So, the over-indulgence of the festive period has now given way to the resolutions of the new working year. Do you have an existing digital agency, but suspect it may be time for a change? Perhaps you’re looking to choose for the first time. Crush can help.
How Should You Choose A Digital Agency?
There are many times during the lifetime of your business that you may need to call on the help of a professional digital agency. It could be in the early days, setting up your website and launching your brand, it could be for a special event or product launch or it could be further down the line to refresh, re-brand or re-engage your customer base.
Choosing the right agency matters and there are many factors to keep in mind when selecting the right agency.
Why Use a Marketing Agency at all?
Working with a digital agency will help your brand get noticed, it can help boost your ranking online and increase your exposure to new and existing customers.
You can have absolute control over your digital space. It’s a window to your business, that allows potential customers the chance to get an idea of your business before working with you. A digital agency can help you stand out from the crowd and finding the right one will help you grow your business in the right direction.
What are you looking for?
Knowing your objectives in advance will help you find the right kind of agency for your needs. You may want an agency who specialise in design and development of websites to launch a new site for your business or you might want an agency who will look after your online marketing whilst you keep the website development in-house. Or you might want an agency who can do both.
Get your objectives straight before you begin your search.
Listen to Recommendations & Do Your Research
If you have partner companies or others in business who you can talk to, ask them which digital agencies they use. It could be they have an agency who are perfect for you or at least worth looking into. The personal recommendation is often a good way of finding the right agency. Look at other companies in your sector and see if you can find out who is behind their digital communications, as you may find an industry specialist.
If you’re keen to support local business, then consider contacting your local Chamber of Commerce for a list of agencies or even go to a networking group and see who you bump into. Though these methods aren’t guaranteed to find you a result, you may be surprised how useful coming across someone face to face can be.
Do some research of your own, then compile a shortlist and get ready to contact the chosen few.
Making the Decision
Sending out the same email to a number of agencies will help gauge availability and the style each takes with their work. Once you receive some responses it’s time to start setting up meetings and getting a feel for whether they’re the one for you.
You need an agency you feel comfortable with, who are quick to communicate and are available to discuss your project needs regularly. You should have an official account handler responsible for your company and then it’s time to start planning and beginning your relationship with your agency partner.
Choosing an agency can be difficult, it often seems easier just to go with the first name you find but spending a little bit of time and assessing your specific aims will really help to ensure you make the right choice.
You can even start that journey right now, by talking to us here at Crush.
