How to Choose a Digital Marketing Agency That Will Deliver Results

You’ve probably read hundreds of articles on how to pick a digital marketing agency, but how many of those posts have actually helped YOUR business?

If you’re tired of meeting with agencies that promise you the world and fail to deliver results, it’s probably because everything you’ve learned about how to choose a digital marketing agency is the surface-level information you—and every other business out there—already know about.

To find “the one,” you have to dig deeper. Let’s explore what that looks like.

What You Already Know About Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency

Before we dive into some not-so-secret secrets about choosing a marketing agency, let’s review common things you should consider during your search for an agency that will deliver results.

Look For Agencies That Fit Your Budget

One of the first things that comes to mind when you’re searching for the right marketing agency is going to be cost. Naturally, this means that the right marketing agency for your business will offer services that fit into your budget.

But if you just focus on this, you’re not going to find much success. Most marketing agencies can work with your budget, whether that means customizing a marketing plan or offering you a specific service instead of a comprehensive strategy, that’s not an issue to them.

So when you read articles on how to pick a marketing agency and they just say “Choose an agency that fits your budget,” remember that there’s more to it than that.

Red flag alert: If a digital marketing agency outright says they can work with whatever budget you give them, watch out. Marketing agencies are businesses too and they typically have internal guidelines for which accounts qualify for more attention and sometimes, even more experienced team members to work on the account. Do your due diligence to ask them what kind of resources they’ll be using for your account at the different budget levels you provide.

Choose An Agency That Can Define Your Business Goals 

You can’t build a strong marketing strategy without outlining your business goals. If you’re looking for an agency’s help, you probably already know what you want to achieve, even if it’s just a rough idea. 

These goals can include things like:

• Increase revenue
• Boost brand awareness
• Grow on social media
• Increase conversion rates
• Decrease bounce rates

Most agencies will offer services to help with these concerns, so when it comes to picking an agency, one that will help determine your business goals is a given.

What You Should Know About How To Pick a Digital Marketing Agency

We’re not saying that you shouldn’t consider the basic elements of picking a marketing agency—how they can help identify your business goals and whether they’re affordable or not are important aspects of the selection process.

But use these next tips during your search and you’ll feel more confident about choosing a marketing agency that will help drive results for your business.

Check Out Their Case Studies and Reviews

Look, every agency is going to make sure their website makes them look like the best digital marketing agency out there, that’s just a fact. And that’s okay! It’s important for agencies to highlight their UVPs and share why they believe they’re the best fit for your business.

But where you’re going to find the most information about what it’s like to partner with them is through case studies and reviews.

It’s here that you’ll learn about what industries find the most success with an agency. You’ll also see what tools and services they utilize the most to drive results for their clients. 

There’s no better gauge for an agency’s success than how they are helping their clients reach their goals.

Take The Time To Learn About An Agency’s Team

Similar to checking out an agency’s blog posts to gauge their expertise and their reviews to see how they execute strategy, most businesses don’t take the time to learn about the people with whom they’ll potentially be working.

For an agency to be able to deliver results, they have to have a team of polished marketers. A great agency will hire, develop, and retain top talent to ensure your brand is in good hands when it comes time to get to work.

At the end of the day, a reliable marketing agency is more than just a sleek logo and flashy website—it’s the people who will help build and execute the necessary strategies to propel you toward your goals.

Make Sure Your Interactions With an Agency Feel Authentic

Your relationship with a marketing agency shouldn’t feel forced. If you want to find success in partnering with an agency, you need mutual authenticity. 

A good digital marketing agency will be transparent with you and be more than happy to answer your questions. At the same time, you need to be open to their questions; the more information you can provide, the better you can work together to find the right marketing solutions for your brand.

On top of this, an authentic agency won’t be afraid to break uncomfortable news to you. Any agency can take your money and have you sign a contract knowing they won’t be able to help your business, but a great agency will let you know that they’re probably not the best fit for you.

If at any point during your initial consultation with an agency you feel like they’re beating around the bush or that you can’t open up about your goals, it’s better to keep looking.

Think About It As A Partnership

Marketing should be considered a branch of your business, not just an outside resource.

Agencies should be open, transparent, and upfront with clients about the work and progress that’s being done, and so should you.

Piggybacking off of the previous point, being authentic is a huge piece of a partnership, and that’s how you should approach vetting an agency.

Just like any relationship, there’s give and take. In a business transaction like marketing services, the give to the agency should be more than just dollars and cents, it should be information, ideation, and good communication to keep them up to speed on what’s happening with the business and how they can help be more proactive with your goals.

At the same time, the giving from the marketing agency should be that they propose new insights, inform you when things are up and down, provide you with the “why” behind strategies and ideas, and help you meet business goals.

If the agency doesn’t seem like they’d be a good partner, pass.

It’s a two-way street with marketing because it should be considered an extension of your business, not just a service you purchase on a monthly basis.

Read Their Blog Posts 

Something not a lot of businesses take the time to do is read through an agency’s blog posts. This can help you gauge their knowledge of the industry and you can get an idea of what their quality standards are.  

You might even find that some articles will bring up concerns you never even considered that you can ask about during your consultation. 

For example, did you know about the new social media curfews (2023)? If you rely heavily on social media or plan on implementing it, you may want to ask your potential agencies about what they’re doing to address this.

Look where no one else is, and you’re bound to find gold.

Put Your Knowledge To The Test

Now that you know what to look out for with finding a digital marketing agency you can trust, why not start your search with Disruptive? 

As the best performance marketing agency for authentic brands, our mission is to leverage the right people, skills, and tools to drive immediate impact for your business. 

How do we do this? Chat with us today to learn more about the Disruptive Difference.