How to negotiate a quote with a digital marketing agency.
When partnering with a digital marketing agency, finding the right one for you isn't the last step. After you've reached out to your preferred agency, there are a few more steps to take before you can formally begin developing a digital marketing strategy for your business. You need to draft a contract that outlines payment terms, irons out the legalities, and clarifies the scope and duration of the service. Some negotiations could be resolved in a single meeting, but it is not unusual for the contract between the company and the agency to bounce around several times before an agreement is reached. It may sound daunting, but this article offers advice on what you can do to make negotiations go smoothly.
Why should you work with an agency?
Before anything else, let's discuss why you would want to hire a digital marketing agency. Why not just hire your digital marketing team. While it's true that having your team in a company offers many advantages, from confidentiality to ease of communication, it also comes with many disadvantages. First, it takes a long time to hire an entire team. You have to post a job, wait for applicants to come in, screen them, invite qualified candidates for interviews, for every position you plan to fill. This entire experience can take months to a year. Moreover, it is also more expensive. You must pay wages and benefits to all of your employees. You also need to consider the equipment and office space they will be using. While it's true that you'll eventually see a return on investment, you'll have to pay a significant upfront cost to get into the game.
Meanwhile, when you decide to hire a digital marketing agency, you avoid all the hassles and costs of hiring a team from scratch. Most digital marketing agencies already have the necessary skills and equipment under their roof to provide you with all the services you need to execute your envisioned digital marketing strategy. Their terms of employment are also final, meaning that once they've fulfilled their contract, you don't have to pay anymore. Meanwhile, you can't fire your digital marketing team once they've completed their tasks.
What are the terms of negotiation with a digital marketing agency?
Once you enter into negotiations with a digital marketing agency, there are several things to consider.
1- Their service fee.
Different agencies offer their services at different prices, and it does not always mean that a cheaper service fee equals a poor service. Sometimes newer agencies offer excellent work but undervalue their services to make it easier to build a client base. If you're on a budget, this limits your options to agencies in that range. You can still try to approach more expensive agencies and negotiate a lower fee, but you also need to be reasonable when doing so. You can't expect to get bargain prices from an agency that works with Fortune 500 companies. Good work deserves good pay, and you should respect the agency's prices as much as possible.
2- Their portfolio.
At this point, you may already have some idea of what they can do, but meeting them in person allows them to showcase their skills better. Ask about their portfolio and let them explain the scope of their services. They can also show you their comprehensive client history, and it will be a great asset if they have worked with companies in the same industry as you. This is because each industry has different consumer bases and therefore requires different marketing strategies. If they have experience in your niche, they may already have a proven marketing strategy that just needs a few tweaks to make it a good fit for your company.
After this initial meeting, reach out to your previous clients in person. It goes without saying that they will portray themselves in the best possible light during a meeting with a client, and previous clients may be more honest in their words. Ask previous clients if they have any complaints or if they encountered any major problems while working with this agency. It is important to get all perspectives to make a more informed decision.
3- Length and scope of their work.
You need to be clear about what results you expect and how long you can get them. If you have done your due diligence, you can stumble upon illegitimate agencies here. Depending on the strategy, you can expect visible results in a day, but if they make overzealous promises like number one on Google in a week, it's a sign that you should be wary of them. A legitimate and experienced digital marketing agency can give you an estimated timeline based on the work they have done with previous clients. They are also more honest about whether your desired outcome is realistic.
This is also an opportunity that you can negotiate for a long-term partnership. Agencies are often more willing to offer discounts if you work together for a long time. If you are confident about the digital marketing agency you have chosen and think it is the perfect choice for you, you can entrust them to handle your digital marketing strategy for the foreseeable future. This benefits you because it allows for a more fruitful relationship between you and the agency, which translates directly into increased trust and productivity.
4- Any confidentiality or security concerns.
If your company handles sensitive information, or if you're concerned about the privacy of your users, ask them at the outset how they can ensure data privacy. Often the biggest concern when working with a third-party agency is the increased risk of leaks, so good agencies will have safeguards in place to protect clients and their users. If the agency you're talking to doesn't have any such measures in place, that's another red flag to keep in mind.
5- Your duty as a client.
Formulating a digital marketing strategy is not something that happens exclusively on the agency side. They may also need certain information or documents from you, be it data from previous digital marketing campaigns, consumer profiles, website and social media access, analytics, etc. Make sure you know exactly what your responsibilities are so that you know what are you going for. If they ask you for sensitive information that you do not wish to disclose, you should discuss this immediately.
6- Terms and Conditions.
A contract is an important document that protects both parties from unfortunate circumstances. The contract should determine the situations and what actions are legally permissible under those circumstances. For example, if the agency does not fulfill its obligations, the company can terminate the partnership without notice or press fees. Things like intellectual property rights should be clarified in the contract to avoid messy ownership disputes. The agency also has the right to include safeguards that allow them to seek restitution if the company fails to pay them what is due or prevents the company from terminating their partnership for unreasonable reasons. There should also be a clause in the contract for excusable delays due to acts of God and circumstances beyond our control.
By entering the negotiating table prepared, you are in a better negotiating position. Do your due diligence and research thoroughly, so you can ask the right questions and spot red flags early. If you're not careful, you can end up tying yourself to an agency that can become more of a liability than an asset to your company. Work closely with your lawyer to advise you on unfair clauses and unbalanced terms.
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