The world of digital marketing is coming up. Well yes, it is still “coming up”. Inspite of the spur in this field many are; or I can safely say “were” unaware of it. They are now realizing the potential and moving onto this field. Almost every single organization is hiring a digital agency to market for them. There was a time when traditional agencies incorporated the little digital part but even this was outsourced to agencies. Now a digital agency is purely digital and it does not support any form of traditional marketing. It will handle every digital aspect for your firm, be it web design, branding and logo, e- mail marketing, social media, search marketing etc. Many firms are marketing on a digital platform alone. But to thrust your entire marketing on one agency is a big deal. One must weigh all the factors and make a well- informed decision. Here are the factors that one must keep in mind:
• Commitment: The digital agency must have a commitment to everything they do. Getting results is not an overnight task. There has to be consistency in the quality of their work.
• Chalk out a plan: You must know what you want from them. Make a proper plan chalking out the goals that need to be achieved. Give them a certain time frame. But keep in mind these must be done after consulting the agency concerned only. This is because you may not have a complete idea of how much time a digital strategy might take and setting unrealistic goals would not be right.
• Test: The best way of knowing or choosing an agency is by testing them out. First, give them a certain marketing problem. Tell them to develop a digital marketing strategy that can effectively sort the problem. Or better still if both parties are willing, run it live and measure the results. But you must keep in mind that there are a lot of factors involved and that one success or even one failure cannot decide how the overall company is. But this will atleast give you a gist of how their work environment, ethics, behavior etc. are.
• Knowledge: Be well aware of the marketing methods. If not “well’ aware atleast have a general idea about this field. It is always better to have one person in- house to handle i.e. be the point of contact with this firm. There must be someone to constantly co- ordinate with them. This not only helps you be in touch with the activities but also makes the agency’s work much easier.
• Search: Get feedback from their current clients to know if they are satisfied with the business. Also, get in touch with their past clients to know why they could have left.
After all this, keep in mind that you must not only have a god digital agency to support you but must also be a good client to them. Don’t be too invasive but be supportive when you need to.