The problem with digital marketing agencies and how to make sure you hire the right one

As an owner of a digital marketing agency, I have met and talked to tens or maybe hundreds (I have lost count) of business owners who had a bad experience with digital marketing service providers.
They have invested a lot of money into their marketing, but they haven’t seen the results they were hoping for.

Often the damage is much more than the money paid because the business has also lost several months before realizing that what they got does not bring the promised ROI.

I have even seen a few cases where the business had to shut down as a result completely.

Here are only a few examples of what I see every day:

Beautiful website, no content

A business owner chose to work with an agency that focuses on branding and web design. Thousands of dollars and many hours of “deep branding analysis" later, they have a very pretty website that brings in zero clients.

Turns out the agency they worked with is completely oblivious to content. They actually told the business owners, I kid you not, that content distracts the website's visitors. As a result, the website does not rank on organic search results, and visitors who come to the website by clicking paid ads find no useful information on the website, and they simply leave.

Unnecessary branding work

Another business owner worked with a branding agency that convinced him to rename his company and even get a new domain name. His original company name was simple but self-explanatory. He got a lot of honest business from it. With the new company name and website, he gets no business at all.

Last I talked to him, he had to go and work in Costco in order to pay his bills…

Industry-specific website technology that is not SEO friendly

A realtor chose to work with a realtor-specific web development company. They do an excellent job integrating with the real estate listings service but their web solution does not lend itself to SEO practices, and the website rank on page number 15 of the search results.

The main problem, as I see it

Most marketing agencies specialize in only a few marketing disciplines and this is what they sell, even if this is not what your business needs.

The solution

Having a good marketing strategy in place will ensure you get what you really need and not what you are being sold on.

Before hiring a marketing professional, make sure a thorough marketing strategy planning session is done first. ( If an agency does not offer this service or does not see the value of creating a marketing strategy, it is not an agency you want to hire, believe me.)

The resulting strategy should give you a clear understanding of how the suggested marketing tactics will support your overall business goals.  Before you proceed, make sure you understand why and how this suggested plan will work.

Need Help?

At BiggerImpact.tech , we specialize in digital marketing for small businesses. We’ve helped hundreds of clients improve their web presence, attract more qualified traffic and bring in more sales on the web.

We love helping business owners create a solid Digital Marketing Strategy!

If you are curious to see this process might look for your business, I invite you to book a free, no obligation, discovery session.

Click here to apply today >>

About the author 

Michelle Castillo

Michelle is an online marketing expert , passionate about helping business owners to benefit from today’s online technology. I provide my clients with hype-free concise advice and services about the reality of what online success requires.

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