So you’ve decided that you need to hire a digital agency to help your brand keep pace with current trends and improve your reach through digital and social marketing. Now what? Where do you even begin the process?
Here are 5 questions that we hear most frequently from prospective clients – and a few suggested tweaks that will help you ask smarter questions and make a smarter decision!
Can you tell me what you charge?
Ahh, if only we had a dollar for every time we’ve heard that question. What you really need to know is ‘Can I afford your services?’ OR, more importantly, ‘What kind of value can you deliver for my business?’
Don’t shoot the messenger here, but the truth is, I can’t give you a price within the first 30 seconds of our call. In fact, I often can’t give you a realistic price during the first 30 minutes of our call. If you want a partner to help guide you through the landscape of digital marketing, we have to truly know your business, your current successes and failures, and your goals.
In most cases you CAN afford us. The question we want to ask is, ‘are you ready to buy into digital marketing and invest in this channel?’ A recent study showed that companies who are successful in utilizing digital as an advertising channel are spending about 10% of their revenue each month. I’m willing to bet you currently come in more along the lines of 2-3%. Don’t feel sheepish. We see this all the time. What you need to decide here is, how much can you realistically dedicate to this channel and are you ready to do so?
*Bonus: The great thing about digital is that you can track everything. Compared to traditional media, where you’re unsure what kind of reach you’re getting, we know exactly what you’re spending and what kind of return you’re getting on your investment. Put a few more eggs in this basket. You won’t regret it!
I just wanted to know what services you offer.
This one is easy: We are a full-service digital agency, which means we can handle just about anything you need from a digital marketing standpoint. SEO, PPC, web design, video production, social media management, social advertising, content marketing. We even handle marketing automation through platforms like HubSpot.
*Bonus: What we often find here is that prospects don’t have a clear understanding of each channel and what it entails. If that’s you, don’t sweat it. That’s why you’re coming to us in the first place. We are experts in each of these service areas and have helped many clients make the journey you are on. Trust us and rely on our16 year track record of success to point you in the right direction and get you moving.
Can you get me to Page 1 of Google?
Are we noticing a trend here? Our clients want fast, simple answers. And we want to give them to you, really, we do! Digital marketing is a complex discipline and we really need to know more information before we can give you the answer you’re looking for.
Let’s talk briefly about SEO here. The way SEO works has changed quite a bit and we’ve even created this great video to explain how SEO has changed over the years. SEO is comprised of a few different components, but at its core SEO is based on a solid content marketing foundation. You can learn more about it here.
It used to be so easy to get to page one of Google’s search engine results page (SERP). A little too easy, to be honest. Anyone and everyone could wiggle their way to the top page of Google with some grunt work, and before long the front page of google was full of some really worthless information.
Today, that has all changed. If you watched the video above, you already know: content is the name of the game! What are you offering visitors to your page? If they’re looking for answers, do you have blogs and whitepapers that answer their questions? Are you producing videos that clearly lay out the solutions to their problems? If so, Google will be eager to show your page to their searchers.
So the short answer here is – it really depends on a lot of factors. So we’re not saying yes and we’re not saying no. But we’re going to do our best to get your business where it needs to be to succeed.
*Bonus: If you’re NOT producing that kind of content right now, don’t worry! That’s what we’re here for. We are great at producing the kind of content Google loves! A solid content strategy will go a long way towards growing your digital reach, and we’re here to build and execute on that strategy for you. Don’t think of us as outside vendors. We’re an extension of your marketing department!
Can you help us get more Facebook followers?
You’re going to love this one, gang! YES! We can. There’s your one short answer for the day.
The short answer is yes! The question you should be asking instead though is: ‘Can you help us engage more effectively with our target audience on social media?’ The good thing is, the answer to this question is yes as well!
Social media continues to emerge as one of the top digital channels for content distribution and customer engagement. Having a large number of social followers used to be the name of the game, but now platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram offer social advertising capabilities, meaning we can reach your audience whether they follow you or not. It’s wise to partner with an agency that has experience running successful social campaigns, because it’s very easy to throw money away if you don’t know what you’re doing.
We’ll perform an audit of your current social efforts and build a blueprint for accomplishing all of the goals you have in mind. We can get there together.
*Bonus: Content marketing (see Question #3) and Social Media go hand-in-hand. Think of these two channels as the ‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ approach to digital marketing. If you’re producing great content, it helps your website and your search rankings. It also provides great content to share and advertise on social media. Believe it or not, we don’t recommend that brands spend their days posting Grumpy Cat memes and political videos. You need social content that is on-brand, on-topic and on-point! Great content = great social sharing capability = great exposure for the brand = stronger web traffic. Don’t miss out on potential customers!
We have $3,500 budgeted for a new website. Can you meet our budget, and have our new site ready in a month?
We work with clients with different budget levels, it really all depends on what you’re looking for. That said, we are an agency that produces custom creative work, and with that in mind, our timelines and pricing are slightly different than some of the local shops charging $3,499 for a new website.
It’s fairly simple: To produce a website for a relatively affordable and quick turnaround would require a web developer to use a template. In other words, they begin with a pre-fabricated website and swap out colors, logo and text to deliver a ‘custom’ site. The problem is, there may be 100 other brands out there using the same template. That might be a non-issue for you, but as an agency with 16 years of experience behind us, we know that the brands whose websites make a major impression on their visitors are the ones who build completely custom sites.
Our team will work with you to find out who you are as a company, how you want your website to look, how you want it to feel, and then develop a unique, original experience for you. There will not be another brand in the world with the same design as you. Your website is your very own, and in many cases, it is the customer’s first impression of your brand. You have to get this right if you want to excel in the digital world.
As a general rule, our custom web designs begin at about $9,000 and range up to $30,000 depending on requested features and functionality.
*Bonus: It is always a great idea to pair your web design team with your digital marketing agency. At CM, we have both capabilities in-house, and we can design inbound marketing strategies according to the design of the site. EXAMPLE: If we know your goal is to generate leads through your website, we want the website to be stunningly beautiful, yes, but we also need to be sure the content is easily accessible, easily shareable and in some cases, gated to promote lead generation. We can design landing pages according to the social ad campaigns that we’re running for you, or the Google AdWords campaigns we are managing.
Communication in digital marketing is key and if your SEO/Content team is the same as your social media team and the same as your web design team, the communication is flawless and the entire complex process of digital marketing becomes a breeze for you, the client.
We work together with your internal team to craft up comprehensive digital marketing campaigns that can help drive leads, sales, and revenue. We aim to surpass your overall digital marketing goals. Let’s chat and discuss your goals and how we can work together.