Most businesses know that they need a digital marketing agency to help them succeed in the online world. However, many companies don’t know how to pick the right digital marketing agency or pick the wrong one.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the signs that your digital marketing agency sucks, and we’ll give you some tips on how to fix the situation.
They don’t understand your business or your target audience
One of the biggest signs that you’ve picked the wrong digital marketing agency is if they don’t understand your business or your target audience. If your agency doesn’t know who your target customer is, or if they don’t know what your company does, then they’re not going to be able to help you succeed online.
If this is the case, it’s time to find a new digital marketing agency. Make sure to do your research this time, and make sure that you ask the agency lots of questions about their experience and their understanding of your business.
They produce low-quality content.
If your digital marketing agency is producing low-quality content, then it’s not going to help your small business succeed online. In fact, it might even be hurting your business.
A lot of marketers don’t realize that low-quality content can hurt your Google rankings.
So what constitutes “low-quality” content?
Well, there are lots of different factors that can contribute to this. For example, if your agency is producing poorly written content, or if the content doesn’t provide any value to your readers, then it’s likely to be considered low quality.
If you’re not happy with your agency’s content quality, talk to them about it. Let them know that you would like them to produce higher-quality content and see if they can make some changes. If they’re unwilling or unable to make changes, consider hiring a different agency.
They don’t work with you on your business strategies
Another sign that your digital marketing agency is sucking the life out of your business is if they’re not working with you to determine your business strategies. If your agency just shows up and starts doing whatever they want without talking to you first, then you’re not going to get the results that you, as a business owner, want.
Unfortunately, this is common. According to our recent survey, 33% of those surveyed said they had hired a digital marketing agency but were not happy with the results.
Instead, you need an agency that’s willing to work with you on your business strategies. That way, they can ensure that their efforts align with your goals and help achieve them. Make sure that you look for agencies like this when you’re doing your research next time, and you’ll have a much better experience.
They don’t give you regular reports.
Working with an agency should be about more than just bringing them on board and hoping that they do things right. You should work with them closely to ensure that their efforts are actually contributing to the success of your business. This requires regular communication and reporting, so make sure that the agency provides you with regular reports.
If they’re not willing to do this, then there’s a chance that they don’t care about your business or aren’t trying hard enough to ensure your success. This may seem like an extreme measure at first, but it can be very helpful in setting up regular communication and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
They over-promise and under-deliver
You should avoid agencies that are willing to give overly optimistic promises about their ability to help your business succeed online. For example, they might be unwilling to put a cap on the amount of money they’re going to spend, or they might be reluctant to limit the number of hours that they’re going to work for you.
Or here’s another we cringe when we see. The agency below promises to have your site on the first page of Google in 24 hours.
Considering that sometimes it takes Google weeks (even months) to crawl and index a page, this promise is either an outright lie or someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.
These agencies might seem great at first, but they can actually be terrible. Their lack of boundaries means that their billable hours are often much higher than expected, and if their results aren’t what you expected either, then it can be tricky getting your money back.
Their website is outdated and doesn’t look professional
If your digital marketing agency’s website is outdated and doesn’t look professional, then that’s a sign that they’re not taking their business seriously.
Or they have no idea what they’re doing.
A good website is essential for any business, as it’s often the first impression that people will have of your company. If their website looks like it was designed in the 1990s, then chances are their tactics for helping your business are outdated too.
If their website is truly awful, then run away. Run far, far away.
They’re always late with project deadlines.
One of the most significant signs that your digital marketing agency is sucking the life out of your business is if they’re always late with project deadlines. This can be really frustrating, especially if you’re relying on them to help you meet your goals.
There are a few things that you can do to mitigate this.
First, make sure that they clearly understand your expectations and deadlines and hold them accountable.
Second, make sure that you have a backup plan in place if they’re late.
For example, you might want to hire someone else part-time to help you with your online marketing efforts. But, before you do that, you may want to learn the costs of hiring an in-house team.
Last, make sure that you give your agency accurate information about what’s required for each job. If they feel like you’re asking them to do too much, then they might miss their deadlines and blame it on you.
No matter what, don’t put up with an agency that’s always late with project deadlines. If they can’t meet your expectations, then find someone who can
The prices they charge are too high.
There’s a chance that your digital marketing agency is sucking the life out of your business because its price is too high.
This usually happens when clients feel like they’re getting ripped off by agencies that aren’t delivering results commensurate with the amount of money they’re charging.
This problem can be tricky, but it’s often related to communication. You should start by asking your agency for a detailed analysis of what they can do for you and how much it will cost.
If their prices seem unreasonably high, then make sure that you seek out another digital marketing agency willing to offer competitive prices. If the problem persists, then it might be time to look elsewhere.
If you’re unsure about how much you should pay for digital marketing services, consider the image below. It shows an industry average of budget share for their online marketing efforts.
They don’t use social media effectively.
Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for building relationships with clients and prospects, but it depends on your target market.
If you’re struggling to get results from social media, then the problem might be that your agency isn’t using it effectively. You should start by asking them how they would approach social media marketing for your business.
Don’t just take their word for it, though. Check out some of the social media profiles they manage and look for evidence that these accounts are doing a good job. If they’re not, then you might want to find another digital marketing agency that knows what they’re doing.
If not, you’ll be paying too much for someone to create a design on Canva and post out some words using HootSuite. (Speaking of Canva, read our recent blog post to see why Picmaker may be a better option.)
They don’t understand your business.
Many digital marketing agencies are great at what they do. Still, if your agency doesn’t understand your industry or the unique challenges you’re facing, you might want to look elsewhere.
For example, let’s say that you own an e-commerce store. An excellent digital marketing agency will understand the challenges you’re facing and come up with an online marketing strategy that will work for your specific business.
An agency that lacks this kind of knowledge might make assumptions about what’s best for your business without actually knowing if it will help or hurt your bottom line. This is extremely common with large agencies that are used to working with large brands and fail to recognize that smaller companies have different needs.
Or this example: The other day we saw a social media post where a marketer was suggesting that small business owners cut their marketing budgets during tough times. Read our newest post to learn why we believe that this is terrible advice.
As we mentioned before, you should ask your potential agency about how they approach digital marketing for small and medium-sized businesses like yours. You might also want to look at some of their past work and see what kind of results it’s produced. If you’re not impressed, then it’s a sign that you’re going to have trouble.
They don’t use landing pages effectively.
One way that digital marketing agencies can generate leads for their clients is through landing pages. A good agency will know how to create compelling landing pages with effective headlines and content. They’ll also know how to drive traffic to these pages from social media and other channels.
The problem is that many agencies don’t understand what a landing page is actually for, and they make a lot of mistakes when they create them. If you look at the pages that your agency produces, do these pages seem to follow best practices? Do they have clear calls to action, attractive graphics, and compelling copy?
If not, then it might be time to look elsewhere. Landing pages are one of the most effective tools that digital marketing agencies have at their disposal, and you should be confident that they know how to put them to use.
They don’t understand SEO
.If you run a small or medium-sized business, it’s likely that SEO is one of the most critical parts of your online marketing strategy. If this is the case, you need to ensure that you’re working with an agency that gets SEO and knows how to put it to use.
Unfortunately, many agencies don’t understand how SEO works, and they end up providing ineffective digital marketing services that don’t offer value. This problem is only compounded by the fact that many agencies use black hat SEO techniques that can hurt your site in the long run.
It’s essential to make sure your agency understands what you want them to do when it comes to SEO. If they’re not experts, then you may want to look elsewhere.
They don’t have a good strategy for SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is probably the most important tool that digital marketing agencies have at their disposal. After all, organic search traffic accounts for almost half of all digital marketing results in 2021, and it isn’t easy to make an impact without a good SEO strategy.
The problem is that many agencies don’t know how to create an SEO strategy that will work. Some just replicate what they’re already doing for their other clients, but this rarely produces good results. Others don’t even bother to develop a strategy at all because they just don’t know how it works or how to use keywords effectively.
If you’ve ever worked with an agency that didn’t understand how to optimize your website for search engines, then you know why it’s a problem. SEO is an integral part of any digital marketing strategy, and you should work with an agency that knows what they’re doing when it comes to this aspect of online marketing.
Their customer service is terrible
When it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, customer service is critical. After all, if you can’t provide good customer service when someone is buying your product or services for the first time, then you’re likely to lose their business forever.
Unfortunately, many digital marketing agencies don’t get this concept at all. Sure, they’ll provide services, and they’ll even do an excellent job of it. The problem is that they won’t give the kind of customer service you need to keep your customers happy over the long run, and after a while, they’re going to end up taking their business elsewhere.
Customer service isn’t just an important part of doing business these days; it’s a part of doing business with digital marketing agencies. If your agency doesn’t provide good customer service, you might need to look elsewhere. Here are some signs to look out for:
- They’re not responsive to feedback or willing to make changes.
- They don’t respond to your emails or phone calls.
- They provide an “okay” job and don’t go above and beyond.
- The customer service leaves a lot to be desired, and you’re not confident that they’ll make things right if there are issues with their work.
If any of the above sounds familiar, it might be time to look for another agency. You know your business better than anyone, so you should trust your instincts when it comes to this sort of thing.
Their strategies are outdated and ineffective.
Digital marketing has changed a lot since it first started, and it’s only going to continue changing in the future. Agencies that are stuck in their ways often don’t do a very good job of keeping with what’s new and what works, so they end up being less effective than they possibly could be.
The problem with outdated strategies is that it’s hard to measure their success. Sure, you can do your best to track how much traffic is coming through from search engines or social media, but it’s often challenging to come up with accurate numbers that way. After all, there are so many unknowns when dealing with online marketing, which makes it challenging for agencies to provide you with any decent feedback.
If the agency isn’t up-to-date, then you’re losing valuable time that could be spent doing things right rather than having to reinvent the wheel over and over again.
Your best bet is to work with an agency that does an excellent job of keeping up with what works in digital marketing these days; this will make it much easier for them to provide you with long-term results and increase your online presence.
They’re not transparent about their methods or results
A good agency will make an effort to keep its clients informed about what kinds of strategies are used and why. This shows that they care about your business and want to be transparent about their work.
Even if everything is going well, it’s still important to keep customers informed about what kinds of things are being done and how those things can help them increase sales or find new customers through online marketing.
Keeping clients informed builds trust and helps them see the light of how valuable digital marketing can be for a business.
Any good digital marketing agency will provide you with reports and insights that you can use to see the effects of their work. They’ll also explain why they’re using specific strategies and how these strategies will help your business in the long run.
If you feel like your agency isn’t transparent, it might be time to look for another one that can provide you with all the insights and information you need.
They don’t care about you or your success
.A good agency will want you to succeed. The last thing they should be doing is keeping the fact that their strategies aren’t working under wraps, so it’s essential for them to tell you when there are problems with your marketing.
It takes time and effort to find an agency that cares about its customers, but it will be worth it in the long run. After all, nobody wants to work with an agency that cares more about its own bottom line than it does about yours.
You’re spending a lot of money on your agency, and they should be willing to go above and beyond when it comes to helping you succeed online. If this isn’t happening, you might want to find an agency that is more willing to work with you and make sure that your digital marketing is top-notch.
If the company doesn’t care about its own success, it’s probably not going to be very committed to helping you achieve yours.
And that, my friend, is a truly bad digital marketing agency!
Hire an Agency That Produces!
Now, if your current marketing agency is doing any of the items above and you’re kicking around hiring a new agency because the one you have sucks, then we’re here to help.
BlakSheep Creative is a digital marketing agency that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of what works in online marketing. From social media management to web design to SEO to paid advertising and everything in between, we work hard to help our clients achieve their goals and find success through the internet.
We’re willing to go above and beyond for our clients, including keeping them informed about what we’re doing and why. We believe in transparency, which is one of the reasons we work hard to make sure that our clients know what’s going on at all times.
Whether you’re looking for more leads or better conversions, we can provide you with valuable insights and information to help you achieve your goals through digital marketing. If your current agency isn’t transparent with you about its work, then it’s time to find a new agency that will.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you reach your business goals through the power of digital marketing.
