How to Pick The RIGHT Digital Marketing Agency For Your Business

When picking a digital marketing firm, you have to do your research! You are investing in someone to bring business to you. That isn’t a decision to make lightly. This firm is one that you will be working closely with along with investment a lot of money in as well. When picking a company to represent it is important to look at these five main aspects:

1. Their website
2. Their portfolio
3. Consulting with them
4. Do their services fit your needs?
5. How much are they willing to invest in you?

A Digital Marketing firm should have responses prepared for any questions you bring regarding these things, as they are key for potential clients. Here is the value in exploring each of these five main aspects with a digital marketing agency.

1. Their Website: A digital marketing firm’s main responsibility is making your company look presentable to the public. A company who wants to represents others must have a clean and presentable webpage that will show a sample of everything they can offer for you. Their website should be able to tell a story of why they want you to be their client and why you should join with them. If they cannot sell themselves, they cannot sell you! Be sure to go through their website for their previous work, research their team, and also their services offered.

2. Their Portfolio: Any business that you partner with must understand and design your vision for you. When looking through a company’s portfolio, be sure to look at their style of content and layouts. Note the items you would like for your own business and how the agency has implemented that material into their portfolio. Also, be sure to look at their past or present clients whose businesses are similar to yours and see their work. Companies will often allow you to reach out to their previous contacts and references . Take advantage of this to see how their service will be five months from now. It’s helpful to know how an agency will treat you when they are not when they are trying to win you over.

3. Consulting With Them: Most companies will offer you a free consultation. Using that free consultation, carefully note their take on your business and their thoughts on an action plan. If possible, meet face-to-face. This helps you obtain the most out of the meeting. When consulting, be sure to take notes on what they say, what they do not say, and what they will follow up on after a contract. These three key conversation points will help show their take on your business and how open they are to building a partnership with you. It is important to remember that they will not give all their tools and answers away. Instead, note their speaking styles and how helpful they are.

4. Do Their Services Fit Your Needs? It’s quite possible that a company you are looking into might be great and has won awards in their area but also might not specialize or focus on your needs. This means that you have to ask questions and research what your needs are when going into the meeting to see if this company can do what you need for them to do. Digital marketing is a very broad field that can range from social postings to search engine optimization, awareness campaigns to landing page design. Some wonderful companies might not have the experience in the area you are looking for or might not have the resources needed to complete the task you have in mind.

5. How Much Are They Willing To Invest In You? This does not mean how much money will they invest in you. Instead, time is money! Look at the size of the business in relation to the clients they have and consider where you may fall in that line up. If your project is significantly smaller than what they usually do, you may not get priority treatment. Likewise, if you are a big fish in a small pond, your project may be overwhelming and could require more resources than they have available. It is important to understand what your needs are before going in so you can find the proper fit. Make sure to come to an understanding of what they will do for you to reach your end goal so you both have clear expectations of what the other is investing in your success.

Picking a digital marketing firm is a big step! Whoever you choose will help you present your business and your passion to the world. They need to be a reliable, proactive, and esteemed corporation to take charge of your digital marketing so you can focus on other aspects of your business!

By Sahil Maherali, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com

Embracing Technology In Your Business Without Losing Older Clients

Technology is amazing! Businesses acquire new tricks and tools virtually non-stop. Tracking the trends of the Millennials, Baby Boomers, and Generation Xers is vital to staying relevant. As increasingly more millennials join the work force,business need to adapt to the new ways of reaching audiences. But, by constantly moving forward, are businesses accidentally leaving older clients behind?

First, it’s important to understand who is who in a discussion about generations.

• The Silent Generationor Greatest Generation is anyone born in the mid-1920s to the early 1940s.
• Baby Boomers are individuals born between 1946 and 1964, during the post-WWII boom.
• Generation X, also known as Gen X, is not very clearly defined but can generally be used to refer to the early 1960s to early 1980s.
• Millennials, who grew up during the turn of the millennium, were born between the early 1980s and late 1990s. They may sometimes also be referred to as Generation Y.
• Generation Z’s name is still developing. However, some ideas are iGeneration, Digital Natives, and Plurals.

As one might expect, as time passes, businesses are patroned less and less often by the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, while the number of Millennial customers increases. Businesses must cater to the growing demographicsbut ideally without alienating older, established client-bases.

How exactly can a business balance the rapid increase of millennial clients while losing boomer business?

Don’t Transition Too Fast!

The fastest way a business can fall off track is with sudden movements. A business must understand its clients, perspective clients, and past clients to create an informed plan of evolution. Baby steps are needed in a significant transition as every transition comes with hiccups. To properly evolve, you must fix problems as they occur while alsoteaching your older clients how to use these changes to their benefit. A Millennial will understand Groupon, for instance, but a Boomer may need assistance the first few times.Help them overcome their technical fears and confusion so they do not feel lost or a sense of miscommunication.

Tailor Your Business To Adopters, Early Majority, And Late Majority Clients!

In marketing jargon, there are 5 types of buyers.

There are those who are Innovators. Innovators are those who are the smallest group as they are very involved in constantly learning about new products in the market. They are always the first ones to jump onboard. Only 2% of those in your target market will be innovators.

Next, there are Adopters. Adopters are willing to try a new product if it will help their life. They need to understand the product before jumping on board. They are about 15% of the market.

After that are the Early Majority. They will jump on board with a product after seeing their peers embrace the technology. With the early majority caring about longevity and reputation, they must see the product in place. The Early Majority and Late Majority both make up for about 39% each of the market. The Late Majority however, purchase later on. They usually wait till the Innovators are already on their way to a new product.

Lastly, the excessive traditionalistscomprise the final 5% who either adopt products after they are old news or never adopt it at all.

Businesses need to target adopters, early majority, and late majority buyers. These groups establish a product or service for everyone else. However, with a combined of 93% of the market, it is important to not push the late majority out of the picture. Although early adopters can be a risky target, later adopters are possible clients as well.

When you create your marketing plan and business plan, make sure to evolve at a pace that will not lose a strong market segment. Although it seems great to be a leading company, it is important to have a clientele base who strongly needs your work, especially if you are not a major company. With the economy being such a diverse place, living on the bleeding edge of technology isn’t necessarily the best strategy for every business.

Communication Is Key!

A business must move at the pace of the clients. If you want to push into new technological territory, you must work WITH your clients to make the change happen. Help those who need assistance adapt to the new setting while giving your savvier clients the freedom to help themselves.

When communicating with clients,remain understanding of their needs, wants, and desires. Businesses have to meet their needs so remaining in touch with those needs is important.Jumping onto social media platforms and newsrooms to keep an eye on your younger audience’s opinions but also explore keeping a traditional touch. Email or even direct mail can help leave an impression on older audiences.

Whether you work in manufacturing, retail, or marketing, you must understand your clients and how to move your business forward. Remember that everyone moves at their own speed!Adapt your business plan to the timesbut keep an eye on your older audiences and late majority.

By Sahil Maherali, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com