Choose Your own adventure
Choosing a digital agency
By “digital agency” I, of course mean website design, digital marketing, hosting, ppc, etc etc etc. One thing I truly believe in is that your digital agency should be … just that … a full service stop.
Success depends on many factors including communication. Having to sync your goals & objectives with different hosting, website designers, and digital marketing companies can be a bit too much.
You can look at this article as a modern version of “choose your own adventure.” The great children’s books that helped illustrate consequence simply by making a different decision at one point in time and how each would play out.
Choose Your Own Adventure
Ok. Here’s a short version of how it could go. Little Billy has a small business he just started called Sour Smart. Sour Smart is a lemonade delivery business operated by dispatched bicycle and tricycle delivery kids. Billy needs a website.
Option I: Choose a digital agency that has a slick talking sales girl but.. Has an ok website although it’s a little rough and hard to read and lacks a portfolio. They also are vague and nebulous on how he will achieve success with Google but promise him he’ll be in the first page organically at the top in no time. Billy really likes the top of page Google promise and slick girl.
Option II: Choose a digital agency that has a slick website, no pressure sales and an incredible portfolio.
Here are the results:
Billy choosing Option I: Billy shakes hands with the slick sales girl and puts down his deposit. The slick girl forgot to tell him that the hosting isn’t done by them but they can set them up with GFY Hosting Inc. GFY stands for Go F*ck Yourself but Billy isn’t worried because the girl promises all sorts of stuff including unlimited support!
Month 3: 2.5 months past the due date and several arguments later where GFY and Option I Agency each blamed each other the website is done… sort of. Billy thought it would be a slick looking WordPress or Bootstrap technology site he read about but it looks like some sort of template wizard site a 12 year-old could create like WIX. It’s slow, has a bunch of stock creepy photo’s of strange people serving lemonade and some guy glad handing people with a briefcase?!
Month 5: Billy’s Google Ads campaign gets clicks but nobody calls him for fills out the generic, obscure form that only says contact us for more information on it. He’s wasting money and he doesn’t even rank on page 3 organically and is about 15th in Google Local Places under a bunch of lemonade stands and some septic tank company.
Month 7: Billy is out of business and is grounded from TV, his computer, and bike for 3 months.
Option II: Billy goes with the strong portfolio company that doesn’t pressure him with a slick talking sales person. They do it all including hosting as well.
Month 2: Billy’s website is so stunning, fast, and personalized to his business and vision he shares it with his parents who, for the first time, tell him it looks like he’s growing up into a fine young Adult.
Month 3: Billy is pleasantly surprised by how his business has increased 5x, his Google Ads ROI is 3 to 1, and he’s starting to rank in the first page with Google Local Places and already at the top of the 2nd page with Google Organically. Billy is glad that Option 2 Agency didn’t over promise and actually set expectations low and delivered high. Wow.
Month 7: Billy has to hire an HR manager because he is struggling to manage all the new people he had to hire to help him with his business.
design - hosting - marketing
Digital Agency
Make sure that whoever you choose can do it all in house and doesn’t sub-contract out or require you to juggle between multiple companies.
Multiple companies equals delays and you being put in the middle of each side blaming the other.
In today’s competitive and more complex digital agency world it becomes imperative that an agency can control their environment.
Show me - show me
portfolio required
So you are talking to an agency that has no website design portfolio? No websites or videos to show?
What?! They tell you they are too busy to finish their website because … you know… it’s always the plumbers toilet that is fixed last…
Don’t nod your head when you hear the excuses and notice that their website sucks. Hang up and stop wasting your time with half-assers.
competence - capable
Rank number one
When it’s final planning time and we are ready to get a deposit to start work we make it clear ranking takes a while.
Our customers that run their business with patience and understand this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon ultimately dominate their market with our help.
Instant success in Google rankings doesn’t happen. Usually expect 6-12 months or so for things to get cranking.