London agencies are ten-a-penny these days. Take a walk through Shoreditch or Farringdon alone, and you’ll be bombarded with creative agencies, all promising to transform your growth, your leads or your brand. While a lot of choice is definitely a good thing, it can make it harder for businesses to pick the right agency for them.
Remember, the wrong hire won’t just set your business back; more often than not, it can devastate your marketing budget and leave you further away from achieving your goals than you were before. Picking the right agency can save you a lot of money, time and headaches down the line.
Check Their Track Record Not Their Portfolio
Amongst many of the good digital marketing agencies London businesses can choose from, you’ll find a common set of traits that set the best ones above the just okay ones.
First of all, patterns of success are important. Anyone can create a few nicely polished reviews and case studies and pretend they’re an amazing agency. What’s harder to fake is long-term success across multiple clients.
Before you commit to signing, ask for references, people you can speak to from the agency’s client list, who can give you an informed opinion on whether or not the agency can do what they say. Also, take a look at independent reviews on sites like Trustpilot or Google, anything that hasn’t been curated by the agency.
One of the best things you can ask an agency directly is, how long do your clients typically stay? High churn is often an indicator that results don’t match the pitch.
Ask How They Report On Performance
‘We deliver results.’ This is something pretty much every agency will say. The question you should be asking is, ‘What kind of results?’
Impressions, follows, and website visits are easy to boost and easy to present, but they don’t necessarily move your business forward. You need to know, specifically, how account reporting will work. What metrics will you see? How often? How do these metrics tie into leads, sales or revenue?
If an agency is vague about reporting during the pitching phase, it’s unlikely that they’ll magically become more transparent when you sign.
Understand Their Pricing Structure
Agency prices in London differ as much as the house prices. From a freelancer set-up costing a few hundred quid a month, to a big-name agency with a 5-figure retainer, there are a lot of price points to pick from.
Before you sign, get clarity on the pricing structure. Is it a project fee, a one lump sum you pay for a specific job? Or is it a retainer, an ongoing subscription fee you pay to secure an agency’s ongoing services or availability?
It’s essential that you know about additional costs before you agree to pay them, e.g. tools and software licensing fees not included in the headline figure. Also, you need to know how long you’ll be on the hook to pay the agency. Contracts that lock you in for a year with no easy exit might deserve a little more scrutiny, regardless of how good their pitch is.
Read The Terms Carefully
It sounds dumb, but a lot of people don’t do this. If you’re excited by a new partnership, don’t get swept along. If you miss something in the contract and sign anyway, you might regret it later.
Pay close attention to notice periods. Iron out who will own the work if you split up early, who will own your website, your ad accounts and creative assets? Exit clauses really matter. You’re not doing yourself any favours by ignoring the unpleasant things that might happen should your agency relationship go awry.
Just Don’t Rush Into Anything
At the end of the day, there’s no shortage of agencies in London. If you’re feeling pressured by one to sign when you’re not ready, just drop them. You’ll find another agency that won’t give you the hard sell, and that genuinely has your best interests at heart. They do exist.
Transparency above all else. That goes for results, prices and processes. Take the time to ask all the questions above and be strict about filtering out noise and agency waffle.
It’s also worth remembering that size has little to do with whether an agency is a right fit. Sometimes a smaller agency that ‘gets you’ is better than a big one to whom you’re just one of a hundred clients.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask pointed questions. It’s not rude to want straight answers, and honesty goes both ways. Be forward about concerns and pay attention to how these concerns are met. A good agency welcomes scrutiny, and choosing one before signing anything will save you time and money.
