Ok, let’s agree that hate is a pretty strong word, so let’s just say, “why you weren’t happy with your marketing company’s performance” That’s better.
Before we get into it , I’d like to start by telling you a little about myself.
I spent many years in Telecom, dealing with IT and purchasers trying to get them to switch over their mobility, landline and internet services. As you can imagine these were some fairly dull meetings about spreadsheets,TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and cost savings.
Fast forward to 2018 when I joined Agency Media and learned all about Digital Marketing. As the President I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a lot of our clients, and I get to see first hand how digital marketing has changed their business.
However I also see the customers that haven’t had a wonderful experience. Digital Marketing is extremely personal as it deals with the heart and soul of the owner’s business and emotions can rightfully run high.
The success of a marketing plan can mean the difference between expanding or downsizing, bringing in new products or cutting down on costs.In some cases, a marketing campaign can be the difference between staying in business or not.
So yeah, it can be a frustrating or rewarding experience.
Over the last few years, I have been able to drill into this and come up with what I call the 2 EE’S (Patent Pending) for why your marketing plan won’t work.
Expectations
This might sound pretty simple, but in order for any marketing plan to succeed, you must be on the same page as your marketing agency. I should point out that it is a two-way street. Your marketing company could be killing it, but if it’s not the return you wanted and never communicated then it’s bound to fall short.
Now, if your agency sets extremely high expectations to win, but your business can’t live up to them, then that won’t be successful either.
In order to properly get on the right page with the expectations, there has to be a level of trust and transparency on both sides. The customer has to share accurate numbers of where they are today and what they would like to achieve.Your marketing agency needs to make sure that its product offering aligns with those expectations. Only then can you expect the results you are looking for.
Here are some questions that need to be answered before kicking off a project:
- Does the Agency truly understand your business?
- Is there an open dialogue on what marketing plans have been tried in the past?
- Are there clear guidelines on what winning looks like?
- Do the objectives align with what the Agency offers?
- Are timelines in place?
- Has the process been properly communicated?
- Does the customer know exactly what they will receive?
Once you are completely aligned with your expectations comes the second E, Execution.
Execution
If you have clearly agreed on Expectations, then Execution will be much easier to gauge.Is the Agency doing what it has agreed to or not?
Advice for dealing with Marketing Campaigns
Here are some tips to make sure your agency is executing in a way that aligns with what you want to see:
1. Make sure there is a clear line of communication. In today’s world everyone has their preferred method of communicating, whether that’s voice, text, email, Snapchat, etc. Set up a communication style and cadence that works for the way you want to be communicated with.
2. Is there a timeline? One of the best ways to stay on track is to set and hit timelines on projects and tasks. This makes it easy to make sure everyone is on the same page.
3. Track results and communicate wins and losses. If you don’t know where you’re at today, it can be difficult to know what’s working and what isn’t. Feedback should be running both ways in regards to this.
So the next time you work with a marketing agency, try and remember the 2 EE’S and hopefully it will be a more successful endeavour.
You work hard for your money, and you want to make sure that the marketing you invest in is going to work for you.
We want to hear from you, so let’s talk!
– Joel MacDonald, President