5 Tips for Hiring an Inbound Marketing Agency that Will Produce a Positive ROI
According to the 2013 world census, there were 7.125 billion people on this planet. Fast forward a few years, and we’re now a month into 2016 with almost 7.4 billion people living on Mother Earth. Well wouldn’t yah know, the more people, the more businesses, the more marketing agencies you have to choose from. It doesn’t seem like it should be that tough of a decision though, does it? I mean, how hard can it actually be for someone to implement an inbound marketing strategy for your company, right?
I’m not here to tell you how easy or hard it will be to determine what your company needs when it comes to the type of inbound marketing strategy it should implement. Rather, I’d like to present 5 easy tips you can use when thinking about hiring an inbound marketing agency. After all, you want to partner with someone who is going to produce a positive ROI for your company, don’t you? Let’s get to it…
Be Sure They Utilize Inbound Marketing (For Themselves)
This seems pretty obvious, but there are people out there who will find an agency they want to work with based solely on the fact that their website looks cool. I highly advise against this tactic. There are few things you can look for to determine if they use the principles of inbound marketing, which I’ve so nicely bulleted for you below:
- Do they have have a blog (better yet, are they posting new articles to it)?
- Do they have downloadable resources for users to discover further information?
- Do those content pieces use landing pages to capture visitor information?
- Does their website incorporate strategically placed Calls-to-Action (CTAs)?
- Do they have a social presence (and are they active on those channels)?
- Does their website utilize marketing automation software?
The list goes on and on, but those questions will probably take you a bit of time to dig into in order to ensure that the potential agency of your choosing is a good fit for your business. In addition, if you’re a
Google Chrome user, you can download the Wappalyzer extension for your browser, and it can help you uncover the technologies that are implemented on the agency websites you are browsing. More importantly, it can show you which marketing automation software they may or may not be using, such as HubSpot, Pardot, Eloqua, Marketo, SharpSpring, ActOn, etc.
Find Their Proven Track Record
Any agency that is well versed in inbound marketing should have a proven track record that demonstrates they are proficient in the methodologies and principles of inbound. A great place to start is to see if they have a client work page or if they showcase any case studies on their site. A couple things in particular to look for when diving into an agencies case studies are analytics and factual data — two useful indicators that the strategy implemented produced tangible results.
Another element to look for is client testimonials. You might find these scattered across multiple pages of an agency’s site or sometimes on their own showcased page. Take a look at their Google Places, Facebook reviews, and sometimes even Yelp to see if anyone has written a review about them. The more [hopefully positive] information you can find out about the inbound marketing agencies you are looking for, the better.
See if Their Team Has the Cred
Now I’m not saying that you have to go with an agency that has 500+ people under one roof who can perform all the marketing services you might be looking for…but I think it’s safe to say that you should be looking for an agency that will fit the wants, needs, and goals of your business. When it comes to knowing and understanding inbound marketing at its core, you better hope the people who will be developing your strategy are at least Inbound Certified.
If you take it from my perspective, looking at our agency, we make sure that every new person we bring on internally is Inbound and HubSpot Certified, and the designers and developers are HubSpot Design Certified (I had to be). Moreover, as a team, our agency is Gold HubSpot Partner Certified.
Make Sure They Know Your Industry
This tip will require you to jump to the research you’ve already done about the agency’s proven track record. Dive back into their client list and see in which industries they have successfully proven their ability to perform inbound marketing. Maybe, if you’re lucky, their website will even call out specific verticals they have experience working with and are fully transparent about how they loved and would love to work with more companies in that space.
That being said, just because a particular agency may not have experience in your specific industry doesn’t mean they might not be a good fit to work with. There are many factors to consider before choosing an agency partner that will help bring your company the ROI you’re looking for.
For Crying Out Loud — CALL ’EM UP!
The biggest mistake companies make, which eventually costs them a lot of time and energy in the long run, is the art of assumption. Don’t assume that what you see, or what you read, or what you hear is/or should be your final determining factor for hiring an inbound marketing agency. I enjoy the “old school” concept of calling people and talking to them. If you want to know more information about an agency you think you’d like to work with, don’t settle for what the interwebs tell you, find their phone number, punch it into your phone, and tell them who you are when they pick up!
Asking questions is the age-old way of getting answers. Here are a few you might be able to use when you do make that call:
- How long have you been doing inbound marketing for your agency?
- Do you work with B2B or B2C?
- Can you evaluate my website?
- Do you have customized pricing that can fit my budget?
- How do you measure performance?
- What types of results have you achieved with past clients you’ve had?
- How will you produce a positive ROI for my business?
Inbound marketing can sometimes seem like a lot to handle on your own. If you don’t feel like you or your company has enough time to initiate or implement an inbound strategy, then maybe hiring an inbound marketing agency might be a good investment for you.
Now I understand that the tips I’ve provided might make it seem like finding the right inbound marketing agency is a daunting task. No matter the size of your budget, be it $1,000 or $100,000, it’s always smart to do a little research before hand.
Now hurry up, because they say that by 2024 there are going to be over 8 billion people on the gosh darn planet! So that means there’s only going to be more agencies for you to choose from.
