For many growing brands and online stores, there comes a time when you would consider hiring a performance agency. There can be many reasons why you would do this, the most common one being a more hands-off approach.
This does not mean that you’re forgetting about your business. Rather, it means that you get experts to handle a lot of time-consuming work.
As a performance agency, we have had many different types of clients all with different goals.
The key is to find the right performance agency for your brand, to ensure a successful long-term partnership.
Often, performance agencies will oversell what they’re able to do for you. Or, they might even not know how to market your brand properly at all.
This leaves you with cash down the drain in search of another agency. At worst, it can end up ruining your business altogether.
For this reason, it’s important to know what to look for when choosing a performance agency.
How to choose a performance agency
Know your goals and expectations
While you may not be an expert-level marketer, you should still have experience with Facebook, Instagram, email and the like.
This can be in its simplest form, but if you have some awareness, it gives you an indication of your goals.
Having a general idea of ROAS and MER targets can be a good way to set goals for the agency you’re considering. As a result, you’ll know if they’re overselling you and setting expectations too high.
Any performance agency worth its salt will be able to give you realistic targets based on your current performance. So, if what they’re telling you doesn’t sound realistic it’s a red flag.
It’s also good to know these things so you know when they report back. Today, there are enough (free) resources out there to give you some understanding. In that way, you’ll be able to communicate properly with the agency from the off.
Do your research
The top performance agencies will all have social proof backing up their claims.
What does this mean?
Online resources on their site such as case studies (link), blogs and testimonials.
By doing some reading, you’ll not only learn more about marketing, but if the agency is the right fit. You’ll get to know the types of brands they work with and the results they’ve achieved.
Demand transparency
This may go without saying, but transparency is key. Much like spelling out your goals and KPIs, the performance agency should deliver these to you regularly.
This means weekly or monthly reports and calls, and action plans on ongoing strategies for the next quarter.
It’s all very well if your performance agency hits targets in the beginning. However, this could be due to a variety of factors. The real test comes after, when achieving consistent growth over time.
Performance agency, the brand and innovation
Innovation is everywhere. Especially in the online store.
Today, brands are experimenting with virtual reality and augmented reality, live shopping and NFTs.
Maybe some of these suit your brand, maybe the don’t.
The key point is that your performance agency is your team of experts in their field. No one should know what’s going on in the world of marketing better than they do.
For this reason, you should always find it easy to discuss new innovations or platforms such as TikTok to break into.
In conclusion, finding the right performance agency is tough. However, doing your due diligence beforehand will ensure you get a team of passionate experts. What you really want are people who care about your brand just as much as you do.
If you’re looking for a performance agency like that, then book a call with us today and see what we can do for you.
