When it comes to digital marketing, this one phrase covers so many services, as within the term digital marketing there are a wealth of things like SEO, PPC, Web Design and other forms of online marketing that can make it quite hard to choose the right company to partner with.
In an industry that is so crammed full of companies that are ready to fight for your business, finding the right partner is crucial, so we have put together a concise guide about what a digital marketing company does and what they can do for your business, as if you find a company that gets results, the impact on your business can be huge and significant.
So, why would you start looking for a digital marketing company or agency?
There are often many reasons why a business would start their search for a partner in the digital world, but the main three based on our clients and experience often fall into:
Increase Existing Performance / Sales
Most business want to get more enquiries and sales from their website, which is only natural, as if you have a website that is not getting much traction, it can be soul destroying, especially if you have invested a lot of spend in it. The first phone call is often made when the time comes that your business wants to grow and you realise you cannot do it yourself or you simply do not know how to, and this is often why most firms turn to a digital marketing partner.
New Online Presence
If a company is about to launch for the first time or about to launch a new website, then quite often they will start the search for a partner to try and make sure everything is as it should be and that the money they spend on their investment gets returned. There is often a large cost to launching a decent website and getting success, which is why having someone on your side who knows how to get results is just so important.
Outsource To Meet Demand
As a company grows, it can be hard for the digital marketing to be fully run in-house, and equally, if the company is not yet at a stage where they can grow to bring it in house, it is often more cost effective to outsource. Small to medium businesses often realise they cannot do everything themselves and equally larger businesses often need a bit of outside support and expertise, which is why a digital marketing company really does make sense.
What would a digital marketing company do for your company?
Well, that is quite an open-ended question, as all digital marketing companies or agencies will often specialise in a few skills, whereas the bigger ones will tend to offer the whole package. For example, IS Digital Marketing specialise in:
- SEO
- Pay Per Click
- Paid Social Media Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
But, the bigger companies might also offer:
- Web Design
- App Development
- Social Media Management
- Digital Creation
- Content Creation
But generally, a digital marketing company will have one thing in mind and that is to increase sales for your company, by increasing traffic, brand awareness and social presence, allowing your company to get more people on your website, leading to more enquiries which in turn should of course lead to more sales and more profit, as after all, that is what most businesses are looking to achieve. It is important to remember that you can often get amazing results with the smaller agencies, so you should not always head for the big companies with glass fronted offices and endless gimmicks, as although they might have more people, it does not always mean their results are better.
A good digital marketing agency will firstly understand your requirements. Not every business needs everything and not every business can make do with just one thing, so they should plan a package that encompasses your visions and requirements. This might include SEO, PPC and Email Marketing, or it might be that an App could be more beneficial to you initially and a new website, before moving onto paid social media promotion. The point is that every single business and client is different and therefore the approach, although often following the same basics, should be tailored towards the client, not just what the agency wants to push this month.
Local Or National?
This is a question we see a lot on various business groups and networking groups and there is no 100% correct answer.
We would always say it is better to work with a digital marketing agency that should you want to meet, you can, but this is not always vital. We have clients all over the country and have only had online meetings via Skype, but they are still clients that love what we do and stick with us. But, most of our clients are within a 60 mile radius that like to meet us from time to time, or at least before they start working with us.
The answer has to depend on how you feel and what your company needs. There is no point working with a company that is at the other end of the country if you want regular meetings, likewise there is no reason why you cannot save some money by going for an agency that does not charge city prices due to overheads if you are happy to meet every so often or not at all. Understand what you need and want from your agency, and whilst it is always best to start your search locally initially, there really is no harm in looking further afield should you want to or if you have had recommendations.