Outsourcing Digital Marketing: 9 Things To Look While Hiring An Agency

1. Industry Experience

The first and foremost aspect you want to check is the industry experience. An outsourcing agency with, say 5 years of experience, should be your obvious choice over a contender who has been in the industry for only one year. That's because the former can use their experience to your agency's advantage and solve your pain points quite effectively.

Also, the chances of such experienced agencies having already worked on a project similar to yours are very high. This implies that the teams are already well-versed with the strategies and expertise that will help you craft successful campaigns tailored specifically to your clients' target audiences.

Ultimately, an outsourcing digital marketing agency with a strong background can not only reinforce your campaigns with brilliant strategies but also help you stay clear of the ideas that don't yield results.

2. Authentic Results

In your search for the perfect outsourcing partner, you’ll come across an infinitely long list of digital marketing agencies claiming to be ‘better than the rest’. However, a lot of these promises are nothing more than smoke in the air.

Unfortunately, the digital marketing industry is contaminated with unreliable agencies that guarantee incredible results but when the time comes, they fail to deliver. At all costs, you must avoid outsourcing agencies that make tall claims and promises of quick results.

Instead, review their case studies and past work examples to judge their abilities and work quality. This is where you’ll get a firsthand look at their capabilities and experience in dealing with clients like yourself. You can even ask the outsourcing agency to provide a working demo that suits your requirements and check where it really stands.

3. Knowledge Of Latest Industry Tools & Practices

Digital marketing is a dynamic industry, with new updates and techniques being rolled out virtually every day. As such, you need to note whether the outsourcing agency is always on its toes and up-to-date with the latest upgrades.

More importantly, metrics and their analysis hold the key to an effective marketing campaign, Be it social media marketing, SEO, or e-mail marketing, metrics help in distinguishing the strong points of a campaign from its weak points.

Your best bet is to go for outsourcing agencies that leverage the right tools to monitor and optimize your clients' digital marketing campaigns.

4. Effective Reporting & Communication

Reporting is a key element in establishing a successful business association between your agency and the team you're outsourcing to. Effective reporting on the part of an outsourcing agency reflects its transparency and communication capabilities. After all, the last thing you need is a team that's big on its promises of results but keeps you in the dark when it comes to actually showing them.

While different outsourcing agencies have their individual reporting policies, you must ensure that you're constantly kept in the loop. Typically, a reputed outsourcing agency will provide you with a thorough baseline report and analyze it for specific campaigns. For instance: CPC and conversion rates for PPC campaigns, daily no. of visitors on the website for SEO campaigns, etc.

In a nutshell, you need to make it clear beforehand with the outsourcing agency about how they will measure the success of campaigns and what metrics you want them to analyze.

5. Size Of The Agency

Outsourcing digital marketing agencies come in all forms and sizes; they can be as small as a 5-person team or as large as a corporation of 300 employees. You must choose the ideal size based on your goals and work requirements.

Working with a smaller team can give you more direct access and control over your campaigns. However, the scope of an extensive skill set will be more restricted. Indeed, larger outsourcing agencies possess diversely talented manpower which enables them to offer a range of services - from design & video editing to content & web development.

But that should not refrain you from considering smaller outsourcing agencies for your project. While they may not provide specified niche services, these agencies can most certainly assist you with core digital marketing services such as SEO, content, graphic designing, etc.

Ultimately, outlining your budget framework and the needs of your project should make this decision clearer for your agency.

6. Pricing Policy

When looking for an outsourcing digital marketing agency, a higher asking price doesn’t necessarily translate into stellar results. At the same time, if an agency quotes a price that’s too low to be good, it probably is.

Before choosing your outsourcing team, it is critical that you ask around and thoroughly research the average price in your industry. Most often, outsourcing agencies offer various packages of services for a given time period and charge accordingly. You need to evaluate the packages that meet your goals and compare the prices quoted by different agencies.

Always remember, an outsourcing agency with a fair pricing policy will not only cut down on your costs but also increase your ROI. Make sure that every penny you spend is accounted for and generates revenues for your agency.

7. Client Testimonials And Reviews

How do you know if an outsourcing digital marketing agency is trustworthy in its capabilities and results? The answer is quite simple. The more positive client testimonials and reviews an agency has garnered, the higher will be its status.

When it comes to conducting a background check of an outsourcing agency, customer reviews are the most important elements. You can start your investigation with the reviews that are left on the agency's Google listing. Beyond that, you can check for customer feedback on various other websites including the agency's own website.

Additionally, you need to check the agency's website for specific client testimonials (preferably in video form). Client testimonials offer an inside look at the outsourcing agency's work ethic, their strengths as well as the quality of their deliverables.

However, you must not be deterred by a negative review or two. That's because individual clients have their unique experiences with an outsourcing agency and not all of them will have a similar stance. Just make sure that the ratio of good reviews is higher than that of negative ones.

8. Transparency

An outsourcing digital marketing agency must be transparent about the services being offered and the charges thereof.

Most often, agencies avoid outsourcing their projects for the fear of being overcharged and getting ineffective ROI. This can be overcome by asking the outsourcing agencies for a detailed account of the services they offer. That can help you pinpoint the costs and get an accurate forecast of the ROI.

Reputable outsourcing agencies will not hesitate in providing detailed pricing information and concrete descriptions for each of the services being offered. Always keep your distance from the contenders that promise vague offerings and radical results.

9. Contract Details

At the end of it all, your business association with the outsourcing digital marketing agency will be finalized by a contract.

So before putting the pen to paper, make sure that you carefully review the service contract and suggest amendments, if any. Keep an eye out for red flags such as vague terms, unclear definitions of services, hidden costs, etc.

You need to be crystal clear about the services that your agency will be receiving, their frequency as well as cancellation or modification terms before signing the contract.