^{If you’re thinking of hiring a digital marketing agency to assist you with your marketing efforts, you must know what you’re getting into first. It’s important to note that hiring a marketing agency is not the same thing as outsourcing your digital marketing efforts. As you’ll soon learn, hiring an agency is much more of a long-term commitment, and it can be a bit more complicated.}

Ask for recommendations from your network  

The best way to get started is by reaching out to your network. Ask them for recommendations on what programs, events, or companies might be a good fit for you. This can help you narrow down the list of options and figure out which ones will best serve your needs.

These are the 7 Red flags to check before hiring a digital marketing agency:

1. They don’t have a website

If a marketing agency doesn’t have a website, there’s a good chance that they’re not very experienced or are just starting off. If this is the case, you’re probably better off skipping over them. They don’t have a social media presence – Similarly to having a website, if a marketing agency doesn’t have its own social media profiles (this includes Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.), you should probably be wary of them.

2. They don’t have any positive reviews

If you try to look up the marketing agency and you can’t find any reviews, this could be a red flag. Similarly to having a website, if a marketing agency doesn’t have any reviews, there’s a good chance that they may not be able to do justice to your needs.

3. Their salesperson tries to close the deal on the first call

If the person from the marketing agency is trying to close the deal as quickly as possible, this could be a red flag. When hiring a marketing agency, it’s important to take your time to make sure that you’re hiring the right people for the job.

4. There should be transparency in reporting

Transparency is key to a successful marketing agency. The best agencies will be transparent about their goals, how they are going to achieve those goals, sharing weekly, monthly & quarterly reports on what they've done recently and how it has performed, this includes regularly publishing reports with detailed information about how much money they've spent on various marketing activities. In some cases, this may mean providing regular updates to the stakeholders regarding the status of ongoing activities as well.

5. The Agency only offers one type of Strategy

Agencies often use one type of strategy for marketing. They should always come up with different ideas, as every business/product will not be the same to apply the same type of strategy. It can reduce your audience and ultimately affect your business.

6. The Agency requires you to pay in full before starting work

Even if you checked all the aspects before hiring an agency, you cannot trust them till the time you get the results/any work in your hands. Always negotiate an advance to get started instead of paying the cost upfront, If the work is done properly & in your favour, then there should not be any hesitation while paying them the balance. But if the agency is asking for anything more than 75% of the total before doing any work, then it is risky & you should take it as a red flag!

7. The Agency represents only one type of company

The Digital Marketing Agency you are hiring should have experience in different fields & industries. It will help them to think through the process of creating a 360-degree marketing strategy for your company.

Wrapping up 

Once you’ve decided what your business needs, you can search for an agency and meet with a few to decide on one that is the best fit for your needs. Digital marketing agencies have a unique set of skills and experience that can guide you through the process, as well as provide invaluable insight into consumer behaviour. 

Their expertise can help you to build a strong social media presence. Make sure they have experience with your industry and have worked on projects similar to yours. Finding the right marketing agency can be difficult, as you've just read. If you know what red flags to keep an eye out for and follow the process described here, you should be able to find the right digital agency to grow your brand & business. 

You can always reach out to us at Perito - Find A Consultant. We have verified Marketing Consultants who can develop strategies, help you build processes, hire the right people, find the right agency and much more.