If you’re new to working with a Digital agency or are considering bringing one on to support your marketing or media efforts, you might be curious about how to establish a good relationship with the agency that is supporting you.

Being a good Digital Marketing agency client isn’t just about saying yes to everything your agency proposes or spending a lot of money. There are many ways to establish yourself as a good client and a great partner. We rounded up a few of our favorites to help you become the kind of client agencies love to work with.

Have clear and reasonable goals 

One way to get off to a good start with your Digital Agency is to have clear and reasonable goals. While it’s great to dream big and challenge yourself and your agency team, being realistic about what is possible in your timeframe and budget is important.

For example, if you have a budget of $10,000 for SEO services and a brand-new site, you can’t expect to be the number one search result on Google for a highly competitive keyword in 8-10 weeks. For example, our client, Monin, took almost a year for our entire SEO strategy to be optimized towards our 68% Increase in performance. To date, we continue to create new content and work closely with their team to ensure we continue with our success.

A good agency partner should be able to give you advice about how to make the best use of your timeframe and budget. Partner with people you trust to guide you well and heed their advice.

Setting SMART goals

When it comes to having clear and reasonable goals – think SMART. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. When you sign the statement of work (SOW) with your partner agency, ensure that it addresses what success looks like on your end and the challenges your brand or industry faces. Your agency should then be able to help you set up a strategy on how they will be achieved, how success will be measured, and when you can expect results.

Both you and your agency should be on the same page about goals and priorities. Being a good partner goes both ways; ensuring everyone is on the same page about goals and priorities is another way to help everyone.

Have your digital house in order (or be ready to ask for help getting there) 

If you’re looking for a Marketing Agency to help you promote your business, product, or a special promotion, you want to make sure your digital house is in order before launching any campaigns.

Nothing will be more frustrating to your consumers than going to a landing page where the form is broken or a sold-out product or not being able to complete an action you’ve asked them to do.

So, before you start to think about your campaigns, spend the time auditing what Marketing tools you currently have in place. This might mean sprucing up your online presence, auditing your social media platforms, and looking at any blog posts or content marketing you’ve tried previously. Brownie points if you have any data to support your previous marketing campaigns. Even unsuccessful campaigns can help your new agency to provide a digital recommendation.

If all of the above seems overwhelming, you might want to consider looking for a more full-service Marketing Agency. One that can audit all your current owned assets, produce landing pages, optimize your website and/or update your eCommerce presence.

Define your audience (or who you think is your audience) 

Before launching a Marketing campaign with a Digital Agency, it’s important to have done your homework and come prepared to tell your agency about your ideal client. If you’re newer to marketing or a small business owner who hasn’t done any marketing yet, that’s ok! Describe the type of person you sell to currently as that can help your agency create what’s called a lookalike audience. Or a target audience of people who share similar qualities with your best customers.

Also, some clients come to the table with their desired audience. This may not be who is currently buying your product or visiting your website, but this is who you aspire to have as your customer. Digital Agencies can create target audiences based on this as well to help you get in front of new potential eyeballs.

Lastly, think about the pain points your product or service solves as well as the type of people that have that problem. For example, if you own a nail salon, your target demographic is likely predominantly women ages 17 -65 who live within a 10-mile radius. If you provide special services like spa pedicures or use specific techniques, you might be able to narrow the focus on your audience even more. Maybe you need an Influencer to help promote your nail salon. Influencer marketing is a different approach that many businesses shy away from because of the time constraints.

Be ready to invest appropriately 

You’ve probably heard the saying that it takes money to make money, and that is true in the digital marketing world. While you can make some serious money by promoting your products and services online, you will need to be ready to make an investment.

For example, our client, Metro Lagoons typically only advertises during the peak summer season. Over the past two years, we have learned that we need to actually be in market sooner to attract more of the tourist audience along with the locals.

Work with your agency to determine how much of your budget you need to get started. If your agency (or agencies you’re considering partnering with) says your budget is too low for your goals, listen. Especially if you have provided them with your goals. Most Marketing Agencies will be able to use a bit of math and benchmarks to estimate your conversion rates. If they are not doing this, then ask for it.

If you have seen the estimate, and you still can’t afford it, then you can either revise your goals or you might be better served by investing the money you have in other areas like SEO or Organic Social to see a more immediate return on your investment, which can then be reinvested into more marketing channels.

How do you know how to set your budget? 

When looking at your marketing budget, there are a number of things to consider. First, how much can you afford to spend? Second, what will the return on the investment potentially be? When it comes to advertising, there are no guarantees, but like we said above, an experienced agency should be able to tell you what you can expect (and what they plan to do if their estimates fall short).

Another way to determine how to set a budget is at the campaign level. Having your agency do some research to determine the cost per click will tell you how much to invest to get started. You can run a test campaign to see how your ads are performing.

If your ads are doing well, you may want to invest more, and if your ads are not doing as well as you’d hoped, you may want to alter your campaign or dial back your investment. At this point your agency should be helping to guide your next steps.

Trust your data 

In addition to being able to trust your Agency to guide you, remember to trust the data. Don’t simply let your eyes glaze over in your meetings with your agency team. Look at the numbers, ask questions, and really tease out what the data is telling you.

If you notice clicks or traffic are down one week – look at any internal or external factors. Is your business seasonal, for example? Was there a holiday or event that took your target audience away from their computers and phones? The more data you have, the easier it will be to spot trends or issues that need to be addressed.

Have a growth mindset (not a fixed mindset) 

One of the only constants in digital marketing is change. From trends to new digital and social channels, it can feel overwhelming. One of the things that takes a client from good to great is a growth mindset. This means you’re willing to try new things and learn from them consistently.

While digital trends may come and go, the learnings you get from trying new things stay with you. Having this data will help you and your agency try new things and take more calculated risks – potentially increasing the return on your investment.

Actively participate and be a good collaborator 

When it comes to being a good client there are a few things you can do to make it easier for your marketing agency to support you.

1. Actively participate in the work – Share your opinions, ask questions, and be curious so you understand the work being performed and the recommendations your agency is making, and you can collaborate with them to keep optimizing.
2. Show up – Attend check-in or campaign review meetings. Read any reports or look at the analytics provided. Disengaging makes it harder for your agency to do the best work for you.
3. Prioritize any timelines you’re given – Failing to submit ad copy or images, delaying review cycles or otherwise derailing timelines can disrupt the work on your campaign. Your agency needs to be able to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to each client they work with, and delays make this challenging and can prevent you from getting the results you expect.
4. Choose one dedicated point of contact – If you have multiple stakeholders in your organization who are interested in marketing efforts, choose one single point of contact to coordinate with your agency. This person is responsible for ensuring the right team members attend any needed meetings, providing consolidated and prioritized feedback, and approving deliverables, creative or campaign launches.

Looking for a great agency? Call us!

At Cordelia Labs, we pride ourselves on our ability to keep up with industry trends and educational opportunities to ensure we’re offering our clients the best possible service and the results to back it up.

Please reach out if you’re looking for a new, engaged partner to help you navigate digital marketing. We’d love to show you how we can help you grow your digital presence and, ultimately, your business! Need more than just paid ads? We can help with landing pages, content, and more.