Digital marketing is one of the most misunderstood business topics out there today. Choosing a digital marketing agency to partner with can be one of the most nerve-wracking and important decisions you will ever make as an entrepreneur. 

There are many quality digital marketing agencies out there that will work hard to grow your business. But, with the rise of any industry, there are agencies and individuals taking advantage of the confusion that comes with online marketing for personal gain. 

When choosing a digital marketing agency to partner with, always beware of the dreaded marketing Guru.

What is a Marketing Guru?

A marketing Guru is any individual or agency that tries to sell a quick, easy, and convenient method of making guaranteed amounts of money. They tote the idea that they have secret knowledge or information that you and their competitors don’t; therefore, you need them to make lots of money. 

Without their secret “silver bullet”, you’ll be lost in a confusing online landscape of digital marketing, working way too hard for little results.

Sadly, this method of mindset manipulation is very effective. It preys on people who know a lot about the product or service they’re selling but feel like they’re missing out on the marketing knowledge they need to become a success. Gurus work to make you feel less than, so you are willing to pay them more. 

How Can You Avoid the Guru?

Gurus are often masters in self-promotion— convincing you that they are the best solution for your needs is how they make their money. Usually, their pitches sound like the answer to all your problems and aim to get you to make an impulsive decision before you’re able to do any further research. 

Here are some tactics to help you avoid the Guru when choosing a digital marketing agency (or realise you’ve fallen for their tactics before it’s too late):

1. Selling You the Quick and Easy Way to Make Money Guarantee
   
   This trickery is the most tempting part of a Guru’s pitch. Who doesn’t want to make shedloads of money with hardly any work involved? It’s what the Guru wants you to focus on— making easy money— because pitching on the basis of working hard with no guarantees doesn’t sell!
   This type of pitch can come across as legitimate initially because the basic principles of online marketing are simple. The difference between whether those principles will make you money or not is how they are applied to your specific brand and your target audience.
   If the Guru gets you to buy based on simple methods, they only have to be accountable for simple work even if they charge a high fee. Simple methods don’t yield highly profitable results. Otherwise, every entrepreneur would be successful.

2. Telling You What You Would Want to Hear in an Ideal World
   
   If an agency’s pitch sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. If a digital marketer is proclaiming how fantastic your brand is without making any recommendations for improvement, they are trying to tickle your ego to make a sale— not doing their job correctly.
   Hard truths may be brutal to take, but it is an essential part of being successful. You need to hear what products are performing well and those that aren’t. You need to know if your online assets are damaging your brand image or are preventing customers from making sales in any way. You cannot grow as a business without improving, and you cannot improve without criticism.
   

3. Working on a One-Size-Fits-All platform Instead of Considering Your Specific Audience
   
   Your business and target audience is unique. So why shouldn’t your marketing strategy be as well? If an agency is trying to fit you into a mould instead of learning about your business and tailoring suggestions for you, they don’t have your best interests or your potential customers in mind.
   It is much easier for an agency to develop one single method of working than have to tailor their methods to different clients. It’s simple for them because they don’t need to carry out the necessary research to see how consumers interact with your brand or products.
   If your customers' voice is ignored, you will isolate them from your brand, and they will not feel compelled to buy.
   

4. Focusing on Vanity Metrics or Numbers That Don’t Lead to Actual Sales
   
   Marketing Gurus often focus on vanity metrics, such as the number of likes or followers on your social media, because these are easy to both measure and obtain. Unfortunately, this misleading information can cause you to think that your online promotions are performing more successfully than they are.
   Likes, shares, and follows can be bought or completed by people who have nothing to do with your brand. It can seem tempting to think that something is popular because it has garnered a lot of attention on Instagram, but this doesn’t give you an actual insight into how your potential and existing customers feel about your brand or products.
   Social media marketing is not successful until it begins to lead to more unique visitors to your website, an increase in your user base, and most importantly, more sales (and therefore more revenue). A like is just a like; it’s not money in your pocket.

What to Look for in a Digital Marketing Agency Instead? 

The most significant quality to look for in a valuable digital marketing agency is the agency’s authenticity. Are they selling you the real deal? Do they seem like genuine people you could grab a beer with some time? 

Your marketing partners are an extension of your brand, so they should share the same values and company culture with your own business. This will allow you to work seamlessly together without adjusting the way either of you are already working so you can focus on the work.

They should have realistic goals for your marketing strategies and a proven way of showing you they are achieving these goals. They should understand what you’re trying to achieve, and they should be able to show that they have reached similar goals for clients in the past. 

Digital marketers should be an asset to your business at all times. If you’re working with authentic marketers, you will be confident that your hard-earned money and time is being used effectively to get you a great return not only on your ad spend but also your investment in their agency.

At The Growth Guys, we focus on creating specialised marketing strategies unique to each of our clients. We understand that your business is distinctive and should be treated as such. 

We work hard with you every day to grow your business better, not just bigger. 

If you would like to find out more about what an award-winning digital marketing agency can do for you, contact us today for a free consultation.