Watch out (Marketing Agency rip off truths)

Some of the worst digital marketing agency rip-offs I've seen: Full payment made up-front for a website, only for the agency to stop returning calls. One of the highest-profile and well-respected UK SEO agencies doing no work each month for a client. I mean zero. Just sending out an automated report from Majestic SEO. A freelancer taking on a website project, knowing that they don't even have the skills to finish, but banking the partial payments along the way. People 'saving money' by using a friend. We tend to choose friends for their personalities and common interests, not their digital marketing ability At some point, every growth-hungry business needs help with their digital marketing. But choosing that help can be a minefield. Even though I run an agency, I recognise that we're not right for everyone so my advice isn't "always choose Exposure Ninja". Instead, here are my tips for choosing digital marketing help:

Tip 1: Make sure you know exactly what you're getting. Particularly with SEO where rankings can take time, there have to be other 'signs of life'. The agency should be able to detail exactly what they're going to do, each month, and be able to show you work logs if requested. Tip 2: Expensive doesn't always mean good (but cheap always means bad). If a company is charging silly low money, one of two things must be true: They are either unable to command good fees (because they suck) They are doing little/no work. What's "silly low" money? SEO below £600/month is silly. PPC under £200/month management fees is silly. But also be cautious of the ones that appear 'Reassuringly expensive'. A Soho office, table football and VR room adds a lot to fees without making a jot of difference to the service they offer. Tip 3: What happens if something goes wrong? Every EN client has my personal mobile number. Why? Firstly, they know that if they have a problem, I want to fix it. Secondly, the Ninjas working on the campaign know that if they don't keep our clients happy, that client is going to call the Head Ninja. Uh ohhhhhh. "Surely it's a nightmare getting all those calls?" The reality is that I get very few calls from upset clients. Does it happen? Yes. It's not possible to work on this many campaigns, with this many businesses, at the cutting edge of something like digital marketing and not have occasional misunderstandings or missed deadlines. But the important thing is that everyone knows that we talk about what happened, fix any issues, and repair the processes that led to the issue in the first place. Every freakin' time. Ever experienced buying something that went wrong, and initially being frustrated? But the company worked so hard to get it solved for you that you ended up looking at them more favourably than before? Yes! Of course! So know what the process is should something not go as you expect. Are you tied into a long contract? Who will you be able to talk to? Are there hefty disconnection fees? Anyway, this isn't a pitch for our services at all. I just wanted to share some 'minefield navigation' thoughts.

Tim Cameron-Kitchen Head Ninja Exposure Ninja tim@exposureninja.com exposure.ninja/free-marketing-consultation

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