If you use a marketing agency, you already know that there are times when you really wonder if you are really getting what you’re paid for. There are a few things that you should be looking out for that may be signs that you’re not getting your money’s worth.
- A Lack of Visibility – If you don’t know what your agency is actively working on; and you’re not routinely receiving status updates; there’s a chance you’re not getting a strong, consistent effort from your agency. A weekly update that tells you what’s been completed the previous week, what’s being worked on this week, as well as a list of outstanding issues and deliverables can be an incredibly powerful tool.
- Inconsistent metrics – One trick that a lot of agencies love to play is to report only the metrics that make them look good for a particular month. For example, if last month your agency was highlighting HUGE gains in marketing qualified leads, and this month you don’t see that metric anywhere on your reports, there’s a good bet that it’s because those numbers don’t look good. One thing to look for is for the inclusion of seemingly inconsequential metrics to the report. For example, if your agency includes Twitter follower gains, when that metric has never been mentioned or a focus there’s probably a reason why it’s being included.
- Constantly Sliding Deliverable Dates – There are a lot of reasons that projects are delayed. Some are legitimate. For example, if you are slow to turnaround requests to your agency, that can adversely affect deliverable dates. But if you don’t owe your agency approvals or deliverables and you keep seeing project timelines stall out, it might be time for some tough love.
- Lack of Results – If you’re a year into your engagement and you can’t point to clear gains in important metrics, it may be time to revisit your relationship with your agency. If you can’t identify solid gains that are attributable to your agency’s work, (e.g. revenue, website traffic, marketing/sales qualified leads, pipeline values leads), you aren’t getting your money’s worth.
- Constant Up-Selling or Change Scope – Changes of scope happen from time-to-time. Needs change, requirements change, priorities change. If you do request changes from your agency, a change-of-scope is a reasonable expectation on your agency’s part. But if you are receiving change of scope requests for changes you (or any on your team) requested than you should push back. But if your marketing agency is asking you to get out your checkbook before you’ve seen any results from the initial campaign, you should probably push back.
Are you getting your money’s worth? Can you prove a positive ROI? If the answer is no, or you’re unsure, we can help. Let’s talk!