Online Marketing agency or Inhouse Marketing?

When is the right time to hire an online performance marketing agency?

If you’re thinking about whether a performance marketing or digital agency is the right move for you, you probably have a specific goal in mind or face a specific challenge. Here are some examples of why companies contact us:

1. Someone has a start-up and wants to generate measurable growth and brand awareness via digital channels.
2. The company wants to internationalize its existing brand and grow profitably in a new market.
3. Preferences have shifted: the company took care of digital marketing itself, but would like to have more time for other topics in the future.
4. The company sees more potential in digital marketing and therefore wants to make better use of the opportunities.
5. You are not satisfied with your current agency / You are not sure whether the current agency will get the most out of it.
6. The company wants to expand the digital know-how in its team and needs experts who can transfer this knowledge.

If any of these scenarios appeal to you, the right online marketing agency can help you achieve your goals.

Online marketing agencies are a dime a dozen. That does not make the search for the right agency any easier and brings us to the next question: how do I find the best digital agency for my business?

• The range of services matches what you are looking for

Whether you want to outsource your Google Ads, try out a programmatic ad campaign, or book a Facebook Ads workshop – the agency’s service portfolio should meet your needs.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a fully specialized agency, in the future you may want to test other channels through the agency as well. With agencies without focus, however, you should ask yourself whether you do have specialists in-house.

• Experienced employees: internal and relevant qualifications and certificates

Take a look at the agency’s employees – do they have relevant experience? Does the agency display relevant qualifications on its website? For example, if you’re looking for a Google Ads agency, it must have a Google Partner certificate.

• First impression counts

Many digital agencies offer a no-obligation meeting before the first contact, in which you can describe your situation and receive initial input to your questions.
This is a good opportunity to get a first impression of the agency: do they understand your business and your situation? Does the culture suit your company? Can you imagine working together productively? These soft factors are often crucial to success.

• Fair and transparent pricing structure

A good online marketing agency can explain in simple terms how their rates are calculated. Whether it’s a daily or hourly rate, revenue sharing or a project fee is secondary – it’s important that you know what you’re paying for.
Also think carefully about what you want to achieve with the agency – the cheapest price is not always the best. There are agencies and freelancers that manage your Google Ads campaigns for little money. Often, however, only a little bit of optimization happens and you end up missing exactly the goals that the agency should support you with.

What are the conditions for a successful collaboration?

Now you know what to expect from the right digital agency. As an online marketing agency, your commitment and input are also needed to help your company move forward in the best possible way.
The following questions are most likely to come to mind as you get to know each other:

1. Which company/brand/product do you want to market?
2. What benefits does it offer customers?
3. Why do you want to invest in digital marketing now?
4. Which topics/channels do you need support with?
5. Who is the target audience?
6. Do you have a monthly sales target?
7. What is your monthly advertising budget?
8. How do you rate the success of marketing activities (KPIs)?
9. When do you want to start?

In general, however, the better your agency is aware of your company’s situation and objectives, the better it can support you.

Summary

A high-performing agency is your growth partner and is actively involved in digitally promoting your business. She takes responsibility for the performance of the channels she manages and develops them for you. A good digital agency also thinks out of the box and comes to you with concrete recommendations, interesting trends and new ideas. By the way, all of this is our goal at Nakoa Digital.
And? After reading this article, are you thinking about partnering with an online marketing agency? At Nakoa Digital, we are experts in performance marketing and retail media. With us you can easily book a non-binding consultation and ask us your questions.