Insights
Industry
People
Culture
Brand Studio
Facebook Hub
Choueiri Group Deep Dives
OMD Corner
LEAD with ABG
Insights
Brand Studio
Facebook Hub
Choueiri Group Deep Dives
OMD Corner
LEAD with ABG
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
ADVERTISE WITH US
Insights Industry
Back
The Most Important Things You MUST Request from your Digital Marketing Agency
By Communicate StaffMon, Nov 18 2019

Contact
the-most-important-things-you-must-request-from-your-digital-marketing-agency

By Aida Saharoui

I have been active in the GCC digital agency ecosystem for the past eight years, and seem to still witness a lot of questionable practices when it comes to agencies’ practices in the region and worldwide. With the support of Communicate, we have listed the top 5 things that any business should know and request from its digital marketing agency.

  1. Expertise & methodology

 The first concern a client should have before starting any business relationship with an agency, should not be its portfolio or its number of employees, but rather if this agency has the right kind of knowledge and methodology to do the job.

Digital marketing is not only about promoting or publishing posts; it starts much before that, with a proper media mix strategy, a comprehensive media planning frame (phased by time/seasonality, campaign type, channels as well as languages and markets). It then crosschecks the measurement to make sure that all the activations are being tracked properly.

At the time of the launch, operating digital campaigns requires expertise and a granular methodological work which each business needs to ensure the agency masters.

At the post-launch level, reporting is the next important step. Without a proper and accurate reporting structure that mirrors the client’s KPIs, optimizations will be hard to maintain. In fact, optimizations require a strict process of their own, that will have a direct impact on the final fallout.

All these efforts require time and proficiency. Many agencies today pretend to be able to do the job at very low costs, which results in clients’ disappointment and a misconception around digital agencies themselves.

At Wone, we allocate a minimum of 40 hours per month to each client, regardless of their media spend, their targets or any other specific requirement. Based on our internal data, we came to the conclusion that anything below this volume of time, will affect the quality of work and therefore the outcome of the campaigns.

  1. Transparency

It is very unfortunate to still witness agencies operating in highly grey areas in very questionable, non-ethical ways:

  • Using their own ad accounts rather than their clients’ accounts in order to keep the client ‘locked.’ This practice is very common and leads to a tricky situation where clients do not know what is being done for/with their campaigns, they have no clue about the spend or the results.
  • As a consequence of using their own ad accounts, hiding the actual amounts spent in order to charge more than what has actually been paid on the media.
  • Lacking transparency when it comes to methodology and work ethics (White vs. Black Hat in SEO, for instance)
  • Not, or only partially sharing a proper reporting structure. Because in-depth reporting equals transparency, many clients often get a very top-level report on Excel or PDF formats, with no details.

At Wone, we provide our clients with real-time dashboards that guarantee a real-time view of their spend and all key metrics. We also share a weekly report and meet them very often. Daily communications are also organized to make sure that we move fast if any approval or troubleshooting is needed.

  1. Communication & knowledge-sharing

 Since communication also equals transparency, many avoid it. Any business that has an active relationship with its agency should request daily communications, weekly catch-ups and regular meetings in order discuss past/upcoming actions, results and action plans to be implemented to improve the numbers.

Many agencies are also dishonest about where their resources are geographically located. Agencies should communicate the proper information and have the client’s agreement when accounts managers are off-shored resources,

In our field, communication also mean informing our clients about the latest betas and product launches relevant to their industries. The platforms change very regularly, with constant algorithmic updates and new features. It is the agency’s mission to communicate tips and tricks, as well as industry benchmarks with its clients.

  1. Promises

 “Promises only bind those who believe in them.” That is a very pertinent French quote. Any agency that promises the moon – whether it relates to building a brand, achieving a very specific level of ranking on SEO, or meeting specific targets on paid advertising – without a proper in-depth analysis, is probably not being very realistic.

Blindly believing that what has been promised will be achieved without requesting the minimum details is a mistake. Clients need to be highly cautious when it comes to forecasted numbers. As much as over-promising can sound exciting to communicate to your top management, it is often deceptive and distorted. You want to trust the agency’s word, believing they have the expertise; however, best to see the actual plan they have worked on to meet your targets.

In a world that seeks efficiency, these tips will help not only clients but also agencies to work in a more transparent and result-driven environment that should, on the long run, drive everyone in the right direction.

 Aida Saharoui is the founder and CEO of digital consultancy firm Wone. 

RELATED TOPICS
Advertising Aida Saharoui Campaigns Communication Digital Marketing Marketing Mena
MORE IN Industry
Industry
November 01, 2020 How to Build a Winning Gen Z Strategy on Mobile

App analytics and market data company, App Annie, have released a new report that sheds light on Gen Z’s mobile behavior, in order to help marketers develop effective strategies to reach them. 98% of Gen Z report owning a smartphone, on average receiving their first at the age of 10. They are also part of […]

Industry
October 28, 2020 Micro-Influencers Are Still an Important Channel in the Marketing Funnel

Experticity, the world’s largest community of influential category experts have released a new study that sheds new light on the importance of micro-influencers on the average consumer. The study was conducted with online interviews of more than 6,000 individuals from the United States drawn from Experticity’s micro-influencer network and the general population. In addition, more […]

Industry
October 28, 2020 Global Media Insight Report Provides Concise Picture of Media Trends in UAE & KSA

Market research companies eMarketer and Global Web Index have collaborated together to release the 10th edition of the global media intelligence report. The report is a detailed compilation of data and insights about internet users’ traditional and digital media usage in 42 key markets worldwide. Communicate will be highlighting the key trends that are shaping the […]

Industry
October 27, 2020 Socialbaker’s New Report Highlights Slow Return to Normalcy in Digital Space

Social Bakers, a global AI-powered social media marketing company has released the Q3 edition of their social media trends report. The report reveals where the industry is currently standing with regard to spending and engagement globally. Here are the key findings – ADVERTISING Worldwide ad spend increased by 56.4% in Q3 compared to where it […]

Subscribe to

our newsletter.

This site uses cookies: Find out more.

Logo
  • Insights
  • Industry
  • People
  • Culture
  • Brand Studio
  • Facebook Hub
  • Choueiri Group Deep Dives
  • OMD Corner
  • LEAD with ABG
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
NEWSLETTER

Get a monthly round-up of Communicate's best insights

© 2020 communicateonline.me
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
icon
icon
icon
icon
icon
© 2020 communicateonline.me