In life, we often come across warning signs that, in retrospect, seem abundantly clear – kind of like giant billboards rather than subtle cues.
And discovering that you’ve partnered with the wrong inbound marketing agency is, unfortunately, no exception. Below we highlight the 4 key warning signs that it’s time to make a switch ASAP:
4 Reasons to Leave Your Current Inbound Marketing Agency:
1. There’s No Game Plan
If your inbound marketing partner is evasive, elusive or “fuzzy” when it comes to what they actually DO for you, then head for the near exit.
Your inbound marketing partner must provide you with a comprehensive and customized Game Plan, which covers a 12-month (though longer if appropriate) strategy for attracting, converting, closing and delighting all of your buyer personas (i.e. your ideal target audiences/markets).
What’s more, this Game Plan must be continuously evolved to exploit new opportunities, and make adjustments based on metrics, performance and your overall business growth (e.g. adding new offerings, targeting new markets, etc.).
2. There’s a Management Fee…but No Management
Most inbound marketing firms charge a management fee, which is fine. However, many of them don’t provide any real management – which is a giant STOP sign for you to heed.
Simply put, your inbound marketing partner must both commit, and have the proven expertise and capacity, to provide you with ongoing management. This includes evolving your Game Plan (as noted above), along with managing all other aspects of your campaigns as laid out in your agreement. This can include content development, social media marketing, SEO, lead generation, buyer persona development, and more.
So again: it’s perfectly OK to pay for management fees, provided that you’re actually getting them, and that they consistently add value and drive results.
3. There’s Little or No Reporting
There’s plenty not to like about inferior or sometimes outright illegitimate inbound marketing firms, but this one probably bothers us more than anything else on this list: when they offer little or no reporting.
What’s really happening here, is that some inbound marketing companies hope that their clients (a.k.a. you) really don’t care about what’s going on. And so they sprinkle some buzzwords or throw some statistics at you every now and then. Why? Because time is money, and the less time they spend on your account, the more money they make.
It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that your inbound marketing partner must not only provide you with ongoing reports, but they must be proactive and enthusiastic about this. No, this doesn’t mean they should drill you with pages and pages of data – you have a business to run, and would prefer to be awake while running it. But it does mean that they must provide you with regular, as-scheduled executive reports, and be open to answering your questions.
Credible inbound marketing firms know that educated clients are the best clients, and frankly don’t want any other kind.
4. The Content Isn’t Quality and/or Original
If the lifeblood of your business is cash flow, then the lifeblood of your inbound marketing is content. That’s not to say that other pieces – such as automated systems and platforms – aren’t vital; because they certainly are. But content is the means by which your business communicates with and engages your buyer personas.
However, if your inbound marketing partner isn’t giving you a steady stream of quality AND original content (i.e. content that is solely created for your business and isn’t published elsewhere, regardless of if it’s indexed by search engines or not), then don’t just walk away: run! You’ll be cutting your losses, and saving yourself a great deal of money and effort down the road.
Remember: you both need and frankly deserve quality, original content. Otherwise, instead of working for your business, your content will work against it…and for your competition.
The Bottom Line
If any – or perhaps all – of these warning signs are evident in the relationship with your current inbound marketing partner, then be assured you aren’t alone. It’s more common than you think. In fact, it’s the norm. And sometimes, it’s not even by design. Many so-called inbound marketing firms don’t know what they’re doing — and they won’t be doing it in a few months or a year at the most – trust us, we’ve seen them come and go.
Our next piece of advice is simple and much more positive: contact Leap Clixx today. We’ll provide you with insights to help you get back on track. Your consultation with us is 100% free, and we guarantee that you’ll learn something that you can immediately apply to improve your inbound marketing results.
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