5 Key Questions to Ask of Your Email Marketing Agency

When selecting an email marketing agency to help improve your email strategy and performance, it's important to ask the right questions of the companies and consultants looking to work with you. It's not just about making sure they're up to scratch, it's also about seeing if they can inject the right commitment and dynamic to your business.

We've outlined 5 key questions to ask of your email marketing agency:

1 - What is the process?

Every email marketing agency should have a defined process from start to finish, which they can present to you and explain in simplicity. If they can't do this or it sounds too complex, it's not a good sign. It's the job of marketing consultants and agencies to implement a process that makes it easier for marketing teams to deliver success, and translating this shouldn't be complicated. They should enable you to clearly visualise the process and understand the benefits.

2 - What similar brands have you worked with?

When assessing suitability, seeing that prospective agencies have worked with similar brands to your own is a big plus. Ask whether you can speak to some of their clients – we offer this to every potential customer we meet with. It shows transparency, which is important for building a good relationship, and is a chance to learn more about the results agencies create with relevant clients.

It's also a really good indicator about company culture and what it might feel like to work with the email marketing agency you're talking to. You only need to speak to one or two of their clients to get a clear understanding.

3 - How will you work with my marketing team?

Getting the working dynamic right with your email marketing agency is so important for long-term success. You need to make sure any agency you plan to work with knows how to get the best out of your marketing team and has realistic plans to effectively collaborate, communicate and support your team. Find out how they plan to do this and who will be the key contacts at the agency.

4 - How will you work with my other agencies?

If you're currently using other consultants and/or agencies across Marketing, Sales and Digital, find out how your potential email marketing agency plans to work with them. Integrating channels helps to improve customer experience, maintain consistency of brand messaging and build deeper audience insights, so knowing that your email consultancy will be able to work alongside your other agencies is key to enhancing your customer lifecycle. 

5 - How do you charge & when will we see results?

Be wary of any agencies who are still charging by the day. Your email agency should be looking out for your best interests. A daily billing fee could get very expensive and isn't conducive to creating the most impactful, cost-effective relationship. Look at the investment cost for who you'll get to work with and see what they'll deliver for your money.

As for results? Any agency that says they guarantee results, should be treated with caution. No agency can guarantee great results, but it's a good question to ask to see how confident they are in helping you improve email performance. This is the point at which potential red flags tend to show up!

Wrap up

We've outlined the expectations you should have of email marketing agencies. Transparency and collaboration are the keys to success, and these questions will help you decide which email marketing agency is suitable for your business and which is in tune with your customers and brand vision.