Working with a digital marketing agency – how to know you’re ready

Let’s set the scene. You’re a busy marketing manager or small business owner trying to juggle what feels like a never-ending stream of tasks while trying to get people a) interested in your brand and b) wanting to buy from it.

And then once you’ve converted someone into a customer, you’ve got to nurture a relationship with them, creating loyalty through trust and the deliverance of an exceptional experience.

Tiring, right?

You may have contemplated getting a helping hand from a digital agency that can take some of the pressure off your plate. Whether it be Pay-Per-Click (PPC), PR or SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), these specialists know how to get heads turning.

But, as good as that sounds, not everyone is ready to work with an agency. Building a long-term agency partnership is a two way street, meaning you will get out as much as you put in. This doesn’t mean you have to speak to your external teams every single day, but you do need to have knowledge of, or agree to, the following:

Your business goals and audiences

You may think you have these in place, but do you really?

Do you know the personas of those who purchase from you?

Do you know what you want to achieve in the next six to 12 months (at least) and have a plan in place to get there?

If you’re confused about any of this, then your agency will be confused too. Rather than taking a scattergun approach which – spoiler alert – will never provide a good return on investment, you should try and give your agency as many deeper insights as possible, paving the way for hyper-targeted digital marketing campaigns that convert.

Giving access to tools and assets

Digital marketers need a certain amount of access in order to do their jobs effectively. You’d be surprised by how many agencies don’t get access to the Google tools they need during the first few months of working with a client (i.e. Analytics, Search Console or Merchant Centre), which hinders their ability to create a strategy and/or see the impact of their work.

Alongside tools, agencies should have access to any documents you think they might need in order to do the job to the best of their ability. This may include:

• Audience personas (as mentioned above)
• Internal presentations
• Brand guidelines
• Brand imagery
• Marketing strategy documents
• Competitor analysis reports
• Detailed product or service information
• Previous campaign reports
• Customer journey maps

Receiving feedback and new, innovative ideas 

When you start working with a digital marketing agency, you should be open to feedback and making tweaks based on their suggestions. Yet, it’s surprising how many companies employ agencies and then get spooked by any mention of ‘change’. That doesn’t mean you have to become a ‘yes man’ (or woman!), but it does mean you should have an open mind and trust their expertise. If not, it’ll soon become a source of friction and frustration for both parties.

Having a day-to-day contact and keeping in touch regularly 

There is a notion that once you employ an agency, you can leave them to their own devices – they are the specialists after all. However, the best agency-client partnerships are truly collaborative in nature. We recommend having a day-to-day contact in place for your agency, who is responsive to emails/messages and can attend meetings either on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.

The contact should also be responsible for keeping the agency up-to-date with business going-ons; you never know what might be newsworthy for PR or spark an idea!

Setting aside a monthly budget 

Although most agencies will accept short-term projects, it’s better to have a retainer in place to drive consistent results. The cause and effect of your digital marketing won’t happen overnight, but as the famous saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Particularly with PR, it takes time – coupled with a layered strategy with multiple PR tactics running at once – to start seeing the impact of any work. And the moment you stop investing in PR, SEO, or PPC etc, is the moment you give your competitors a chance to catch up or jump further ahead.

Consensus on employing an agency 

You may have control over the marketing budget, but are the main stakeholders in the business on board with your plan to hire an agency? Unfortunately, in some cases, a digital marketing strategy is signed – only to then get thrown out of the window by someone more senior who lacks knowledge of digital marketing and/or is dubious of the results an agency can bring.

If you found yourself nodding along and feel you have everything in place to get started, then congratulations! Working with an agency can be hugely rewarding and help to propel your business to the next level. But remember, it requires your active engagement to make it work, and a willingness to listen and act on your agency’s recommendations.

Becca Tee, Digital PR Lead at Repeat Digital