The return on investment businesses experience when shifting from outbound to inbound marketing has been well documented — and with good reason! Companies who part with traditional marketing methods to follow their customers online are blowing key growth metrics like marketing efficiency and sales productivity out of the water. The inbound combination of remarkable content and website engagement create a bedrock foundation for sales and marketing efficiency, effectiveness and growth. Marketing dollars have shifted away from traditional outlets like PR and cold calling. But the skill sets of internal teams lag behind. For some, the time and resources needed to train internal people on how to master inbound marketing must haves like SEO and email marketing do not exist. As a result, businesses wanting to take advantage of ROI charged online tactics like blogging and social media are looking to outside agencies for help. These agencies can use their deep online experience to help companies and businesses short on time and internal resources increase their online visibility and lead generation efforts. However, it is not one-size fits all. Agencies come in all shapes and sizes, with different specialties and talents. But there are core values and skill sets that make some better than others. Here are some most important questions to consider when choosing an inbound marketing agency.
DO THEY OFFER THE RIGHT SERVICES?
Make sure they offer the core services you need.
DO THEY MAINTAIN A WEBISTE OPTIMIZED FOR INBOUND MARKETING?
If they don’t maintain a proper inbound marketing website for themselves, how will they do it for you?
DO THEY HAVE COMPELING SUCCESS STORIES?
Ask for these client success stories early on. These testimonials should include not only glowing remarks from their clients, but also numbers and campaign strategies that summarize the impact of their work.
DO THEY SHOWCASE SPECIFIC AREAS OF FOCUS?
Try to get a solid handle on your prospective agencies areas of focus. If they’ve worked in your industry before, it’s likely they that know lots of key industry terms and how your industry works.
These are just a few of the questions that you should consider. For more in formation download our FREE GUIDE TO HIRING AN AD AGENCY.