Marketing was once a dark art where the domain for creatives with success was based on feeling rather than data. But today, the outcome of every marketing activity can be measured using digital technology metrics. However, not all digital marketing agencies are as savvy on these strategies and technologies as they proclaim.
So how do you know when it’s time to break things off or its time to see other agencies?
Here are six reasons why you might want to fire them!!
You Haven’t Identified Goals or KPI’s
You shouldn’t be hiring an agency in the first place, if you don’t have defined goals and KPI’s to track. Nothing is more frustrating than when the client says, “We know we need to market ourselves; we just don’t know what we are trying to do.”
Knowing where we are going and what we want is very important. It is optimal to prioritise what goals we want to achieve in the first place and what more medium and long term. This is the key to obtaining actual results that are useful.
So whatever your goals are, keep it on the forefront of your agency's mind so that they can deliver what is expected. Nothing kills a relationship faster than misaligned expectations.
The Strategy is Underwhelming
Every business needs to employ a comprehensive and effective marketing strategy to succeed. Companies that fail to create a coherent and well-defined digital marketing strategy have trouble achieving their customer-related goals.
If the strategy looks disappointing, question the ROI which you are getting and see how you stack up. If you’re underwhelmed with the numbers that your current agency has provided, it’s time to move on.
There is no ROI for your activities
Overpromising and under-delivering… a classic client custody move that only can make matters worse. In today’s market, all digital activities, results & conversions can be measured.
So, you know that’s a deal breaker when their promises fall through and they report to you with low ROI. Don’t leave your strategy up to fate.
If your agency is not providing you with the data, and a complete picture of your ROI, it’s time to find someone who can. You deserve someone practical and grounded.
You Can’t Access the Data
You, as the site owner and client, should be fully apprised of every metric that is critical to your success, or evidence of your demise.
Don’t get blown away with the once-a-month report without the ability to login and check progress whenever you like.
For example, links to your website make up about 75% of your SEO so getting more links means improved SEO in the long term.
Building links is hard, but a good agency will put in the time and effort to attract links over time to lead to long-term success. Ask your agency to use Moz, Google Webmasters and HubSpot to track total links and new links each month.
Ask for login information so you can see results of marketing actions as soon as they’re complete. With the access, you will be able to see all the real time data points instead of the metrics they share on a monthly report.
If you sniff any sense of a loss, start sharpening your axe ... you might need it.
No Potential Customer Segmentation.
Sending one message to all of your potential customers is ineffective and lazy. Now, almost everyone segments to some extent—targeting different customers with different marketing. For example, some of your customers might respond best to social media, others to email and still others to newspaper ads.
So, instead of blasting everyone the same social media message, email or newspaper ad, choose an agency that segments your customers by their personas and can fine tune their marketing strategy according to them.
You Aren’t a Partnership
Are you comfortable treating them as partners, rather than just as contractors? Of course, it’s your business and to properly market it, an agency will need your input. They should be asking you what your marketing goals are, whom you are trying to attract, how people should engage on your site, and so on.
Similarly, If your digital marketing agency is not speaking up on the issues, you have reason to question their credibility. If they won’t push back on your bad ideas and all you get from them are a bunch of “yes”, then folks, fire your agency.
Here are five signs that it’s time to fire your agency.Things change rapidly in this world, and something that failed last time may need to be reanalyzed to see if it’s a good fit for now. Don’t let the past determine your future. Be honest about ideas, and most importantly, be open to new or old ones.
Marketing is no longer the mystical realm for creatives. It is an investment like any other part of your business. Your agency should be accountable for testing, measuring and focusing on what works for your business. It takes a while to get going, but once it does, it can build upon its own momentum. However, if they are failing, you need to fire them on the spot. No more wasted money. No more risky practices.
