Is Your Email Marketing Agency a Good Fit?

Many people are unfamiliar with the ways in which their choice of email marketing agency may differ from another’s. There are actually many points of difference that help some companies stand above others as superior options. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself when choosing the email marketing consultant that will represent your company.

Remember, you plan on entrusting this person or agency with one of your principle methods of customer and prospect outreach. Don’t take the decision lightly.

What’s their track record? An email marketing agency that has been successfully completing campaigns and performing valuable services for their clients will prominently display their track record of success. Generic testimonials are fine, but what you really want to see is the hard data that shows, for example, that Company Y saw a 50% increase in conversions after switching to their new email marketing consultant. Good companies have good track records, and they display them proudly.

What’s their reputation? Of course you want to choose an email marketing agency that delivers results. But choosing one that puts success above legality – or morality – is shortsighted and could end up hurting your organization’s credibility, and even landing you in hot water with the government. Make sure the company you choose has a reputation for keeping up with industry standards, laws and best practices.

Have they completed any whitepapers or research? I should preface this by saying that not all successful and reputable companies take the time to create and distribute whitepapers or research projects. However, companies that do take the time to do so clearly show an attention to detail and an experience level that others might not have. Browse around for any thorough, published documents released by the consultant you’re checking out to give you a better idea of their expertise.

Will they be committed to you? Sometimes the best email marketing agency in the world is a little bit too popular for its own good. With a client list that resembles the phone book, how can you be sure your campaign is going to get the level of attention and the amount of time that it deserves? There’s of course nothing wrong with having a huge repertoire of clients, but you will want to make sure that any consultant you choose has the staff in place to handle your email campaign with care.

How much do they cost? Last but certainly not least, you have to figure out if the price they are charging is worth the services you are receiving. I wish I could provide a general price range that could serve as a guide to see if their fees are fair. However, what one email marketing agency charges for a campaign another charges for an hour of work. Additionally, you may only require a portion of the services that another company requests.

Ultimately, the money you end up paying has to be worth it or you. That means considering the results the agency provides, the time and hassle the agency saves you and so forth. Nobody else can tell you what’s too much or too little to pay.

If you’ve asked yourself these 5 questions, you may have a better idea of whether or not the email marketing consultant you have been using, or considering using, is a good fit for your company. The perfect email marketing agency for one company isn’t necessarily the perfect agency for yours, so do your homework and keep these questions in mind.

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