Switching to a New Digital Marketing Agency?

Tips on How to Make the Switch as Painless as Possible to a New Digital Marketing Agency?

Is your firm considering a spending change in SEO, advertising, or web services? Avanti Vision has some great tips on making a transition to a new agency or consultant as easy as possible.

For those who have never partnered with a marketing agency, or are looking to switch for the first time, it is not always a walk in the park. Working out initial details in the start of a partnership or through a transition from one marketing agency to another can become a headache for all parties involved.

The following is a guide for a marketing agency to follow when acquiring a new client. But if you are a business owner looking to transition, it will give you a look at what’s in store.

First, acquire access to the client’s website and website tools. To do this, contact the client’s former marketing agency. You may ask your new client for a contact or call the agency directly. Communication with anyone who has worked closely with your new client’s marketing data is vital in ensuring a smooth transaction.

When contacting the former agency, it is important to be organized and to the point. Prepare your thoughts and questions in advance, as the previous agency is most likely not being paid at the time of the switch. Being organized will increase your efficiency and avoid wasting the time of the other agency. If you are calling twice a day for a week to get information from them, it could lead to a rocky relationship in the future.

Create a list of all the information you need to handle the marketing activities of your new client. First, and most importantly, is the website. Hopefully, your client already has full access to their website, though you will find that some firms have chosen to entrust complete control of the site to their former agency. So what do you need if this is the case?

• Access to the CMS
• Access to the FTP
• Access to the hosting control panel (for host migration)
  
  

When settling the issue of website access, make sure your client owns its domain. You will need access to this when performing a website migration. If the previous marketing agency registered the client’s domain and refuses to give it up or allow access to it. This can lead to big problems down the line for you and your client.

Next is the analytics. The history of the performance of the website is a huge benefit to any agency taking on a new client. Ideally, the company already has a Google Analytics account complete with statistics and other useful marketing information. For a smaller company, it is likely that the previous agency created the analytics account and is not providing the content to the client. This is where things can get sticky. Depending on how the previous marketing agency set up the analytics account, they may be able to provide you with full access to the client’s data. If the previous agency created different properties within the account, you may not have full access to all the features of the account, some of which could be very helpful.

Outside of the client’s website or domain, here are some other things that you will need from the previous agency to handle the marketing activities to their full potential:

Google My Business

 It is important to have access to a Google My Business page to make sure that your client’s listings are accurate and up to date.

Google AdWords

This tool is very easy to switch over if the client has access to their AdWords account. If the client had no access to the account, it may be tough to gain control if the previous agency does not want to share the information.

Google Webmaster Tools

These tools specialize in SEO, providing a lot of useful data. It can provide information such as rankings, redirect errors, link acquisition, and other great tools. Once you gain access to these tools you must remove the previous agency’s access.

Passwords and Other Platforms

One of the biggest things that you need is the account information and passwords to all other properties relating to the new client. Examples include social media accounts, blog accounts, other websites, and lead generation services.

Once you acquire all the essential access, it can’t hurt to contact the previous agency to try to gain some information about campaigns that they ran in the past for the client. They may not give you what you are looking for, but anything is better than starting from scratch. Here are some good questions to ask that may give you a little extra insight on the new client.

• What advertising avenues have they used in the past? (Yellow Pages, Yelp, Social Media)
• Can you provide access to ranking reports and KPIs?
• When was the last time the client’s website was redesigned/ updated?
• Have services such as Yext, or Moz Local been utilized?
• Will you provide access to previous logos, art, video, and other content?
• Can you provide any additional information in areas such as on-site optimization, content creation, or link building?

So if you represent a marketing agency acquiring a new client, keep the above tips in mind. If you are a business owner thinking about switching to a new marketing agency, hopefully, these tips have given you a better understanding of the transition to a new marketing agency. If you have any other questions or are looking for advice on this topic, be sure to reach out to us. Avanti Vision, recently listed as a top agency in Philadelphia by Agency List, can provide a full marketing analysis as well as industry-specific statistics and advice. Start getting better results for your marketing efforts today.