What Is A Full-Service Digital Agency?
The best full-service digital agencies combine experts from:
- Branding.
- Design.
- Technology.
- Marketing.
- Global industries.
75% of small business owners find Internet marketing to be “effective” or “very effective” in growing their business.
How Do I Choose A Digital Agency?
Discover An Agency’s Strengths
Although the best digital agencies have a wide variety of expertise, no one is an expert in everything. Determine what those primary strengths are and determine if they line up with your project or initiatives.
Look at their portfolio, case studies and clientele and examine the work that they have done for them. Be sure to ask them which areas of a project succeeded and why.
Plus, a top digital agency doesn’t necessarily need experience in your specific industry. They simply need to demonstrate prior experience solving business growth problems that are similar to your objectives.
Understand How They Attain Results
The top digital agencies have high success rates with clients because they place a strong emphasis on a consistent and reliable process.
Since 46% of employees rarely or never leave a meeting knowing what their next steps are, this organized process is imperative.
Take the time to learn how an agency plans to create a roadmap to success, ensure deliverables are completed on time, determine key performance indicators, and ultimately provide a return on investment.
Create A Fair & Secure Contract
Work with your legal department or applicable representative to draft (or oversee) a fair, legally-binding document.
It should outline important information such as the project’s time frame, any applicable deliverables, who your team members and point of contact will be, and what information is under non-disclosure.
What Does A Digital Creative Agency Do?
Top Digital Agencies Manage Branding & Logo Design
Creative digital agencies can manage:
- Logo design.
- Business or product naming.
- Branding and rebranding campaigns.
- Key brand messaging, such as mission statements and core values.
- Creating brand books to maintain a consistent identity.
- Rolling out new brand identities to the public.
- Corporate identities.
- And more!
Allowing a full service digital agency to manage your entire brand identity will result in long-term benefits. For instance, consistent branding across all channels can increase revenue by up to 23%.
Top Digital Agencies Create Personalized Marketing & Advertising Strategies
Top digital companies can create a comprehensive marketing strategy.
These strategies include:
- SEO optimization.
- Social media marketing.
- Display advertising.
- Content marketing.
- Email marketing.
- Paid search.
- Pay-per-click ads.
- Experiential marketing campaigns.
- Customer service.
- Community management.
- And more!
The Best Digital Agencies Build Custom Websites, Mobile Apps & Platforms
Leading full service digital agencies offer start-to-finish custom website design, such as:
- Strategy.
- Information architecture.
- Design.
- Development.
- Post-launch support.
In addition, digital firms offer custom mobile app development. This includes a process of:
- Strategy.
- Prototyping.
- Design.
- Development.
- QA testing.
- Maintenance.
38% of users will stop engaging with a website if the layout and design are unattractive.
Thus, a functional custom website is imperative to business growth.
10 Questions To Ask A Digital Agency Before You Hire Them
Before you hire a top digital agency, ask targeted questions to unequivocally prove whether or not they have a success story that directly speaks to your needs as a business.
- Who will be working on our project and what is their personal expertise?
- Who will our point of contact be at the digital agency?
- What clients have you worked with and what services did you provide?
- What is your process for determining a roadmap, deliverables, and a progressive yet achievable timeline?
- How will you determine the goals of the project?
- How will the goals be measured (traffic, conversions, SEO ranking, revenue, etc.) and how often will you report results?
- What tools, tactics or strategies will you utilize to reach our target goals?
- Is the project a flat rate cost or by the hour?
- What deliverables are included in the cost of the project?
- Does the pricing include meetings and phone calls to touch base on the project’s progress and questions?
How Much Does A Digital Agency Cost?
Digital agencies can invoice in a few different ways. These include:
- Hourly rates
- Per-project
- Results-based fees
- Monthly retainers
An hourly rate is the most common way that a digital creative agency will charge a client. Essentially, you will be paying an hourly fee for every person and every hour spent on your account or project.
Typically, United States digital agencies charge about $125-$200+ per hour.
Meanwhile, creative digital agencies in Eastern Europe can cost between $35-$75 per hour.
Per-project invoices are often determined by hourly rates. Agencies simply divide each project they are working on for you into its own dedicated invoice.
A results-based fee is contingent upon achieving a specific goal, objective or key performance indicator.
And finally, monthly retainers are typically flat fees that allow you to work with digital agencies on more of a consultation basis.
Monthly retainer fees from US-based digital agencies can run from $500 to $5000 or more, depending on the projects you will be working on.
How To Know If A Digital Agency Is Right For Your Business
Ultimately, the best digital agency for your business is the one that has the expertise and qualifications to help you achieve your goals in a timely manner.
The right digital agency will have:
- The ability to understand your brand inside and out
- Experience solving similar business problems
- Creative and technical expertise
- Successful case studies and portfolios
- Clear transparency and a roadmap to success
- The ability to deliver a return on investment within your budget
When you find a firm that checks all of those items, you’ve likely found the top digital agency that can grow your brand effectively.
To find the best digital agency for your brand, explore DesignRush's comprehensive list of digital agencies above.
