These days, building an online presence for your brand is not an option—even if you’re already an established business. The good news is you don’t have to do it alone. Figuring out how to choose the right marketing agency will involve quite a bit of research, but you’re in the right place to make it as straightforward as possible. At Slam Media Lab, we don’t just know how to start an agency; we understand how to choose a marketing agency based on your unique digital marketing needs. After reading this article, you'll know exactly who to work with and why.
So now you may be asking yourself: why should you take our word for it?
One of the great things about Slam Media Lab is we work with businesses in many different industries. In addition to being a nonprofit website design agency, we’re also award-winning Webflow developers and digital marketing experts for mission driven fortune 500 companies, startups, universities, and everyone in between. That said, we know how to tackle all types of projects from different angles, and we have a proven track record of being pretty good at it.
Within three years, we’ve become a $2M award-winning web design agency in San Francisco that works alongside businesses of all sizes, ranging from nonprofits like Prepared to Teach to venture capital firms like Worklife Ventures. You can check out our case studies to see our work in action.
Anyway, enough about us. Let’s talk about what we can do for you. In this article, we’re going to talk about how to pick a marketing agency that will take your brand to the next level. You can expect to learn:
- How to Pick a Marketing Agency Based on Your Business Needs
- The Research Process for How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency
- How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency with Reporting & Analytics
- How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency by Services They Offer
- How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency with an RFP
Let’s get started!
How to Pick a Marketing Agency Based on Your Business Needs
Every marketing agency is different, and it can feel overwhelming trying to find the best fit for your business. As of 2023, there were approximately 50,000 digital advertising agencies in the United States according to IBIS World, and that number is continuing on an upward trend. The first step in knowing how to choose the right marketing agency from the many options in front of you is knowing your own business inside and out.
For example, if you’re a restaurant like Matteo that’s looking to revamp your website and online presence, you want to ensure you’re working with an experienced marketing agency for restaurants with solid resources like a restaurant website template and go-to market strategy template to enhance your online marketing efforts.
On the other hand, a property manager would need helpful tools like Slam’s short-term rental template or resources like SEO small business tips to guide their marketing strategies. Or perhaps you don’t need website help at all, and you want to learn about how to use TikTok for small businesses or Instagram for small businesses.
Whatever your needs, it’s important to define them for yourself, so you can explain them to others. When you begin the search for your marketing agency, you should know:
- Your Budget
- Your Goals
- Your Needs
No matter the answers to those categories, there’s a marketing agency out there (or right here!) for you. As for Slam, we have helpful information, tools, resources, and more right here on our blog to drive your digital strategy. Not to mention our suite of products for slam dunks on your SEO, web design, brand identity, and content strategies. Check out our Notion Vision Board and Notion Task List Template to start organizing your thoughts.
Your Budget
Let’s be honest, nobody loves talking about money. However, you can save yourself a big headache by being open and transparent about pricing from the start. Most agencies will offer flexible packages to fit budgets both big and small, so you can ensure you’re getting the best deal by laying out exactly what you can spend at the get go.
Moreover, you should pay attention to different pricing structures and figure out which you like best for your business. Some common pricing options agencies use include:
- Bundle Pricing
- Competitive Pricing
- Hourly Rates
- Retainer
- Tiered Pricing
- Value-Based Pricing
- And the list goes on!
Your Goals
You have to know what you want to accomplish before you start looking for someone to make it happen. Once you define your goals, you can create actionable objectives that you can share with agencies, so you can provide a concrete answer for what you need. Some common goals for businesses looking for a marketing agency include:
- Boosting overall sales
- Driving website traffic
- Generating new leads
- Increasing brand awareness
If you were to turn these goals into objectives, they may look a little something like this:
- Increase sales on product x by 25% this year
- Boost website traffic to 5,000 monthly visitors by Q3
- Generate 30% more qualified leads in 2025
- Grow our social media following to 3,000 followers by Q2
The main difference between your goals and objectives is how specific they are. Goals are overarching things you want for your business while objectives should be more actionable. Think SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Timely) goals.
Your Needs
Your brand is your own, and it’s important that your marketing partner respects your wants and needs while offering a fresh perspective to take you to new heights. You should never feel like you’re being backed into a corner by an agency. At the end of the day, they should be taking your needs into account first.
At Slam, we’re dedicated to moving as fast as your brand by working closely with your team. Our job is to bring the resources and experience to you, so we can build something together! We’ve partnered with over 100 industry-leading companies to drive impact and growth, and we’re ready to do the same for you!
How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency: The Initial Research
There are countless marketing companies out there, so it can be challenging knowing how to choose a digital marketing agency that’s right for you. There are a few different angles to attack your research from to make the process, including:
- Narrowing Down Your Top Options
- Learning More About the Marketing Agencies
- Verifying a Marketing Agency’s Experience
- Contacting Agencies Directly
Narrow Down Your Top Options
IBIS World states that the number of businesses in the digital advertising sphere has grown 15.6% per year on average between 2018-2023, and there’s no way you can research them all! Your initial list of contenders should essentially be the agencies that passed your initial “vibe check.”
Do you like their style? Their voice? Odds are, those elements will be implemented in the work they do for you, too. This first glance should be more of an overview to give you a good idea of the products and services they provide, their style and voice, and a little bit about their process.
Our team at Slam focuses on no-code webflow design and development, organic SEO, brand strategy and identity, and content writing and strategy, and we make collaboration a key part of the process. That way, we can help you grow your business through a cohesive marketing strategy that works for you!
Learn More About Your Potential Marketing Agency
Once you’ve defined your needs and have a solid idea of what you want out of your marketing partners, you can start making a list of top contenders based on the products and services they offer. During this phase of your research, you should be taking a deeper dive into marketing agencies’ websites and gathering more details about their offerings.
If they say they offer website design services, are they offering a basic website builder or comprehensive CMS?
There are plenty of pros and cons to go over when it comes to website building and content management systems. Slam is a personal fan of no-code webflow SEO after stacking it up against other popular platforms, which is why we’re proud to be award-winning webflow SEO consultants!
See for yourself:
- Contentful vs. Webflow
- Editor X or Webflow
- Squarespace vs. Webflow
- Webflow vs. Elementor
- Webflow vs. Wix
Verify the Agency’s Experience
It’s one thing for an agency to tell you about the services they offer, but it’s another to hear it from the people who received those services. A company is bound to share their wins—for example, Slam is proud to boast a 5-star rating on Clutch—which is why it’s important to go beyond their website and other channels when you’re conducting research.
Some good places to look both on and off a marketing agency’s website include:
- Case Studies
- Google Reviews
- Other Online Reviews
- Social Media Channels
- Star Ratings
Contact Marketing Agencies Yourself
One of the best ways to answer your remaining questions and to get a better feel for a marketing agency’s style is to talk to them directly. By now, you may have narrowed down your options even more, allowing you to talk to your top contenders. This is also a good opportunity to share more about your business and ensure you’re a good fit based on your vision and their plan to make it a reality.
How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency: Reporting & Analytics
The good news when it comes to choosing the right marketing agency? You don’t have to trust the process. Any agency you work with should be providing concrete numbers with a detailed marketing agency report to back their efforts and show how they’re working to improve your brand.
Digital agency reporting is a must because it provides proof beyond the promises. Slam's agency reporting dashboard makes it easy to consolidate data and optimize strategy and communication, and you shouldn’t settle for an agency that isn’t using something like it! This process helps with performance monitoring, data integration, goal tracking, and more, making it essential to your business’ success. Depending on what stage of the sales funnel you’re in, reports could include metrics like:
- Average CTR
- Average Position
- Conversion Rate
- Demo Requests
- Downloads
- Engagement Time
- Lead Generation
- Page Views
- Social Shares
- Subscriptions
- Total Clicks
- Total Impressions
- Unique Visitors
- And more!
Agency reporting software like Ahrefs and Google Search Console makes it simple to track data and compare to competition, too. Thanks to Slam’s own digital agency reporting software, we can consolidate information into a single platform and provide key metrics and clear results for our clients.
How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency: Services Offered
At first glance, it’s going to look like most marketing agencies offer similar services. Through in-depth research, however, you’ll be able to differentiate unique offerings and figure out what makes one agency stand out amongst the crowd. When it comes to figuring out what services you require, you have to pay attention to those needs you defined at the beginning of this whole process.
Do you need webflow SEO services for a brand-new website? Or perhaps you just need access to technical SEO tools to beef up your existing content? Maybe we’re skipping the website altogether, and you just need help with nonprofit online advertising? Whatever the case is, someone specializes in it! At Slam, our favorite thing about digital marketing is… Everything! That’s why we offer comprehensive online services:
- Brand Strategy & Identity
- Content Writing & Strategy
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Webflow Design & Development
How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency with an RFP
Don’t go into researching marketing agencies blind—especially when Slam offers so many tools and resources to guide your experience! If you’re trying to figure out how to pick the right marketing agency, the right agency RFP will be your best friend. That’s why Slam dedicates so many of our resources to them!
What is an RFP?
First things first, you may be asking yourself: What is an RFP? An RFP, or Request for Proposal, is a document you use to get proposals or bids from potential agencies. Essentially, you’re inviting outside agencies or partners to submit a proposal to work for you, and your RFP exists to discover the best fit for you.
How Do I Make an RFP?
In order to attract the best clients, you have to create a comprehensive request for proposal that states all your wants and needs from an agency. Making an RFP is an involved process that Slam made easier with our comprehensive request for proposal template.
Every brand is unique and has different needs, but we have an easy checklist to make a winning RFP for anyone:
- Clearly state your needs & your project goals
- Create a reasonable timeline for your requests
- Define the traits you’re looking for in a marketing agency
- Limit the number of partners responding to your RFP—quality over quantity
- Provide a budget range
- Share your decision-making criteria
- Embrace honesty and don’t settle
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Agencies can use a simple proposal template on Google Docs or our cohesive marketing proposal template to demonstrate their skills and show you why they should partner with you. Plus, Slam offers a variety of agency RFP template options, including our consulting proposal template, as well as a Notion feedback template, so you can keep everyone on the same page from start to finish.
Don’t Worry About How to Choose an Agency—Work with Slam!
At this point, you should have a good idea about how to choose the right marketing agency. Moreover you’re in a great spot to start your research with Slam! Whether you want to learn how to start an agency yourself, or you’re searching for the perfect webflow and digital marketing team to guide your brand strategies, Slam has the answers for you.
So, as you embark on your search for the perfect marketing agency, why not start (and hopefully end) with us? Slam is an award-winning web design agency with a simple mission: to get you more business and to help you win online! We’ve done it before—first for ourselves and then for businesses of all varieties.
Whether you’re a venture capital firm like Symphonic VC, a creative studio like Lunarsol, or a nonprofit like Fresh Approach, Slam guarantees a stellar digital marketing strategy that takes your business to the next level. All that’s left to do is contact our team to get started, and we’ll take care of everything from there.
Now that you know how to pick a marketing agency, check out some of Slam’s other resources on other key decisions to make for your business:
- How to Choose Keywords for SEO: Keyword Research Tool [Video Tutorials, Tips, + Examples]
- Choosing the Right CMS: Web Design 2024
- Notion vs Monday: What’s Best for Your Team?
- Webflow vs Elementor (for WordPress): The Best Visual Designer & CMS
- 10 Best Webflow Integrations to Improve Your UX and Web Design
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