Choosing a marketing agency can be difficult but if you base your decision on basic marketing principles then you can find the right company for your brand.
Finding an agency that understands your target customer base is critical. Your agency needs to have expertise in your industry because it needs to understand your company’s place in your market. The more experience that an agency has in your industry, the better the chances that it can develop a specific strategy for your particular need. Besides a portfolio of relevant clients, here are some other important criteria to consider.
Planning a Strategy
Strategic planning is needed so that your company is headed in the right direction. Assess the experience of the agency and see if they have constructed similar strategic plans. Evaluate their execution of the strategic plans as well, such as which methods of marketing did they use whether it is digital marketing, social media, or other alternative methods.
The marketing plan must be effective and executed according to the client’s needs. If the client’s target audience is the older crowd then the type of marketing should rely on more traditional methods rather than a digital strategy that involves an immersion into social media.
Develop a Target Audience
Do they have a team that can define a specific target audience and create a plan to attract a steady following of that crowd. The marketing must cater to the type of people your company wants to attract and create content in the most effect format to get the target audience to actively engage and steadily. If your company is a young, innovative technologically based company then your target audience may be the younger crowd that is the largest buyers of smartphones.
Agencies should be well versed on many different mediums other than online tactics or print advertisements. They should have an arsenal of approaches to ensure they deliver the message to the right people in an effective manner. Most agencies incorporate a three prong approach which are online (web or mobile), print, and a direct contact method.
Technology Integration
In this day and age the technological advances have made marketing reach more surfaces than ever before. It is essential that you find a company that utilizes all of those methods and platforms. Do they have technology resources that they can use to expand your customer base? Does the agency use social media, project management software, and customer relationship management to ensure success of your company? A good marketing agency knows how to integrate technology into their planning as well as other effective methods, a good balance is ideal.
Media Whiz, for example, is a marketing solutions company that integrates digital media and performance marketing that puts a special emphasis on acquiring customers at a profitable rate.
Understanding Your Backstory
Your chosen agency should understand the culture behind your company so they know what is going to work and what type of perception your brand is looking to portray. Your company and the agency you partner with will be working together so it is best they know the direction you would like to head in and where you are coming from.
