There are literally limitless ways to market a business online. 

Large companies have a team of people dedicated to their website, another team for their social media, and yet another for email. They have teams dedicated to checking and double-checking pages before they’re launched. They have teams dedicated to managing their ecommerce presence. They plan months, and sometimes years in advance.

And yet even major companies have pages that load incorrectly, shopping carts that don’t work properly, typos and grammar errors, emails sent to the wrong people, and social media that misses the mark.

This stuff can be incredibly complicated. And that can make it hard to tell if you’ve found a solid digital marketing agency or freelancer.

 

I feel the same way walking into the car mechanic’s shop. 

I honestly understand little about how the car I drive works.

So when I take it in for an oil change and then I’m confronted with a long list of fixes that “should” be done, I am instantly suspect. 

That was until I went to a mechanic who gave me that list and then guided me through it. 

He explained which items were nice to do… but not really needed. Which items were likely to prevent long-term problems and worth investing in if I had the money. And finally, which items that I really should do if I wanted to be safe in my car. And he took the time to explain all that in layman’s terms.

Needless to say, I became his loyal customer.

That’s the kind of help you ultimately want to find for your digital marketing. Someone who will tell you what you need and what you don’t, based on their years of experience. 

 

So find a digital marketer you trust. 

And ask questions. Your agency or freelancer should welcome them. Because sometimes what seems like a small fix may take longer than you expect. And you have a right to understand why.

Going back to that mechanic example, I remember one simple repair that was going to cost me a few thousand dollars. The mechanic even told me it was a quick, easy repair.

So why does a “quick, easy fix” cost thousands? Well, he explained that, in order to reach the part that needed to be fixed, he had to remove the entire engine… and then put it all back together again.

(This mechanic I didn’t know well. So I Googled it — it was true.)

This was a problem created by the car’s manufacturer — not the mechanic. But it was easy to be angry at the mechanic for the issue and overlook that it was not his fault and that he took the time to explain that to me.

So ask questions. And keep asking them until you fully understand the challenges you and your marketing partner are facing. From there, you can work together toward solutions that make the most sense for your business overall.

One more tip! 

 

You hired a marketing partner for the same reason you hired that mechanic. 

You wanted an expert handling the job. Looking out for you. And offering their best advice. Be sure your digital marketing agency knows that you want it. 

Encourage them to tell you when they disagree with something you’re requesting. This keeps lines of communication open and provides opportunities to strengthen your partnership and your marketing knowledge.

Making use of their expertise also helps to prioritize those “need to do” items for guaranteeing your business success.