Are you thinking of hiring one of the many ad agencies in Philadelphia to help you to market your business? Chances are you’ve already got an extensive list of questions you want to ask to help you narrow your choices down. Advertising is essential for helping to spread word about your business; however, it is still an investment and like any investment, it takes time to choose the agency that is right for you. Sure, you might know to ask the essentials such as what services are offered and how much they cost, but have you thought about the less obvious questions? Here are 5 unusual questions you MUST ask before making the decision to hire a Philadelphia ad agency.
1. How many clients do you currently have? It’s important to ask how many clients an ad agency has but don’t let them fool you with their answer. Of course, you’ll want to hear that they have a fair amount of clients. This will tell you that they must be great at what they do and in high-demand. However, keep in mind that the more clients an ad agency has the less time they have to spend on you. Fewer clients could mean more time, attention, and dedication to those clients that they do have. When you ask how many clients an agency has, don’t be afraid to ask them why they have so many or so few. It will be an unexpected question and the way the sales rep answers could say a lot about the company.
2. How many employees do you have working for you? How are they trained? This goes in line with asking about how many clients the agency has and you’ll want to ask this question after you know how many clients an agency has. For example, if the agency says they have 100 clients and 50 employees, you may be able to assume that that means 2 clients per employee, a pretty good number that would ensure that employees aren’t swamped with countless clients and too busy to give your business the attention it deserves. However, you’ll want to take this question a step further, too. Ask about how the employees are trained. Is each employee trained in one specific field? If so, then you’ll no doubt have an expert working on that specific service for your account. However, if they say that employees are trained in a multitude of services that could be the best answer yet. That would mean that no matter what your business needs whether it be website design, SEO, Social Media, or another form of advertising, there will always be someone that is more than capable of getting the job done.
3. Have you worked within my industry? You’ll definitely want a company that has experience working in your industry. This way you’ll know that your agency already knows what does and doesn’t work and will have a great idea of which path to take to bring your business to success. However, you should also ask them if they work with your competitors. Hiring an agency that is helping your competitors to succeed is the last thing you’ll want. Some companies will agree to sign a contract that they won’t work with any similar business within a certain radius of your company for the duration of your contract (for example, if you’re a Houston real estate agency, an advertising firm may agree to not work with any other Houston real estate agencies while you’re a client). If you can find an agency that is willing to sign a contract with you like that, you know you’ve found a great one.
4. How flexible is my contract? Contracts are always something that makes people uneasy, mainly because they often times offer very limited flexibility. Ask about how flexible your contract is before you sign it. Once you sign it, how easy is it to back out of if you’re unhappy? What if you’re very happy with the services but want to change your contract to include more of something? Is that a possibility, or are you locked into the services/plan you signed on for? A great advertising agency will offer you maximum flexibility within your contract.
5. Can you give me an example of a very small client you’ve worked with? There’s a good chance that within your initial conversation with an advertising agency, they will have mentioned the biggest client they’ve ever worked with. This client will be a household name that is mentioned to impress you. However, don’t fall so easily into this trap. Be sure to ask an advertising agency about their work with smaller clients, too. You’ll want to make sure that an advertising agency is capable of bringing smaller, lesser known businesses to success as well, especially since these smaller clients usually have smaller budgets and may not be able to afford quite as many services as the bigger household names do.
When you remember to ask these 5 questions before hiring a Philadelphia advertising agency, you’ll be sure to choose the best one in all of Philadelphia for your current and future marketing needs!
1. How many clients do you currently have? It’s important to ask how many clients an ad agency has but don’t let them fool you with their answer. Of course, you’ll want to hear that they have a fair amount of clients. This will tell you that they must be great at what they do and in high-demand. However, keep in mind that the more clients an ad agency has the less time they have to spend on you. Fewer clients could mean more time, attention, and dedication to those clients that they do have. When you ask how many clients an agency has, don’t be afraid to ask them why they have so many or so few. It will be an unexpected question and the way the sales rep answers could say a lot about the company.
2. How many employees do you have working for you? How are they trained? This goes in line with asking about how many clients the agency has and you’ll want to ask this question after you know how many clients an agency has. For example, if the agency says they have 100 clients and 50 employees, you may be able to assume that that means 2 clients per employee, a pretty good number that would ensure that employees aren’t swamped with countless clients and too busy to give your business the attention it deserves. However, you’ll want to take this question a step further, too. Ask about how the employees are trained. Is each employee trained in one specific field? If so, then you’ll no doubt have an expert working on that specific service for your account. However, if they say that employees are trained in a multitude of services that could be the best answer yet. That would mean that no matter what your business needs whether it be website design, SEO, Social Media, or another form of advertising, there will always be someone that is more than capable of getting the job done.
3. Have you worked within my industry? You’ll definitely want a company that has experience working in your industry. This way you’ll know that your agency already knows what does and doesn’t work and will have a great idea of which path to take to bring your business to success. However, you should also ask them if they work with your competitors. Hiring an agency that is helping your competitors to succeed is the last thing you’ll want. Some companies will agree to sign a contract that they won’t work with any similar business within a certain radius of your company for the duration of your contract (for example, if you’re a Houston real estate agency, an advertising firm may agree to not work with any other Houston real estate agencies while you’re a client). If you can find an agency that is willing to sign a contract with you like that, you know you’ve found a great one.
4. How flexible is my contract? Contracts are always something that makes people uneasy, mainly because they often times offer very limited flexibility. Ask about how flexible your contract is before you sign it. Once you sign it, how easy is it to back out of if you’re unhappy? What if you’re very happy with the services but want to change your contract to include more of something? Is that a possibility, or are you locked into the services/plan you signed on for? A great advertising agency will offer you maximum flexibility within your contract.
5. Can you give me an example of a very small client you’ve worked with? There’s a good chance that within your initial conversation with an advertising agency, they will have mentioned the biggest client they’ve ever worked with. This client will be a household name that is mentioned to impress you. However, don’t fall so easily into this trap. Be sure to ask an advertising agency about their work with smaller clients, too. You’ll want to make sure that an advertising agency is capable of bringing smaller, lesser known businesses to success as well, especially since these smaller clients usually have smaller budgets and may not be able to afford quite as many services as the bigger household names do.
When you remember to ask these 5 questions before hiring a Philadelphia advertising agency, you’ll be sure to choose the best one in all of Philadelphia for your current and future marketing needs!