Quality is a value that our society reveres highly. From the brands we shop for to the foods we eat, the people we welcome into our inner circle and everything in between, we are constantly seeking the best of the best. When a business chooses a marketing agency to partner with, this is arguably the first component they will take into consideration, whether they are looking for a new website or digital campaign to differentiate them from their competitors. At beMarketing, ‘quality’ is at the top of our list of core values for a reason, and here is why.

What Defines Quality?

Let’s take it back to the basics: how do we define quality? The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides several different approaches to the noun, but in this case, we are speaking from the angle of “degree of excellence” or “superiority in kind”. In a full-service marketing agency like beMarketing, we strive for top-notch quality in numerous aspects of the business. Every team member strives to be as accurate and creative as possible—from the work we produce, to the way it is delivered to the client, to the operations that bind everything together—while also fulfilling the expectations of the client (and exceeding them!). Although it can often be overlooked due to the obvious nature of the value, at the end of the day, quality in product and execution is the primary factor business owners and/or decision makers are taking into account when vetting out a marketing partner.

 

Quantifying the Qualitative

When it comes the work produced by a digital marketing agency, it is not always simple to track the success derived from quality. During a digital campaign in which the KPI is the amount of calls and/or contact form submissions, we can easily deduce that the quantitative success was a result of the quality effort put into the components and execution. However, when it comes to projects such as a graphic for a print advertisement or in-store signage, it can be next to impossible to for the agency to independently track how it is performing. Here are some ways that you can work with your client to gauge how the quality of your work aided in their success:

  • Strategy: When developing non-digital creative pieces, it is crucial that the goals of the campaign are clearly outlined and legitimate tracking measures are put into place. For example, if a deli asks you to create a postcard for a direct mail campaign advertising a new hoagie, you would assume that the goal is to sell more sandwiches within a certain period of time. In order to tell how well the mail piece caught the attention of potential customers, the agency should suggest adding an offer for a certain dollar amount off the full price if the postcard is present at purchase.
  • Communication: You will find that effective communication is always a key element in any successful campaign. Say the same deli approves your offer, the postcards are sent and the campaign is live. At the predetermined end of the campaign, you ask the deli how many postcards the they redeemed, to which you are met with only confused looks and no postcard count. Without your direction given to the client to collect these postcards when the customer redeemed the offer (or to set up an offer code in their POS system), there is now no way for the agency to know if this was an enticing offer and can be deemed “successful”. This is why communication between the agency and client is imperative from start to finish.
  • Proactivity: Understandably, not all clients you work with will fully grasp the idea of “tracking” and gauging the success of their campaigns. That is where you come in as a valued partner to educate and proactively bring different ideas to the table. The more the client understands about why it is necessary to set KPIs and monitor campaign performance, the more you can prove your worth to them as a partner and continue to help them grow their business.

 

Keeping Quality In Mind

We never view quality as something that can be “perfected”—it is something that we strive to improve upon everyday and keep relevant in our minds as we go about servicing our clients. Through my years working in an agency, and beMarketing specifically, there are definitely some tips I have picked up on in order to deliver the best of the best to my accounts.

  • Be Detailed & Don’t Rush: If you cannot multitask, then an agency setting may not be the best fit for you. Especially in the role of account management, we are usually juggling several different tasks at once. Something to constantly remind ourselves of is that it is necessary to take a breath and slow the pace, as impossible as it may seem at times. Things can easily slip through the cracks when your focus is pulled in too many directions, so count to ten and tackle one thing at a time. This is where superior time management skills will really be on your side.
  • Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: As mentioned previously, we not only strive for quality in the work we produce, but also in the experience a client has with beMarketing. With some accounts, constant communication happens organically and is not something that needs to stressed. However, with clients that do not require daily emails/texts and weekly phone calls, it is equally important to reach out about what is happening with the account and proactive items that they may have not considered. An informed client is a happy client!
  • Stay Up on the Trends: When a business owner or decision maker seeks a partner to assist them with their marketing initiatives, they are not only looking for someone to handle the tedious day-to-day tasks, but also someone who has their pulse on what is happening in the industry and innovative ways to be competitive. At beMarketing, we achieve this by doing proactive research and attending events/seminars that allow us to continue to grow in our current roles.

 

Aristotle once said “Quality is not an act, it is a habit,” and this is exactly what we live and breath as a team at beMarketing. Not only is this a crucial way of thinking for us when producing work for our highly-valued clients, but also in how we operate internally as a company. If you are interested in checking out the work we stand behind, visit our online portfolio or contact us to hear about how we can help your business increase the quality of your marketing efforts.