Let me ask you something personal (and rough).
Have you ever worked with a looser agency that did sh@!t for your app?
I’m talking about real useless agencies now. The ones that you gain ZERO growth from, yet cost you a fortune and are a pain in the @ss to work with. Got it, right?
Hell, we’ve seen a lot of them for sure. Rookies make incredibly BIG MISTAKES sometimes.
The worst of them all?
They usually WASH AWAY the line between Pushy Marketing Techniques and App Brand Image.
DUH.
The results?
TOTAL DISASTER. Brand identity gets flushed down the toilet. Users are sick to death of plummeting sales – and will delete your app. Not just some of them, trust me, MANY of them will.
Let’s just not get too driven away with this horrifying vision.
What if You knew exactly what crucial points you needed to check before choosing the right agency for your App?
The one that generates you quality users. The one that keeps you updated, makes you feel secure, helps you grow, and drives your users into a buying frenzy.
We’ve got you covered – here are the 8 EXTREMELY DECISIVE points EVERY APP FOUNDER should know about before committing:
1.) Compelling website
„Well, their website wasn’t that compelling, but that doesn’t matter, maybe they just hate to brag. They can still make my ads compelling, right?”
Let’s face it.
If their page is boring, how could they?
Guess you know the answer already. They can’t.
Does their website look great?
How do you feel reading through it? Engaged and interested? Or you just scroll while trying not to yawn?
Just so you know: your users will feel the same seeing their ads.
Anyone can claim they can do paid advertising or conversion optimization.
And unfortunately, many DO claim it.
This problem mercilessly hits App founders over and over again.
What can you do to prevent being ripped off of your money?
Make sure you check the agencies’ website, blogs, case studies (next up).
Decide how good they are for yourself.
If you find out they aren’t, do not hire them – or else you gonna loose BIG MONEY.
2.) Case studies and testimonials
„So their website is great, what should I check next? I’ve heard about case studies a lot, are they a thing?”
Sure they are!
Having an awesome case study lets you check 2 things:
In which industry did the agency gain experience before.
How good results they achieved.
Not having a case study most probably means that the agency has never worked with anyone before. Or even worse: they did, but they sucked.
Testimonials: this is a no-brainer. It’s always a good point to see what their partners from the past say about them. However, testimonials can be easily manipulated.
One more thing you MUST keep in mind:
Strategy Dies Without Implementation
Strategy and tactics are important for sure.
But these are just parts of the greater picture.
Your agency must not only know how to CREATE a kickass strategy that will crush your goals. They must know how to thoroughly IMPLEMENT that strategy too.
Otherwise, your App growth will be nothing more than a great sketch on a piece of paper.
How do you reveal the truth then?
Ask the companies they’ve worked with before about how good they’ve performed.
This might sound too pushy first.
Worry not – our experiences show otherwise. Much more do this than you’d think.
3.) Communication
„I think the most effective is to communicate 1-on-1 with their CEO only. After all, we are the real experts of our companies, the weights are on OUR shoulders!”
Eeeehm. Actually no.
But I’ve gotta admit:
Communicating directly with the agency CEO must be nice.
You feel valued. Your business is in good hands. Everything is in peace.
This feels ideal.
Let’s face the truth tho…
Having a tight connection only with the CEO is dangerous.
Why?
Cuz CEOs have a LOT going on. They attend conferences, handle business calls, etc. just take a look at yourself and expand the list.
Where’s the sweet spot then?
It’s comforting to know that someone who takes care of your stuff specifically is ALWAYS in the office.
Ask the agency if you’ll have a dedicated team led by an account manager, including designers, copywriters, and expert media buyers.
Almost any well-functioning system or team that cannot operate on its own will FALL APART, sooner or later.
And the headache will be all yours. Period.
The secret of outstanding agencies is THIS:
NOT only the CEOs are experts.
Everyone who’s working at the agency should be very good at some aspect of the company.
If the only person you can communicate with is the CEO, you’ll probably end up outdated. Sooner or later, but you will.
Solving even the simplest of problems will take long hours.
You don’t want that.
Who would?
Solution: ASK to get the BEST!
4.) Size & fit
„Woah, these guys worked with BIG PLAYERS before. They’re gonna make my APP go BOOM too, right?!”
Not really.
It is necessary to know the volume of the agency you’re planning to work with (how many people work there, what process are they implementing).
Why?
Because their PROCESS might currently run successfully with a (let’s say) 200- people company.
But that same process will SURELY end up in DISASTER for a smaller partner.
To make it clear:
What works for Calm, will not work for Vimage.
Why? Because implementing their processes requires YOUR PEOPLE too.
Let it be creating creatives, sharing social posts, or simply attending a call.
The lesson:
Choose from agencies who worked with Apps the same size as yours is right now.
5.) Your goals
„Ok George, now I understand, and I think I’ve hit the jackpot! These guys not only fit our size but also promised me all time-low CPIs when we talked about my goals!! That’s awesome, isn’t it?”
Goals are a HIGH PRIORITY area.
When they mention Cost Per Install too early, it’s a RED FLAG – say goodbye IMMEDIATELY.
„WUT George, why would I do that? Low CPA means CHEEEAP DOWNLOADS, and that should be a great goal!”
Well, you’re right. Cheap downloads are great of course – but never as strategic goals.
Having cheap downloads often just means bad targeting. This heavily depends on your Customer Personas (we wrote a blog about this too, check it out here).
Lower-income countries usually grant great numbers first, but in the long run, those users are gonna wreck your brand image – and generate zero profits.
Lowering CPIs must be a target – but not part of the big picture strategy.
Make sure the agency knows what your long- and middle-term goals are.
Let them know what You’ll need from them.
It’s important to know if they can help you in tasks like creating content, creatives, etc., and whether they charge you extra or not.
How could you be sure you’ll reach those goals if the communication between you isn’t clear?
First of all, you should talk about long and middle-term goals, like:
- fixing current problems
- meeting investors’ expectations (if applicable)
- easing current processes
- making a measurable (!) impact on brand image
6.) Their requirements
„Okay-okay. So we’ll set the right goals. Now we’re good to go, right?”
Not yet, but hang on. There is not much left until you’re ready to CRUSH IT.
After they know what you expect, there’s one more thing:
Make it clear what THEY’LL need FROM YOU for the campaigns to run smoothly.
The communication between you two must be swift & solid, and you have to work on this, too!
They will most certainly need your help in creating your content. Be ready to send them any details or must-use logins too.
Let them know which measurement tools you’re using. This is super important for both of you.
Here’s why:
Measurements → Clear Numbers → Improvements are Fast n Easy → PROFIT & SCAAALE
Ideal, right?
These require reports too, so:
Ask them how often (weekly or monthly? daily is pointless) are they going to send you reports, and which tools they’re using.
7.) Price = ???
„Got it. Now here’s this agency: they work super cheap. I should choose them, so I can spend more on ads, right?”
Hell no.
Digital Marketing, therefore Mobile Marketing as well is a really saturated market right now.
I bet you already stumbled upon several so-called marketing experts.
Rookies seriously try anything to make the deal.
What’s the most common strategy novice marketers have up in their sleeves?
I think you guessed it…
It’s PRICE REDUCTION!
UGH….well…
..how could they race with real experts other than that?
Don’t you love your App and your money much more than to take it into the hands of amateurs?
Consider the well-being of your brand image, userbase, profits and reputation in the long run.
Isn’t working with a professional agency FAR BETTER by ANY MEANS? (even if it’s more expensive)
8.) Shady tricks
„Yo George, look what I’ve found! These guys are pricey, but hey! They promised me numbers I’ve never even dreamed of before!! I’m finally gonna buy my Lambo, SIGN THE CONTRACT NOW!”
Come on, mate.
Don’t be fooled by tricks & magic.
Let Allie make it clear:
„MARKETING IS ALL DATA.” (Alexandra Borbely, 2019.10.06., while drinking her morning coffee on the office sofa)
There are NO magical solutions and no magical results without decent preparations and data knowledge.
I’ll let that sink.
LESSON: agencies that promise you close to unbelievable results are just tryna RIPP YOU OFF OF MONEY.
“Guys, thank you. You really made it clear. There’s just one thing I want you to answer me:
WHY SHOULDN’T I CHOOSE YOU TO WORK WITH ME?”
Hey, don’t worry pal.
That’s not particularly on YOU, but we must admit something.
We’ve worked with some of Europe’s most outstanding App Startups and gained invaluable experiences.
And bet me, we’ll keep on learning until both of us become unable to read or hear.
-(otherwise, we can still teach each other)-
Our knowledge is a gem in the marketplace right now.
We love our job, and we’ve put our lives on to help our clients reach their app goals.
But that made us super picky.
Tons of marketers reach out for partnership weekly, so we made a solution.
A solution that helps US sort the clients we can GUARANTEE SUCCESS & positive ROI.
We cannot guarantee it for everyone. That would be impossible.
That’s why we created the well-known „good-fit form”.
Check it out, and see for yourself if we are a good fit.