5 Questions to Ask Your Marketing Partner

When it comes to determining the right marketing partner for your business, you probably have a long list of questions and requirements – as well as some concerns.   

You want to make sure your marketing partner is experienced, understands your business and your unique goals, and can back up what they’re saying with real results.  

But how can you really find out if they’re a fit for your business and that your marketing investment is safe?  

Here are five questions that just might help.

1. How do you measure success? 

When you’re investing in your marketing, you want to make sure that you and your marketing partner are aligned on what you’re hoping to accomplish and what a successful campaign would look like to you. If your main goal for marketing is to get more leads, but your marketing partner is focused on metrics that show an increase in brand awareness, you might not be a good fit.  

It’s also important to know that your marketing partner understands which metrics are important to measure. They might promise you a first page rank on Google or a million clicks on your pay per click ads, which sounds great – but in reality, those metrics don’t measure the success of a campaign. You want to look for a partner that understands the nuances of how search engines work – and how a first page rank on a rank report is no longer a good indicator of SEO success. And you want to make sure your marketing partner is focused more on what’s driving leads rather than just sending clicks to your site. 

2. How will I get my reporting? 

One thing that many business owners and marketers dislike about their marketing partners is that they don’t have a simple way to see how their campaigns are performing or what leads are coming in. You don’t want to wait for a monthly reporting call to get your information – especially if you have to answer to stakeholders who want to see numbers at the drop of a hat. You want to feel in control of your results and get a clear picture of how your marketing is performing day or night.  

It’s important to look for a marketing partner that has a reporting platform or dashboard you can access to get valuable information about your marketing campaigns when you need them. This doesn’t mean you don’t still want those reporting calls to make sense of the data, but you do want to have transparency in your reporting. 

3. What makes you different from other marketing companies? 

Let’s be honest, marketing companies are a dime a dozen nowadays – you probably get calls from them all the time. There are boutique agencies, vertical-specific agencies, local agencies, and more. So, you want to understand what makes your marketing partner stand out. Do they have unique access to data and insights? Are they innovating in the marketing space?  

A good marketing partner will be able to articulate what sets them apart – just like you can probably name what makes you different than your top competitors.   

4. Will I have direct access to support for my campaigns? 

When you’re investing with a marketing partner, you want to know that someone’s there to answer your questions, provide support, and troubleshoot when needed. Rather than work with a partner that sets and forgets your marketing campaigns, you want your partner to invest in your success by constantly working on your campaigns and by being available to check in when needed.  

Look for a marketing partner that gives you access to a point of contact you can reach out to when you need support. And – even better if that single point of contact has a team of experts working behind them to help your business reach its goals. Ask if they optimize campaigns and how often. See if they can provide you with updates they made along the way so you know that your campaign is getting the attention it deserves. 

5. Can you run all my marketing for me? And if so, how do you know which solutions to suggest?    

There’s nothing worse than working with multiple partners for the same thing. Many business owners and marketers work with up to eight different marketing partners. That means you have to learn many different business processes, work with a ton of different account managers, and compile your reporting from different systems with varying methods of measuring success. It’s a mess.  

Instead, you can look for a marketing partner that can take care of all your marketing for you – including branding, creative, and production. This takes a lot of work off your plate, streamlines your communication, and creates a cohesive marketing strategy across all channels and platforms. 

If your marketing partner has the capabilities to run all your marketing, ask them how they determine the right marketing mix for your business. You want them to look at data and insights based on your industry, location, and customers as well as have access to technology that allows them to identify areas for improvement in your current strategy.  

Searching for the right marketing partner can be stressful. At LOCALiQ, we want to simplify marketing and help you reach your goals. We can run all your marketing for you – from print to digital as well as your creative – and we give you access to experts, reporting, and tracking tools so you can feel in control and on top of your marketing every step of the way. Ready to get started? Reach out today! 

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