Have you ever had a bad experience with a marketing agency?
I've just come from the office where I had an interesting conversation with the owner of a signage business where they were telling me about how they'd been ripped off by two marketing companies consecutively.Now, I have been in the industry for 15 years so I've met other people who work in marketing agencies, own marketing agencies, and run marketing agencies. Very few, if any, people are actively dishonest in this sector. These individuals are knowledgeable, professional and well-meaning. So, why is it that there are so many small business owners who end up feeling like they've had a really bad experience?
It comes down to two things: expectations and communication.
At times, marketing agencies find it difficult to get clients so they will overpromise, painting a picture in order to get sales. This is counterproductive and it’s something which has real long-term problem for the industry.
Then the second issue, and probably the biggest single aspect, is simply communication. With the signage company that I mentioned previously, the owner was telling me about search engine optimisation (SEO) work that had been done on the website. He was also unhappy about some keyword choices that had been chosen in terms of their Google advertising.
In the above example, it sounded as if the marketing agency were undertaking legitimate SEO activity. Many business owners don't necessarily know a lot about marketing, and particularly, when it comes to digital marketing. Therefore, it's easy to think that you've had the wool pulled over your eyes and that someone has ripped you off. In most instances, that's just not the case - it was someone trying to do the right thing. However, the agency was either not communicating their actions well or not setting expectations properly. It may have been that they were doing something that they believed was right but ultimately, it wasn't the right thing to do. Nonetheless, most of the cases that I come across, marketing agencies by and large do their best.
It is not always that the marketing agency that you chose wasn’t the best fit for your particular company, but it doesn't necessarily mean they’ve ripped you off either.
JDR Group is always upfront and transparent on how we can help your marketing efforts. We are always on hand to support you with your business. Call us today and see what we can do for you.
Image source: Pixabay
