Blog

– Venkatesh Rangachari

Over the past few weeks, it’s been a delight to see the number of companies coming in search of digital marketing assistance. Companies old and new, across industries are seeing the emergence of a world where they will be forced to allocate some resources to building an online persona and developing a sales funnel online.

While speaking to some entrepreneurs, we found a set of concerns that were almost universal. Here we attempt to answer them in a practical manner so you feel more confident and comfortable about taking the next steps.

What does a Digital Marketing Agency do?

Digital marketing agencies offer a wide range of services for growing your brand and business online via:

• Marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc.
• Marketing on e-Commerce sites and Marketplaces like Amazon/ Myntra/ Flipkart etc.
• Search optimisation (SEO and SEM) that allows your customers to find you faster
• Marketing via Email campaigns, affiliate etc.

A good Digital Marketing agency will make a personalized marketing campaign for your business to help your sales grow. The campaign typically explains what your product does or why it does better than others and how your products can be purchased.

Digital agencies can do this because they understand consumers and your brand, creating content that brings consumers closer to your brand.

Digital marketing is an affordable way for you to learn, adapt and improve your marketing plan.

How do you know If a Digital Agency Is Right for Your Business?

The right digital agency will have:

• The ability to understand your brand inside-out and be able to explain this while they are pitching to you.
• They will have the experience in solving similar business problems 
• Successful case studies in your area of business
• The ability to tie in business objectives to marketing plans.
• The ability to deliver a return on investment within your budget.

Last, but not the least,

• The ability to deliver a return on investment within your budget.

When you find an agency that checks all of those items, you’ve likely found the digital agency that can grow your brand effectively.

But there is one more thing you need to do before you hire an agency:

Even if a digital agency feels right for you, asking these questions can help you make up your mind. These can be asked on the first meeting/call with the agency.

1. What clients have you worked with and what services did you provide?
2. What is your process for determining a roadmap, deliverables, and an achievable timeline?
3. What budget do you have in mind for meeting our objectives?
4. How will you determine the goals of the project?
5. How will the goals be measured (traffic, conversions, SEO ranking, revenue, etc.) and how often will you report results?
6. What tools, tactics or strategies will you utilize to reach our target goals?

To summarize all above mentioned, here’s what we think is the right way to go about your digital marketing plan:

• Start small with one platform which is relevant to your brand.
• Target a small geography/ segment where you can test your campaign.
• Spend the minimum amount needed for the platform to be effective
• Ask your digital agency to make a few creative messages for your brand (1-2 per week is a good number) 
• Run the pilot for a minimum 45-60 days but ask your agency to share key learnings every week.
• Keep modifying your messages and spend to optimize your ROI.
• If everything is working to your satisfaction, scale up the campaign.

A good digital agency can accelerate your business objectives in an efficient and affordable way.

About The Author
Credits: Venkatesh Rangachari, Co-founder, GroCurv.com – a B2B Services Procurement Platform headquartered in Gurgaon