Mary Koenig, Author at James Ross Advertising

Hiring a New Digital Agency? Look for These 3 Things

Posted on by Mary Koenig

Hiring a digital marketing agency requires an investment from your marketing budget, but even more importantly there is a time commitment to find the right fit.

To save time, money and get the right relationship, consider these three things.

Visit a prospective agency’s site and look for up-to-date work with results. Make sure to look at the website on a phone and laptop. It should look great on both. Does the work resonate with you? Do you love some of the design and copywriting?

Set up an introductory call. During the call, the agency should interview you as much as you interview them. You should expect questions about your goals, budget, and industry trends.

Identify an initial project and expect to share critical information about your organization and industry. If it is a digital engagement, expect the agency to request log-in information to your analytics and social media accounts to understand how things are set up.

Keep reading to see in detail why these three things can be telling as you try to identify the right digital ad agency and get the advertising work you deserve.

Up-to-date Work

An agency with strong digital marketing credentials will have a website that showcases a variety of work including website development, mobile apps, video production and animation, social media campaigns and media buying. In addition to these tactics, check and see if the agency has experience with your target audience. For example, if you sell a luxury product, does the agency have experience marketing expensive products and services? Also, do the design and graphics of the site appeal to your taste? You should like and react to many of the campaigns, although some may not appeal since you may not be the target audience.

Two-way Interview

Experienced agencies know their sweet spots, meaning what types of clients they service well. Those sweet spots may be the size of the accounts, the type of projects or target audience. While almost all agencies have digital capabilities, some have deep experience in select areas, such as new site development, eCommerce or 360 video, to name just a few. So a good interview is critical to uncover if there is a match.

So what are some of the right topics in this two-way interview?

The prospective client should be prepared to discuss goals and timelines.
1. Every agency expects to jump in and work hard. However, some clients may be unrealistic. For example, a Client that wants immediate results, such as the number one ranking in the Google search engine may not understand the situation. No one has magic software or a buddy at Google that can deliver an automatic first-page ranking. If an agency is promising this, you have to look more deeply. Often if you rank on the first page right away, it may be for low competition keywords that won’t make any significant impact on increasing your leads/website traffic. Read more about the best practices of SEO here if you want to learn more.
Ask about compensation.
1. An agency should clearly explain how projects get estimated and billed. What are the service agreements? Good agencies will be very clear on this subject because they don’t want to disappoint. It is unrealistic to think the first job will be free. Both sides will need to commit time to the project, and an agency almost always spends more time than they are paid for, to ensure the first work meets the mark.
Discuss the team and skills needed on both the client and agency sides.
1. Based on goals, the client may need an agency with a strong video production skill set or numerous social media. A good agency will take the time to figure out the right staffing but it’s good to discuss it early. The interactions of the team are the most critical aspect of the relationship. There is an old saying, “The creativity brings clients in the door, but the account service keeps them.”

Share Critical Information, including Logins

Identify your first project and be prepared with relevant statistics and sales information. Bring what you have and if more is needed the agency will ask.

You might be really surprised by this next request. Most agencies will want to see your analytics and social media log-ins to see the data for themselves. They want to understand what you’ve done and how your digital marketing has performed. Your agency team will always want to see any prior reports and recommendations.

The subject of log-ins is a small but revealing topic.
Here’s a true story: the CEO of Wright IMC, a Dallas-based advertising agency, revealed that one of their new clients had a hiccup when they went to supply data. The client realized its former agency owned the login information to their Google Analytics account. After several calls to Google and unanswered phone calls from the former agency, it was clear there would be significant challenges for Wright IMC’s new client. They had signed a binding contract and handed off their login information. Mistakes happen, even big ones. It’s good to own the issue and then plan with the agency to avoid it in the future.

Why Just Three Topics?

There are certainly more than three things to look for as you begin a relationship with an agency, but these topics are some of the best ways to start the right conversations. The development and nurturing of this relationship through trust and progress will benefit you and your company for years to come.

Unboxing an Experience

Posted on by Mary Koenig

For most of us, unboxing is opening a package and just that. We don’t think about the subconscious effects the product packaging has on us.

As an entrepreneur, and especially one in e-commerce, packaging design is a crucial part of the buyer’s experience. It’s not just opening a package. It is an experience. They’re unboxing your brand’s identity and why they’re going to want to shop with you again. Here we’ll touch on a few unboxing secrets, how to give the best user experience once the package reaches the customer’s hands, and give a few examples of companies that are doing it right.

1. Tell a story

Think of your packaging as the home run, the last hoorah, and your final attempt to make a good impression. You want to leverage this phase of the buying process with your packaging design to ensure your customers know who you are and why they should shop with you again. A simple poly mailer or cardboard box isn’t going to cut it anymore. Here’s an example of a brand that tells a great brand story with each package:

Wild

Wild is a deodorant brand that prides itself in being sustainable, aluminum, and cruelty-free. Their message is clear from their packaging design: good for your skin and good for the environment. How is Wild doing this?

Simple statement of brand mission: “single-use plastic, aluminum, and cruelty-free”
Brief and clear directions
Includes social media handle and hashtag to encourage sharing
Functional yet sustainable product packaging that uses brand colors

2. Be responsible

It’s not enough to just put it in a pretty box; your product packaging must be sustainable. There’s no question; your consumer values sustainibilty and people will criticize brands that fail to be responsible for their environmental impacts. Here’s an example of a brand that gets its message across and uses sustainable packaging:

Pods and Parcel

This e-commerce company based in Australia sells high-quality Nespresso compatible coffee pods that pride themselves on being sustainable. Their brand story is as simple and effective as their packaging. Most importantly, it is sustainable, as noted on their box and inner packaging for each pod container; it is biodegradable and compostable.

3. The Importance of Integrity

It should go without saying that your product should show up to the customer’s house in one piece. No flaws, incorrect products in order, damaged packaging, etc. This is because 83% of people simply won’t go through the trouble of returning a product, especially if your returns process is complex. You’re then left with an unhappy customer who won’t repurchase and might even share their experience with friends and or social media. So how can you avoid this? Investing in a good customer and fulfillment service can be a game-changer in improving the quality of your shopping experience in terms of ensuring the careful and correct packaging of orders. In addition, investing in packaging for not only the shipping process but the product itself is important. An example of a company that does a great job of this is:

Seed

Seed is a premium probiotic company that sells its pills in a glass jar container and, not to mention, the shipping packaging is completely biodegradable. The icing on the cake? Their refills come in biodegradable packaging that the customer then uses to restock their glass jars. Clearly, we give an A+ to Seed. Their product packaging has integrity, provides an exciting unboxing experience, and aligns with their branding message.

Are you ready to take your product packaging to the next level? Contact us here at James Ross Advertising, and we’ll make sure your packaging design and messaging keep your customers coming back for more.

Read more about sustainable packaging alternatives here.

Author: Mary Koenig