Which digital marketing company is the right choice for your small business? Is your reach not where you want it? Does it show in the sales data? If you don’t have a digital strategy or your existing ideas have fallen flat, take a look at the questions to ask before you outsource this job to a potential marketing pro.
Does the Digital Marketer Understand Your Industry?
Digital marketing professionals have extensive knowledge and experience in digital marketing. But this doesn’t mean every company or independent contractor has expertise in each individual type of business or industry. While a marketing pro doesn’t need to work only within one specific industry, they should have experience creating campaigns and maintaining a web presence for companies that are similar to your small business.
To learn more about the digital marketer’s industry-specific experience or expertise, ask for references or to see a portfolio. If the company or contractor can’t provide you with a single site or client that in any way relates to what your company does, continue your search. But if they have worked with similar businesses, review how well their strategies meet your needs and match up to industry-level expectations.
What Types of Digital Services Do You Provide?
This question may come in two parts. The first focuses on what the marketer can provide you. These services may include digital content creation such as blogs, descriptions for your website, social media posts, or anything else that might fall under the category of writing, videos, SEO strategizing, banner ads, email marketing, and social media campaigns.
The second part of this question centers around what you need to effectively market your business in the digital age. Some companies need every selection on the digital marketer’s menu — while others only need one or a few strategically selected options.
If you’re not sure what you need or why, talk to your would-be future marketer. A digital pro should have the ability to analyze your business needs based on information you provide and help you to decide what areas you want or need to focus on.
What Does the Marketer Expect From You?
Different companies or contractors have different client involvement level expectations. This means some contractors may want you to work with them every step of the way, while others may prefer that you take a hands-off approach and allow them to take the lead. Other marketers may ask their clients for a middle-of-the-road level of involvement — where the small business owner provides information, sets goals, and possibly provides some ideas.
There is no better or best involvement level to look for. Instead, find a marketing company that matches your preferences.
If you don’t have time to concentrate on digital marketing, feel that you have a minimal level of expertise in this area, or would just prefer to work on other areas of your small business, you need to hire a marketer who expects very little of you. But if you feel strongly that your involvement is crucial in every area of your business, a company that wants clients to take a hands-on approach is a better bet.
What Type of Results Will a Business See and When?
You have a reason for hiring an outside marketing contractor. Not only is this one aspect of your business that you won’t have to devote a significant amount of time to with a pro at the helm, but this also increases the odds of marketing success.
Before you hire one contractor or company, make sure you feel comfortable with the expected results. No marketer can provide you with a 100 percent guarantee. But the company should give you an idea, based on credible statistics from their past or current clients, of what to expect from the changes or campaigns and when you might start to see results.
Are you ready to hire a digital marketer for your small business? Contact Grow Team for more information.