All marketing agencies are not created equal. Like any business, some marketing agencies talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. With the mentality that “marketing is easy, anyone can do it” and marketing influencers growing every day, it can be difficult to know who will help your business thrive, and who might make your business dive. You want to find a company that will help you truly understand marketing, and how to align your goals with your marketing strategy. We’re going to give you the top 6 things you should check before you choose your marketing agency.
Look at their website.
If their website is full of stock photos or doesn’t showcase their team or work those are big red flags. Websites are a huge part of marketing strategies and if they don’t have a good website, they most likely won’t know how to optimize yours.
Look at their social media.
Marketing is a puzzle, and social media is a big piece of that puzzle. If the agency you’re researching isn’t active on social media that’s a red flag. If they’re active, but not posting high-quality content, red flag #2. Agencies should lead by example and their social media should reflect that.
Look at their portfolio and make sure what they offer matches your goals.
For example, if you want to run digital ads on Google but the company you’re looking at only highlights websites, you don’t want to use them for a digital ad campaign. You need an agency that has industry experts in the services you’re looking for.
Speaking of experts, look at their team.
Is the person who manages social media also the graphic designer, videographer, photographer, and doing 4 other jobs? While someone can be good at graphic design and managing social media, most of the time when marketers are doing multiple jobs the graphics are templated and just changed to brand colors. You want a team that will give your brand the attention to detail it deserves.
Sit down and “interview” the company.
You don’t need to talk to everyone, but there is most likely an account manager, operations manager, or even CEO that you can talk to. You should ask about:
- How they develop marketing strategies
- How they stay up to date with the latest digital marketing trends and technologies
- How often will you get analytics and updates
- Who will be working on your account and what their qualifications are
- What happens if a strategy isn’t working
- What are some references or testimonials they can provide
- What is the onboarding process like
Think about if you like their work.
After researching and looking at what they do, do you like it? These creative minds will be working on your brand and if you don’t feel like they will be able to create assets and marketing strategies that align with your goals and values then they’re not for you.
Marketing isn’t just about social media, your website, your logo, or your digital ads. It’s everything from how your employees answer the phone to how people feel about your business. It’s a puzzle and if a piece is missing, it won’t work as well as it should. A creative marketing strategy should dive deep into your brand and highlight what makes your brand unique. That’s exactly what we do at Hexcode. Curious about the marketing magic we make? Check out our website, and social channels, talk to our clients, and let’s grab a coffee and chat! We’re a marketing agency that is transparent with our processes, has a team of experts who can give each piece of your marketing puzzle the attention it deserves, and is research-driven and creatively inspired.
