, many of them overlapping, so as you can imagine this can be a problem. SMA is notorious for doing everything we can to go above and beyond for our clients, but at some point, every agency reaches the limits of how many extras and bonuses they can offer. It is for this reason that we cannot stress enough that you make sure the services you are talking about with an agency meet the needs of your business.
Questions are your best friend. There is no shame in being upfront with a marketing agency. Make sure they are asking you the right questions, as well. During the discovery call, both sides should be discussing your business goals and marketing objectives, so the agency can develop a customized marketing game plan. Good communication benefits all parties involved in the process.
The fantastic team at SMA would be happy to talk to you about all things marketing. Yes, that means even helping you get started with the basics if need be. Don’t hesitate to contact us today.
