So you’ve just hired a marketing agency in northern NJ, or even have been with one for a while, and you want to see how things are going. The question is, how can you tell that they are the right fit for you and your company?
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of tips for you to consider when assessing the work that your marketing agency is doing. These ideas may sound simple and obvious, but they’re nonetheless important!
They believe in the work you do
Your marketing agency should support your company and the work you do. They should not take you on as clients simply because they want your money. When they believe in the work you do, your motivations will align and help you get the best results possible.
They don’t promise the impossible
If your marketing team guarantees you outlandish results, that’s a big red flag. While it’s ok for your agency to be confident in their abilities, you don’t want them just saying anything to get your business. You want to set realistic, short term goals that you can constantly build on.
They tell you what they are actually working on
You want your marketing agency to be transparent with you. If they don’t tell you what they’re doing for your business because it’s “confidential” or because “you wouldn’t understand,” stop right there. You should know exactly what SEO tactics your marketing agency is using and how it will benefit your company.
They involve you in the decision making process
The relationship between you and your Internet marketing agency should be more of a partnership. Not only should your northern NJ marketing agency be transparent with the work they’re doing, but also involve you in the decision making process. No one knows your target market better than you do, so you should be approving their suggestions every step of the way.
They create thorough buyer personas
Creating buyer personas are key for effective marketing campaigns and retention of clients. Personas help identify where your best customers spend time on the internet…so you can be there too. You already know the target market you want to attract, so spend time researching their actions and motivations. This will only benefit you in the future.
Their work is optimized for people, not search engines
Your marketing agency should be creating content that is user friendly and optimized for people. If their goal is to get you to the top of Google, your keywords, phrases and content probably will not align with your target audience. Getting a huge amount of traffic is great, but it’s all about generating leads and clients, right? The most important metric in any SEO strategy should be leads generated, not keyword rankings.
They attract the right people to you
The best thing that your marketing agency can do for you is attract the right people to your page. Sure, high volume traffic looks impressive, but if those numbers don’t do anything for your conversion rate and revenue, all you have are a bunch of people looking at your page who aren’t particularly interested in what you have to offer.
They keep you connected and updated
It is vital that your marketing team keeps you up to date with the work that they are doing. While results do take time, your agency should be showing you the actual strategies and tactics they are utilizing in weekly or monthly reports. If your agency isn’t showing you anything, that probably correlates to the actual work they’re doing (or not doing).
They show you reports of their progress
Progress can come in many different forms. If your marketing agency shows you that they improved your rank, ROI or lead conversions, that’s great news! Keep in mind that great SEO tactics take time. Also, don’t be discouraged if you initially see a decline in traffic. That could just mean that your traffic is becoming more targeted, which is a good thing!
They provide relevant content
In the long run, relevant content is what will keep you in the game. When you offer useful content, people will want to link to it and share it. This will give you better placement than any trick in the book to improve ranking.
They stay current on best practices and trends
You want your NJ marketing agency to be savvy with all the best practices and trends in the marketing industry. Look into their education programs and see if they are regularly keeping up to date with industry changes. This will translate into their ability to effectively use your budget to reach the best results.
They talk the talk and walk the walk
Take a look at your marketing agency’s website. Is it polished, user friendly and insanely fast? If you answered yes to these questions, then you know your own website is in good hands. How can you trust them to properly market your brand if they can’t market their own?
They don’t forget about you
How long has it been since you’ve had contact with your consultant? When was the last time that your marketing agency posted fresh, new and informative content to your site? If you even have to ask these questions, it’s probably a good bet that it’s been too long. You want your marketing agency to supply your site with content that will constantly attract new people to convert into leads.
They stay current with your industry
You want your northern NJ marketing agency to stay current with your industry and ensure that you’re attracting new leads. It is crucial to stay relevant and up to date in a quickly advancing society. Popular news stories are great opportunities to get involved. Write a blog post or launch a social media campaign when it applies to your industry to increase your traffic and amplify your marketing success.
Did you find these tips useful? Did we miss something that’s important to you? Let us know in the comments below!
