How to choose the best digital marketing agency for your business

In today’s day and age, digital marketing is vital. 3.5 billion people use the internet and over 2.1 billion people shop online. Without an online presence, you could be losing business. 

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But if you’re not a marketing whizz, knowing how to promote your business online can be tricky. 

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This is where using a digital marketing agency can be helpful.

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With a digital marketing agency, you can leave all the marketing activity to the experts. The hard part is finding the right agency to use. 

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In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to find a digital marketing agency that’s right for your business. But first, let’s start with the basics: what actually is a digital marketing agency? 

What is a digital marketing agency? 

A digital marketing agency is a company you can use to outsource your digital marketing efforts. They’ll use their expertise to create a digital marketing strategy for your business. They’ll help you reach more customers, increase your online presence, and (hopefully) boost sales. 

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Different agencies offer various services depending on their capabilities. Some agencies specialize in search engine optimization (SEO) while others focus solely on social media, and so on. 

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A full-service digital marketing agency (like us at Ascend — hi 👋), offers the full package. That includes SEO, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media, and content. 

Why should you hire a digital marketing agency? 

Using a digital marketing agency is an investment. It usually requires a lot of time and money upfront before you start seeing real results. 

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So why exactly should you use a digital marketing agency?

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Let’s take a look:

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• Let the experts do what they do best: Digital marketing experts are exactly that — experts! Let them do what they’re good at so you can see results. 

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• Free up your time to focus on other areas: Spend less time worrying about how to market your business and more time actually running it. 

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• See results quicker: Sure, you can run your digital marketing activity yourself. But chances are you’ll see results quicker if you let the experts take the leads. 

How to find the right digital marketing agency for your business 

A lot of businesses are focused on the numbers when trying to find a marketing agency, and rightly so. They want to know how much it’s going to cost, what results they can expect to see, and how the agency has performed in the past.

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This is important information, but it misses one vital piece of the puzzle.

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To make the most of using a digital marketing agency, you need to be a good fit. 

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To make the search easier for you, we’ve outlined five best practices to find a marketing agency that’s the right fit for your business. 

1. Know your goals and be clear about your budget

Before we talk about finding the right fit, let’s be real about how you need to prepare. 

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When you approach a marketing agency, you need to know what you want to achieve. This means knowing what your goals are and how much you’re willing to spend to reach them. 

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Top tip: Use the SMART goals framework to create realistic and achievable goals. 

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From here, you can find agencies that fit the bill. You know what you’re looking for and what your desired outcomes are. If an agency can’t help you reach these goals, you can find one that will.  

2. Meet them in person (or virtually)

This might seem like an obvious point to make, but it’s important. 

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You need to meet people from the agency face-to-face (or virtually if you’re working remotely). 

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Why? 

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Because it’ll help you understand their team dynamics and the type of people you’d be working with. This will help you get a feel for if they’d be the right fit.

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We’d also suggest keeping your first meeting pretty casual. Perhaps grabbing a coffee or having lunch. Sure, you’ll talk business. But a casual setting gives you a chance to find out more about the people you’d be working with. 

3. Take a look at other companies they’ve worked with 

A good indicator of whether an agency is the right choice is to look at who they’ve worked with in the past. 

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If the companies are reputable and have good things to say, you’re probably onto a winner. If the feedback isn’t so great, you might want to stay clear. 

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Having said that, just because an agency hasn’t had hundreds of clients doesn’t mean they’re not good at what they do. They could be a new agency with all the skills and tools to provide an excellent service, but they don’t have a large portfolio yet. 

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Working with these agencies can be a bit riskier, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. You’ll know from meeting them whether you trust their judgment.

4. Keep an eye out for red flags 

Before committing to a partnership, keep an eye out for red flags. 

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For example, promising big results in a small amount of time. Seemingly impossible goals are exactly that: impossible. If an agency is over-promising on what they can deliver, you might want to look elsewhere.

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That’s not to say you shouldn’t have big goals and objectives. You definitely should. But they should be realistic and achievable. You need to partner with an agency that knows this. 

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Another common issue can be communication. If you’re not getting open, honest, and prompt communication from an agency, that’s not a good sign. 

5. Get a feel for their values and work culture

A digital marketing agency should feel like an extension of your team. So ideally, you should work with an agency that has similar values to your own. If you operate in a similar work environment, the partnership will be much easier for both parties.

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To see if your values align, take a look at their website. Does their language reflect the values you want in an agency? 

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Let’s use Ascend as an example. One of our core values is open communication and honesty:

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“We take a collaborative approach with our marketing. We don’t expect you to give us a brief and leave us to our own devices. You’ll be involved throughout the process, and we’ll never leave you in the dark.

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Our communication is always open and honest. If we don’t think something’s right, we’ll tell you — and we’ll work with you to find a solution.”

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If open communication is important to you, we could be a good fit — and you’d know this by simply taking a look at our website.  

Partner with Ascend to boost your digital marketing efforts 

When it comes to choosing a marketing agency, you have to go with your gut. Choose an agency that feels right for your business, but keep an eye out for any red flags along the way. 

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If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency that feels like part of the team, get in touch with Ascend. Our team of digital marketing experts is big on open communication, and we love to collaborate with our clients as much as possible. 

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