EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN
INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
How to Choose the Right Inbound Agency for Your Business Needs
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
INBOUND MARKETING’S UNDENIABLE ROI In 2012, American businesses that spent $25K throughout the year on inbound marketing activities saved an average of 13% in overall cost per lead. 48% of marketers planned to increase inbound spending. For three years in a row now we are seeing businessesFor three years in a row now we are seeing businesses increase inbound budgets by nearly 50%. Nowadays, consumers are doing their buying research and discovery on the Internet. It only makes sense that companies adapt by adjusting their marketing strategies. A staggering 79% of online shoppers spend at least 50% of their shopping time researching products online. As companies continue to optimize their online assets, we are seeing key growth metrics such as cost per lead (CPL) and cost of customer acquisition (COCA) plummet. Inbound marketing strategies are constantly improving, and between the quality content and website engagement, it’s the perfect recipe for sales and marketing efficiency, effectiveness, and growth.
It’s clear that businesses that make the switch from outbound to inbound marketing are experiencing a positive return on their investment.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
INBOUND AGENCIES CAN DRIVE RESULTS It no longer makes sense to spend the majority of your marketing dollars on traditional outbound sales and marketing tactics like direct mail, print advertising, or telemarketing. Most small and mid-sized businesses lack the time and resources needed to train internal people on new inbound marketing strategies. Without adequate time and resources, there is a talent gap. These internal teams are not learning how to master key inbound marketing skills such as SEO, email marketing, and analytics.
These inbound activities require more effort, but they also generate lower costs per lead and higher ROI. Since many companies don’t have the resources needed to execute an effective inbound strategy, they are turning to inbound marketing agencies for help. By engaging inbound experts, these companies are able to take advantage of these ROI-charged online tactics. Inbound agencies specialize in driving sales by managing websites, social media, and other online assets.
HERE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING AN
INBOUND AGENCY.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
1.
CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT OFFERS THE SERVICES YOU NEED You need to hire an inbound agency that offers the right services. There are all kinds of companies out there that say they specialize in one or two services such as SEO or social media, but you need more than that. There are four core inbound services that comprise several tactical components. An inbound agency understands that these components must all work together in one cohesive strategy in order to deliver maximum impact. The agency should be able to integrate and execute all of these tactics in optimal sequences delivering real value. You’ll know an agency can execute efficiently and get results if their strategy ties together all of these inbound tactics cohesively.
FOUR CORE INBOUND SERVICES website traffic 1 Generating using SEO, blogging, and social media.
2 Developing premium
content to attract prospects and managing online lead generation efforts.
3
4
Measuring, tracking, analyzing, and tweaking the process to improve results.
Creating targeted lead nurturing campaigns to convert leads into customers.
Naturally, you want to improve the marketing results for your company. That’s a given. But what is your top marketing priority?
When looking at the top marketing priorities by company size, small and mid-sized companies tend to focus on lead generation while larger companies place a high priority on proving ROI. It is critical that you work with an inbound agency that has the capacity to set metrics, track results, and provide insights to improve performance and results. When reporting and analysis is embedded in all of their processes, agencies are able to repeat successes and fine-tune underperforming processes.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Does your agency offer service packages that are focused on traffic generation, lead generation, lead conversion, and analytics? ^^ What inbound tactics do you use to achieve these results? ^^ Are you able to provide client examples that illustrate a success in each of your service offerings?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency should be able to discuss metrics comfortably. ^^ The agency should be willing to provide examples of content they’ve generated for clients. ^^ The agency should be willing to share their analytical thinking and discuss the results they’ve achieved for clients. ^^ The agency should ask questions to get a better understanding of your specific needs.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency does not respond to questions about return on investment. ^^ The agency has difficulty illustrating how they connect goals, metrics, and results. ^^ The agency doesn’t blog regularly. ^^ The agency doesn’t have an active social media presence.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
2. CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT
PRESENTS A CLEAR STRATEGY AND PROCESS Successful inbound marketing agencies know what is required for inbound marketing success. The agency you choose to work with should be able to discuss the specific details for the strategy and campaigns they recommend for your business. You want to hire an agency with a proven methodology and a solid plan of attack. The inbound agency should outline their strategic approach in terms of the four core services. They should explain how they plan to employ specific tactics in their execution. They will provide a timeline and let you know what they’ll need from you along the way. You want to make sure that the proposed strategy makes logical sense. If your company has a limited online presence, then traffic generation tactics— SEO, blogging, and social media—will be critical early on. If your website isn’t generating leads and your goal is to attract more of the right prospects and convert them into customers, then in addition to traffic generating tactics, the agency will need to create enticing calls to action and landing pages to drive leads. If your website isn’t generating
sales, then the agency must examine traffic and lead numbers and then create targeted lead nurturing campaigns. If your website isn’t generating sales, then the agency must examine traffic and lead numbers and then create targeted lead nurturing campaigns.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Outline the strategy and campaigns you propose for our business. What do you recommend we do first, second, third, etc.? ^^ What client example(s) can you show me that match our situation and the plan you’re recommending for us? ^^ What do you think is the most critical aspect of inbound marketing for our business goals?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency blogs about challenges businesses in your industry face and how they would solve them. ^^ The agency clearly illustrates their inbound marketing strategies using flowcharts and diagrams. ^^ The agency provides examples of the work they’ve done for other clients that you can relate to (similar industry, size, etc.) along with their results.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency has difficulty discussing their work and its results clearly. ^^ The agency cannot explain who will be responsible for each component of your strategy (content, design, social media, etc.). ^^ The agency has difficulty explaining metrics tracked, results achieved, and how they tweaked processes to improve performance.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
3. CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT
FOLLOWS A GOAL-ORIENTED PROCESS
Your responses to these questions will help them create an inbound strategy that will help you meet your goals.
You want to work with an inbound agency that starts off by getting to know your business, your challenges, and your goals so they can determine what they can do to help you. They will develop a strategy that is tailored to your specific business goals and challenges. Choose an agency that begins by getting to know your company by asking questions about your goals and challenges. What is the size of your internal team? How do you measure the success of your marketing efforts? What are your goals and when do you expect to achieve them? What are you currently doing to reach them? Is it working? Are you on track to reaching them? What happens if you don’t reach those results? What’s stopping you from reaching them? Your responses to these questions will help them create an inbound
strategy that will help you meet your goals.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Have you worked with clients who were struggling with similar challenges? ^^ How does each step in your strategy apply to my challenges and goals? ^^ What is the timeline for this strategy? When do you expect to achieve these goals?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency asks a lot of questions and encourages you to think about your business and marketing challenges in ways you never had before. ^^ The agency listens carefully and asks follow-up questions. ^^ The agency is enthusiastic about their work and how they can help you.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency speaks generally and isn’t able to provide specific examples of clients or work they’ve done. ^^ The agency doesn’t ask in-depth questions. ^^ The agency has difficulty explaining how what they recommend will help you achieve your business goals.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
4. CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT
MAINTAINS AN INBOUND WEBSITE
Obviously a great indicator as to whether or not an inbound agency is good at what they do is to check out their website. Are they maintaining an effective inbound strategy for themselves? Step back for a moment and instead of just examining their service offerings and case studies, consider how well they’re doing the things they’ve proposed they’d do for your company.
How frequently are they blogging? Are they active on social media? Does their site feature prominent calls to action and premium content offers? Choose an agency that can cite itself as a case study. You want to partner with a firm that makes the services they sell a priority for their own business.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ What have the results of your own inbound marketing efforts been like? ^^ How does what you’re proposing for us compare to your own inbound strategy? ^^ What have you learned from using inbound marketing for your own business?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency clearly uses extensive inbound marketing tactics effectively. ^^ The agency’s employees actively use social media in a way that aligns with the social media strategy they’ve proposed for you. ^^ The agency’s calls to action are enticing and could generate leads.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency does not seem to be using inbound marketing tactics. ^^ The agency gets most of their business through referrals, not inbound marketing. ^^ The agency is so busy helping clients that they don’t have time to do it for themselves.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
5. CHOOSE AN AGENCY
THAT PRESENTS RELEVANT CASE STUDIES You should work with an agency that can present compelling examples of their inbound marketing expertise. You want to know that they have a proven track record. Have they done this before? Did they deliver desirable results? Will they be able to replicate that success for your business? If an agency is telling you they can deliver ROI, they should have no issue showing you examples of how they’ve done it for others. Ask to see client success stories if they haven’t shared any with you. They should be able to share the testing they’ve done, the tweaks they made, and the results they achieved. You want to see how they’ve tested and tweaked strategies and campaigns to optimize results. Also, consider all four core inbound services when reviewing the agency’s case studies, testimonials, and figures. Did the agency increase website traffic? Did the inbound tactics generate leads? How did they help convert leads into customers? How did they analyze and tweak the strategies to optimize results? You also want to consider whether or not their client success stories align with the outcomes you expect for your business.
Feel free to also ask prospective agencies for references. Is the client still working with the agency? How long have they been working together? What’s the experience been like?
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Do you have any case studies and/or references from other clients? ^^ Based on the inbound successes and failures you’ve experienced with other clients, what lessons will you apply to our business? ^^ What do you think are the most critical aspects of inbound marketing?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency has useful case studies on their website. ^^ The agency can provide a list of client references. ^^ The agency’s clients discuss the specific results that were delivered.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency cannot provide examples that show their ability to reproduce successes. ^^ The agency cannot prove that they achieved ROI for clients. ^^ The agency avoids discussing issues they’ve encountered and how they resolved them.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
6.
CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT HAS A SPECIALIZATION Many inbound marketing agencies have a specialization. What do they do best? Does the prospective agency specialize in a specific inbound tactic such as SEO or social media? Have they partnered with multiple companies in your industry or a similar industry? Do they tend to work with companies of a particular size? It’s important that the inbound agency you choose to work with aligns with your challenges and goals.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Do you specialize in any particular industries? Do you have previous experience working with clients in my industry? ^^ Is there a specific aspect of inbound marketing that you would consider your specialty? How does your proposed strategy capitalize on this strength? ^^ If you’ve worked with clients in our industry before, are you familiar with the thought leaders? The key blogs?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency clearly has industry specific content on their website. ^^ The agency is evidently a thought leader in the inbound industry. ^^ The agency and their references provide examples of their expertise.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency doesn’t have any specializations whatsoever. ^^ The agency doesn’t believe specialization is important. They assure you that they are fast learners. ^^ The agency relies on consultants and contractors to fill specialization gaps.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
7.
CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT EDUCATES YOUR TEAM
Choose to partner with an agency that is willing to train you and your employees on inbound marketing best practices.
For many companies, the need to hire an inbound marketing agency stems from a lack of digital marketing expertise. While it’s beneficial to partner with an agency that is a one-stop shop for all of your inbound marketing needs, it is also helpful when the agency engages and educates your internal team. There’s a lot that goes in to an effective inbound strategy. You need to create content, engage on social media, research keywords for SEO, and create lead nurturing campaigns.
Don’t worry; the agency you choose to partner with will take care of all of this for you. However, they should also offer to educate and train your employees on blogging and social selling, among other things. Choose to partner with an agency that is willing to train you and your employees on inbound marketing best practices. When an agency involves your internal team, they’ll be able to harness their brainpower, build momentum quickly, and begin showing results sooner.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ How much will our team be involved in terms of content creation, social media, etc.? ^^ What is your plan in terms of educating and training our team? ^^ How much are clients’ teams typically involved with inbound marketing tasks and how has that worked out?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency is eager to educate your team and they are able to explain things effortlessly. ^^ The agency looks for ways to leverage your existing resources (people, content, ideas, etc.). ^^ The agency has someone on their team who is responsible for teaching clients about inbound marketing.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency doesn’t plan to involve your internal team. ^^ The agency doesn’t seem to value your employees’ input and contributions. ^^ The agency directs you to online training resources instead of providing proper training.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
8. CHOOSE AN AGENCY
THAT CAN EXPLAIN HOW IT DOES WHAT IT DOES
Ask prospective agencies about their inbound processes. They should be able to easily explain how they do what they do.
An effective inbound marketing strategy involves a number of different inbound tactics that—when done correctly—work together cohesively to achieve the desired results. Each piece of the puzzle is critical, but each on its own is not nearly as effective or efficient. The agency should be able to assemble the puzzle pieces together to form a cohesive strategy. They should be able to clearly explain how they plan to execute and who is responsible for each part of the process. It’s possible that members of their team will handle certain parts of the strategy, while other pieces of the puzzle will be outsourced to their trusted partners.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ Do you handle everything in-house? ^^ If so, who is responsible for what exactly? ^^ If not, which tasks do you outsource? How long have you worked with them?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency clearly explains who is responsible for each part of the process. ^^ The agency can outline their back-up plan should any issues arise. ^^ The agency identifies which aspects will be outsourced, to whom, and why.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency cannot clearly state who is responsible for each task. ^^ The agency tells you not to worry about it, but still struggles to clarify. ^^ The agency seems to be outsourcing the majority of the work.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
9.
CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT TAKES CHARGE
A lot goes into inbound marketing; so it’s important that the agency you choose has strong project management skills. Effective execution will require time, know-how, effort, and coordination. When you first start working with an inbound agency, they will need you to invest quality time with them. Introduce them to the members of your team that they’ll be in contact with. Make sure the agency understands who your customer is so they can better understand what types of content will effectively attract qualified prospects to your website.
The better the agency understands your business, the better the inbound marketing results will be.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ What will you need from my team and me to get things started? ^^ What types of requests do you anticipate making of us on an ongoing basis? ^^ What materials should we expect to receive and when?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency is highly organized. They have a strategy in place and they use a project management system. ^^ The agency provides detailed schedules, timelines, and project reports. ^^ The agency provides confident estimates of average time it takes to complete each task.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency is disorganized and cannot present clear information. ^^ The agency seems very casual when it comes to timelines and deadlines. ^^ The agency doesn’t know the average amount of time each task takes.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
AN AGENCY 10. CHOOSE THAT PRIORITIZES MEASUREMENT
For an inbound marketing strategy to be successful, the agency must continually measure and track metrics so they can tweak the strategy to optimize the results. Each and every part of the inbound process should be tracked and analyzed. When you are considering partnering with an inbound agency, they should be able to discuss tracking, metrics, and analytics with confidence.
Your business has goals and you are enlisting an inbound agency to help you achieve these goals. It’s important that you choose to work with an agency that is focused on charting success in a data-driven way.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ How do you measure the success of your inbound campaigns? ^^ How often will you provide us with reports on these campaigns? ^^ If there are metrics that are underperforming, what adjustments will you make?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency is comfortable and confident discussing metrics. They discuss your goals and ask you how you want to measure success. ^^ The agency shares examples of data with you from their previous work. ^^ The agency explains and shows examples of how they incorporate A/B and multivariate testing.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency avoids discussing tracking, metrics, and ROI. They cannot track and prove ROI. ^^ The agency doesn’t factor your goals into the equation. They don’t know which metrics relate to your goals. ^^ The agency can’t provide any relevant examples of the type of metrics related to your goals.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
11.
CHOOSE AN AGENCY THAT EMBRACES TRANSPARENCY
You want to work with an inbound agency that values transparency. At the beginning of the partnership, they should plan to meet with your team to get to know your business, your challenges, and your goals. Throughout the partnership, there should be an open dialogue, ongoing updates, and frequent reporting. The agency should be eager and willing to train and educate your team so they better understand what is being done and why. A transparent inbound agency will give you access to the online marketing software they use to manage your campaigns.
Work with a transparent inbound agency that will include and involve your team. The goal is to marry their inbound marketing expertise with your industry experience to create and execute a killer inbound strategy.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
?
^^ What online marketing software do you use? ^^ Will we have access to this software? Will we be trained on it? ^^ How often will we be in contact? How often will we receive progress reports?
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency discusses a regular meeting schedule, goals for those meetings, and stresses the importance of these meetings. ^^ The agency insists that you and your team actively contribute. ^^ The agency insists that they train you and your team on the online marketing software and that you actively use it.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING ^^ The agency does not use marketing automation software. ^^ The agency does not insist on meeting regularly. ^^ The agency mentions online training for those who are interested, but they do not provide any training themselves.
X
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT INBOUND AGENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
www.saleshub.ca
WORK WITH AN INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY AND TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR COMPANY’S GROWTH.
WORK WITH SALESHUB, YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR INBOUND MARKETING SOLUTIONS.
1.866.247.8302 2005 Sheppard Avenue E. Suite 109 Toronto, ON M2J5B4