Choosing a Columbus marketing agency can be difficult with ad agencies ranging from full-service to specialists with a variety of skills and channel experience. Let’s discuss some of the most important items to think through prior to meeting with companies.
Understand Your Business Needs
The most critical piece of determining which marketing firms to meet with starts with your business needs. There are three main areas to have nailed down prior to meeting with any prospective advertising agency list.
First and foremost, identify your marketing objectives. Set out specific goals such as “grow traffic by 20%” or “generate 100 new leads per month” – great marketing firms will create a strategic plan that aligns with your stated objectives, working backwards to identify tactics that will hit your goals.
Get a good feel for your target audience. Knowing demographics, user preferences, and customer behaviors ahead of time will allow agencies to come up with a better game plan for your business. This knowledge will influence channels – e.g. should you focus on social media or paid search. If you can’t figure out your target audience, or only have a faint idea, many advertising agencies can set this up as a starter project.
Know your budget and resources – communicate this effectively to any agency you approach. Budgets will play a huge part in whether an agency might recommend a bottom-up approach vs. a top-down approach. Resources are just as important – if you don’t have an IT staff or are limited in what you can do in creative or website development, it might change which channels can be targeted most efficiently.
Innovation and Adaptability
Any digital marketing company you work with should be at the forefront of marketing tactics and channels. Hiring an SEO agency in Columbus, Ohio that is still using 10-year-old tactics and best practices will set you up for failure. Are they up to date on GenAI optimization, voice search, and all the other latest and greatest channels released in the past couple of years?
An advertising agency that can adapt to future changes is important too. As you ask them questions about their capabilities, ask them how they stay ahead of competing agencies.
Long-Term Partnership Potential
When looking at agencies, long-term partnership potential can be important. A one-off project is great but working with an agency who can be committed to your businesses growth makes a huge difference. Look for –
- Consistent communication
- Scalability of services
- Performance Driven Approach
- Data focused while knowing the holes in data
- Shared vision and goals
Hiring a digital marketing agency in Columbus can be tricky but Robert Drumm is here to help. In addition to offering a full suite of marketing services, Bob offers agency vetting services in case you want a second opinion of your potential choices. Services are available throughout Central Ohio including Columbus, Dublin, Westerville, Delaware, Hilliard, Marysville, and more. Contact Robert Drumm for more details.