Does Your Agency Cut the Marketing Mustard?

Knowing the difference between effective online marketing services can be tricky.  One of our favourite sayings around the office is “That doesn’t cut the mustard.”

It actually stems from the old English craft of mustard making. No surprises there, I’m sure. Basically, the Chief Mustard Maker or Mustardeer would make mustard in large barrels. The maturing of the mustard created a thick, leathery crust at the top which would need to be removed.

Over many years a specialised blade was developed that allowed the blade to skim the majority of the top crust off, leaving a very thin slice which would be left on to protect the mustard.

When it was time to remove the top crust the senior Mustardeer would instruct his apprentice to pass him the blade to slice through the top leathery layer. He would know immediately if the blade was not sufficiently keen enough to complete the task. If it was not, he would pass the blade back to the apprentice and say ‘That doesn’t cut the mustard.”

So what does mustard making have to with inbound marketing strategies or online marketing services? Here comes the segway…..

You want to make sure that your agency – the specialist you have brought on to grow your business – is sufficiently ‘sharp’ enough to complete the task.

You want to make sure they can cut the marketing mustard.

Here’s how you can tell if your agency can do exactly that.

• They use layman’s terms to explain what they are doing
• They have a Project Plan that is easy to read and clearly documents timelines, tasks and who is responsible for them
• Each strategy has a qualitative and/or quantitative outcome attached to it
• If they are a specialist agency and need to bring in additional partners to complete the project, they share that with you
• Regular work in progress meetings are held
• They’re not afraid to change a strategy if it’s not working
• They’re proactive with your team and getting the business involved in the inbound marketing strategy
• They have a backup plan. In fact, they probably have several
• The measurement of return on investment is completed and assessed
• They stick to budget or if there are deviations, this is communicated asap
• They GET your branding and messaging and the ‘story’ of your business
• Success for them is seeing your business grow and prosper
• It’s not about them. It’s about you.

Quite a checklist! If you find an agency that tick all those boxes, hang on to them, they are a keeper!

To find out some other strategies that can help your business “cut the mustard “when choosing the right agency to work with, download our free eBook here on How to Hire a Marketing Agency.