5 Tough (But Necessary) Questions To Answer When Hiring A White Label Agency
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
White label agencies are like the white knights of digital marketing agencies. They come to your rescue when you need them most, enabling you to grow your business and deliver those large-scale projects with higher execution needs.
But choosing a credible agency that offers value is key.
When hiring a white label agency, it’s important to do your homework and evaluate the best fit for your business, based on your agency’s needs, culture, and scope of work.
Here are some important questions that can help make an informed decision.
How Credible Is The Agency?
When scouting for a white label agency, it’s important to differentiate the fly-by-night operators from agencies with legit expertise and a proven track record. Start by understanding the background of the founders, the make-up of their teams, as well as the body of work they have done so far.
A well-rounded white label agency has a mix of professionals who bring multiple skill-sets to the table. They might comprise Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X professionals who have experienced the Internet through the ages and combine fresh ideas, intuition, and experience, to deliver stellar results.
Watch out for red flags. For instance, signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement is a best practice. But if the agency is constantly naming clients and sharing case studies with the names of the client, this can indicate a lack of discretion, because confidentiality is a core USP of white label agencies. Fudging results is another red flag.
Observing how they navigate this when pitching for new business offers an insight into their credibility and trustworthiness. Trust is a major currency for successful white label agencies.
Can The Agency Support Your Business Outcomes?
Often businesses do not understand how to align marketing and communication strategies with business outcomes. For instance, sometimes a business will focus all their efforts on content marketing initiatives, often, investing a large budget on it. Yet, this approach does not translate into the expected business projections.
It’s important that the agency understands your business objectives and offers solutions that align with these. Being able to partner with your business in a way where the white label agency can offer feedback and advice on strategy as well as execution is a package deal.
Some agencies offer just one or two services, such as SEO or PPC. It’s advisable to opt for a white label agency that offers the full gamut of digital services. This allows you to outsource work to just one agency, enabling them to serve you in a holistic way.
Engaging multiple agencies is a hassle and comes at a higher cost in the long-term.
Can The Agency Deliver Value For Your Budget?
In the space of two years, the number of white label agencies has shot up, and there are many agencies vying for the same market, some trying to undercut others with low price points.
However, cheap is not necessarily good. It’s important to identify the sweet spot between value and price and then set your budgets for any project.
A good agency understands its worth. At the same time, it does not have a generic approach to every client and project. They may offer costing options based on your need and budgets.
When making the final decision, you can shortlist two or three agencies, which fall in your budget and choose the one which offers the most tangible and intangible value.
What’s Their Approach To Managing Projects?
It’s important to understand how the agency manages every project end-to-end – right from scoping the work and execution, to reporting and analyzing the results.
Ask them to walk you through this aspect in detail. Confirm whether a one-point contact will be appointed to share specific updates at predetermined schedules. Understand the reporting metrics used to determine success, as well as in what format reporting will be done.
Some agencies offer you a dashboard to check the progress made. A professional agency also factors in aspects like timelines for client feedback, so that delay in client approvals do not delay the projects.
The agency’s ability to also offer feedback on a client’s suggestions without being bullied into submission or pandering is important. Typically, the caliber of the agency’s team members usually determines its ability to navigate client relations, mindfully while being firm.
In turn, clients need to view a white label agency as a partner for the best results.
Is The Agency Updated On The Latest Trends?
Digital, mobile, and social media trends evolve every second. Google and Bing’s algorithms keep changing to stay ahead of potential SEO manipulation. With more and more people coming online every day, the pace will only increase.
The best digital professionals eat, breathe, and sleep the Internet. It’s a part of their DNA, and this enables them to stay on top of the latest tools, algorithm changes, and social media innovations to deliver the best results to their clients.
When hiring an agency, it’s a good idea to have a sit-down with the team to be assigned to your project. Get an expert from your company to quiz them on the latest trends. Also, evaluate the depth with which they navigate these trends.
It’s important to stay focused on the larger picture and not use gimmicks that enable short-term gains but often do long-term damage to brands and their digital legacy.
Set The Right Expectations
As a digital marketing agency, you are used to dealing with clients. But with a white label agency, you are the client. Leveraging this experience, make sure to set the right expectations. For example, what happens if your client demands additional changes – how does this impact your budget with your white label agency on record?
It’s also important to establish the right margins with your clients and take hygiene steps like signing an NDA with your agency.
Ultimately if you navigate these factors right, engaging the right white label agency can help you grow your business at a fast pace and become wildly profitable in the long term.