How to Evaluate an Inbound Marketing Agency

Inbound marketing can help scale your business. If you’re considering the help of an inbound marketing agency, you’ve made the right decision. These firms can help you create a custom strategy, execute inbound efforts, and implement the right tools for success. But before you sign them on, make sure they meet your requirements.

They Can Measure Their Success

Before you hire the first inbound marketing agency you meet, gauge their success by reviewing their own marketing strategy. Do they use inbound to market their own brand? What success have they seen?

They Understand Analytics

Does the agency understand the importance of analytics when discussing how they’ll help your company? Their pitch should be peppered with industry terms,such as “analytics” and “benchmarks.” Their plan should include concrete goals and examples of how they measure progress at every step to ensure your business achieves its marketing goals.

You’re hiring an inbound marketing agency because you need help with your marketing goals, from brainstorming fresh ideas to meeting targets. You want to set and achieve SMART inbound marketing goals. The right agency will outline realistic goals, along with a sound strategy to meet those goals.

They Get You

The agency you choose understands how your business works. They’ve worked with other businesses like yours and they know your industry inside and out.

They understand who your audience is and how to effectively distribute your message.

An agency that understands your business will develop a custom inbound marketing strategy that works for your unique brand.

They Know What You Need

What are you looking to accomplish? You want a marketing plan that helps your business grow in the way you need it. If you’re focusing on closing leads, the inbound marketing agency you hire should have a track record of success in that area.

If you’re looking to drive more traffic to your website and build brand awareness, partner with an agency that specializes in blogging and content creation. If you want your business to raise sales in six months, you need to be upfront with the agency, so they can formulate an effective plan that meets those goals.

They Provide the Right Services

Not all agencies are created equal. The agency should clearly outline and explain the services they offer to ensure they’re the services you need.

For example, if you desperately need to boost brand awareness but the agency doesn’t offer social media services, this is a bad sign.

They’re Affordable

Last but not least, you want to work with a firm you can afford. Take a deeper look at their marketing plan to determine whether they’ve presented a strategy that is reasonable for the fee they’re charging.

A killer pitch at a rate significantly higher than you’ve budgeted for isn’t worth your time or theirs. Keep your marketing budget in mind when exploring different marketing agencies.