The Twin Cities is fortunate to be a region with a large and diverse corporate landscape. It’s home to both Fortune 500s and a flourishing startup scene. As a result of that business ecosystem, Minneapolis has grown into one of the top creative cities in the country. Agencies are around every corner, but how do you go about choosing a digital marketing partner to work with? Find someone you like working with and watch out for the following red flags.

Making promises without asking questions

Communication is going to be the key of any agency-client relationship. This communication should start well before any projects kick-off. In early discovery meetings, your potential agency partner should be asking lots of questions. More importantly, they should be asking the right questions. Your agency should be the digital experts. That doesn’t mean they should assume they know everything—it means the agency should know which questions to ask to plan the right solution. If your potential agency is giving you a quote for a project without asking these questions, it’s very likely there will be scope problems further down the line costing you, the client, more money. Upfront communication will help get you to your goals faster and with less risk.

Not making digital marketing a priority

The creative agency industry is highly competitive, especially in Minneapolis. With this high-level of competition agencies are less likely to pass up on opportunities they’re given. This results in some agencies taking on projects that aren’t typically in their wheelhouse. It happens a lot with digital projects where traditional advertising agencies have recently realized that they need to provide digital services to stay relevant. But, while their name is recognizable and respected, their digital services might not be up to that same standard. If you’re looking for a digital partner, look for a marketing firm that specializes in digital. Just like you wouldn’t use Spyder Trap to design your billboard ads, don’t look to advertising agencies to build your website or provide search engine optimization.

Selling proprietary software

When you’re searching for a digital agency partner in Minneapolis, you’ll inevitably come across marketing firms touting proprietary software and platforms. Initially, it sounds great. It appears to be a great selling point, because if the company can make their own platform, they must be cutting edge and innovative. That might be true, but there are some downfalls to proprietary platforms that aren’t immediately evident. The most critical is that the client might have very little control over the end product. If your website is built on a proprietary content management system, you could lose access to your site’s code if you decide to leave the partnership. If you do keep access, it’s going to be harder [more costly] to find developers able to alter the code without going through a complete redesign. Spyder Trap prefers open source and easy-to-use platforms, but if you do choose a proprietary system make sure to ask the hard questions before entering the relationship.

Not having a robust in-house team

You finally found your perfect digital partner: they asked all of the right questions, have digital expertise, and only use open source platforms. But, after you’ve signed the statement of work, you find out the agency outsourced your project to an out-of-town development shop. It’s not uncommon in the agency world to sell in a project only to subcontract it out. It allows an agency to sell you on their reputation without actually having the capability in-house. When meeting with your agency team ask questions to determine who will be doing the work. Get a tour of the office and see the faces of the teams who might be working with you. Having a local in-house team can be a huge benefit to the client-agency relationship that you don’t want to miss out on.

Having a short-term focus

If an agency promises you something like the “number one ranking on Google within three weeks” run as fast as you can. It might be possible, but you’ll likely be sacrificing long-term success for those quick wins. Your ideal agency partner will be looking well beyond the initial project you’ve brought them. Not just to upsell you and make more money, but to provide you with a roadmap for long-term digital growth. You should be looking for a true partnership that you can easily come back to when you have additional digital needs. Always ask what your digital marketing partner would recommend next. You might not be ready to move on what’s next, but it’s a sign that your potential partner can think critically and is thinking more about your business than their own.

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