At Loom, we understand that the key to a successful client/agency partnership is openness, trust, and honesty. We also recognise that our most successful client relationships are with businesses who understand how to get the best results from us.
So, with that in mind, we’ve prepared a list of tips that will ensure you get the best from your partnership with your digital marketing agency. Follow these tips and you’ll be sure to get the best digital marketing results possible – while also becoming your marketing agency’s favourite client.
Choose the right Agency
Every digital marketing agency works differently. That’s why it’s important to find an agency that is a good fit for your organisation straight off the bat.
There are lots of ways to make sure you end up with the best agency for your business. For example:
- Get personal recommendations from people you know and trust. This can be from people you know professionally and personally
- Meet the agency’s team – these are the people who will work on your campaign on a day to day basis, so getting along with them is important
- Consider the agency’s size and expertise in relation to your business.
- Read the agency’s case studies and reviews
- Speak to their existing clients – agencies should be happy to put you in touch with several of their existing clients so you can get a neutral opinion
Introduce all your agencies to each other
If you’re working with more than one agency, make sure you introduce everyone – it really helps us.
For example, your external (or internal) web developers, PR company, designers, content writers, and marketing agencies should all understand how each of their roles differs and come together in order to achieve your business goals. Once introduced, we’ll find it easier to work together and work to get the best results.
When it comes to web developers, your digital marketing agency will need to work closely with them on most SEO projects – therefore it’s essential to ensure there’s a good relationship between them. At Loom, we recommend employing a web agency on a retainer basis in order to make incremental technical SEO improvements – something that’s key to keeping you competitive in the SERPs.
Set out clearly defined goals and objectives
Having clear goals is vital if you want your marketing agency to deliver the best results for your business. Be crystal clear about what you expect from us. So, highlight the following:
- Do you want to increase online sales?
- Do you want to increase footfall in brick and mortar stores?
- Do you want to increase clicks to your website or landing page?
- Do you want to increase brand awareness or drive leads?
Combining these goals with clearly defined KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) will really help us when judging the success of a campaign.
“As a digital marketing agency, we need to ensure we are aligned with the objectives of our clients at all times, so that we can implement a joined-up approach across all channels. We pride ourselves on our open communication and our data driven focus. It’s vital to us that we tailor our campaigns based on internal data as well as our own insights so we can ensure that we achieve results tailored to your goals.”Claire, Account Manager at Loom
Be committed to an ambitious goal – but also be patient
We love ambitious targets! If your overall goal is to grow your annual revenue by 50% or dominate your industry, that’s great – and digital marketing can certainly help you do it.
However, big changes don’t happen overnight. Your digital marketing agency will be able to help you devise a roadmap and set realistic time frames for you to focus on.
So, if you or your stakeholders thrive on smashing goals more regularly, focus on the smaller stepping stone targets that will work towards the main goal. That way you can see clear progress whilst working to your overall aim.
Communicate your industry knowledge
As a digital marketing agency, we’re experts in what we do: digital marketing. And while we work with lots of different businesses, don’t expect us to be an expert on yours straight away. You need to take the time to educate us so that we can be up to date and confident in your market position.
So, make sure you explain the following at the start of a project:
- Exactly what your company does
- What your business’ USPs are
- What the wider industry is like? (This gives agencies a clear understanding of your current place in the market and where you want to be)
And on an ongoing basis:
- Update us on recent industry announcements
- Update us on changes in your company, such as role changes
“Although we go above and beyond to understand our client’s business and industry, it’s important to keep us up to date with your industry’s news and trends. Being completely up to date helps us plan your digital marketing campaigns more proactively instead of responsively – which is exactly how we prefer to work! Proactive marketing will always generate better results.”Hannah, Account Manager at Loom
Be honest with your agency
Skirting around the negatives might feel kinder – but please don’t shy away from being honest. No one expects everything to go right all of the time, and the best way to resolve issues is by discussing them with us openly, calmly and clearly. Issues can include thing like:
- Campaigns not getting the results you expected
- Issues with the target audience
- Your cash flow being tight
Speak with us about your concerns and we’ll be able to suggest proactive changes to get things back on track. Remember – our goal is to make sure your digital marketing drives the best possible results for you.
Be willing to try new things and trust their expertise
Digital marketing is constantly evolving – and digital experts will know that better than anyone.
As an agency, it’s our job to keep our finger on the digital pulse. This means we’ll be first to know about new platforms, strategies and techniques. And because it’s also our job to proactively drive your business forward, we’ll sometimes suggest trying new things that seem a little ‘out there’.
It’s important to remember that we’ll only ever suggest things we think will work well for your business. That’s not to say you shouldn’t question our ideas or go with everything we suggest – you know your business best. But, as long as you’re comfortable we can demonstrate the worth of an idea, put your faith in us and jump right in.
Have a clear point of contact
Within your business, it’s always best to have one point of contact to liaise with your agency – just as your agency should assign you one account manager.
Your point of contact doesn’t need to have in-depth digital knowledge – we can help with that. However, they do need to know what’s going on in your business. They also need to have a clear line of contact to the person responsible for signing off campaigns and budget, and enough time to manage what we’re doing, too.
Set aside time for quarterly meetings and a monthly catch-up
Whatever your reason for partnering with a digital agency, it’s crucial to set time aside for quarterly meetings and monthly catchups.
This requires resource from your side – but not as much as you might think. Quarterly meetings usually last around 2 hours, while monthly catch-ups last around half an hour.
These meetings are useful for both parties. They help ensure that our goals are aligned and that you’re happy with results. They also provide an opportunity for us to highlight areas where we think we can grow the account.
On top of monthly meetings, a good digital agency will also offer you various ways to keep in touch on a day to day basis. At Loom, we use Slack, email and phone calls to keep in touch with our clients.
“As an agency, you’re paying for us to handle the digital marketing your company doesn’t have the resource or expertise to handle. However, regular touch-points with a clear agenda will make sure we are always on track to best meet your objectives, saving you time and money.”Vicky, Senior Account Manager
Create focused briefs
Before a project starts, providing your digital agency with a focused brief is key in delivering the campaign that you and your team have envisioned. At a minimum, any brief should include:
- an objective
- KPIs (or we can help you to devise these)
- key messages
- target audience
- available digital assets (visuals, videos, etc)
- budget
- timescale
Omitting these details will result in campaign creation taking longer.
Be responsive and keep on top of budgets
Depending on your business, it’s likely that you’ll need to approve projects and campaigns before they go live. This is where it’s key to be responsive.
While we don’t expect a sign-off or a response in 10 minutes, just an acknowledgment of receipt by the end of the day is very much appreciated.
Likewise, you’ll often be asked to provide or sign off budgets in advance. Ensure you agree on these beforehand or sign budgets off as quickly as possible – this way campaigns won’t get held up.
And lastly, if you go on holiday, please give your agency the heads up and offer another temporary contact. Planned work can be scheduled around your absence but there’s always one-off questions or social media messages that might crop up.
Set your expectations for reporting
Reporting is a crucial part of digital marketing. So, from the get-go, work with your agency to create a report with the information you and your stakeholders really need. We highlight this because it makes yours and our jobs much easier. It means we won’t include irrelevant information, and you won’t have to decipher through it.
If it’s your first time working on a digital report, we’ll be able to guide you and offer you recommendations about what to include. As a general guide, a digital marketing report will include:
- Website traffic
- New users
- Average time on site
- Bounce rate
- Acquisition channels (how people got to the site e.g. organic, paid ad, social)
- Highest performing pages
- Low performing pages
- Goals e.g. lead forms submitted (for service clients)
- Revenue, average order value, and transactions (eCommerce clients)
- Keyword report
- Social media performance
Look at the results and feedback on the reports
Reports are just as much about looking forward as they are looking back.
As a digital marketing agency, we work hard to create thorough and informative reports that identify new opportunities to drive your business forward. So, please take the time to read them.
On top of that, they’re a great way to open dialogue, discuss new ideas and measure your results over the last few months. We love reports – can you tell?
Work together – it’s a team effort
Lastly, think of partnering with a digital marketing agency like expanding your team. From developing the initial objectives and marketing roadmap, right the way through to final delivery, it’s crucial you involve your agency at every step.
Remember – we’re invested in your business and want to see it thrive. So, ensuring we’re involved in your overall marketing planning will work in your favour.
Loom: Your digital marketing agency
At Loom, we work closely with all our clients to achieve their goals. We thrive on nurturing close relationships that take our clients’ business to the next level.
If you’re looking to propel your business forward with help from a digital marketing agency, then we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us today. Call us on 0117 923 2021 or send an email to [email protected].
*at the time of writing we were called ‘Digirank’. This article was updated in September 2019 to reflect our name change.
