What is an online / digital marketing agency?
An online marketing agency is an external service provider in the form of an office that ensures the marketing of products or services on the Internet for a client. Digital marketing agencies work with their customers to develop strategies and measures for all online channels such as search engines, social media, e-mails, messengers and websites.
What do digital & online marketing agencies do and what tasks do they take on?
A digital or online marketing agency can provide various services for a company. Basically, an agency creates the marketing strategy for the client and implements the communication measures accordingly. The agency also ensures the tracking and evaluation of the measures and campaigns.
In advance, a company, i.e. the client, must provide the digital marketing company with the necessary information and content – for example, expectations, target groups and budget, as well as images or graphics that correspond to the company’s corporate design . Depending on the agency’s offer , graphic content is also created directly by you.
According to Abbreviationfinder, digital marketing agencies can improve the entire online presence of a company. Be it on social media using organic as well as paid posts, by optimizing the website , using SEO and SEA , entire campaigns or through content marketing – the possibilities are almost endless.
How much does an online marketing agency cost?
How much an online marketing company costs can vary widely. It often depends on how comprehensive the job is and how much time the agency has to spend on it. Basically, a distinction can be made between three different billing methods.
Billing on an hourly basis
The best known method is billing on an hourly basis. This means that the agency tracks how many hours it is busy with the order and bills these hours to the client. The standard rate here is an average of CHF 180 per hour. This type of billing is straightforward and easy to understand for the customer. Even if the client requests many changes and revisions, this variant makes sense for the agency, as the effort can be charged directly in each case. A disadvantage of this type of billing is that the specified hourly amount in an offer can differ significantly from the final bill. This happens when the offer has been set too low or unexpectedly more effort is made to the agency.
Subscription model
Another method is the retainer model. This works like a kind of subscription – the client buys a certain number of hours from the agency at a fixed price and pays them monthly. A price is negotiated in advance for the agency’s services: either over a certain period of time or for a certain number of tasks or events. In the time-based version, the agency works for the company a predetermined number of hours during the month. If not all hours are requested by the client, then these expire or – depending on the agency – can be taken over in the next month.
With the task-based version, on the other hand, the agency creates a certain number of tasks (e.g. 5 social media posts per day). It doesn’t matter here how much time the tasks take. The client always pays the initially set price every month. This type of billing has the clear advantage that the agency has secured a monthly income. However, when acquiring customers it can be difficult to convince the client of the model.
Success-based model
Finally, a success-based method can also be used. A clearly measurable value is required here, such as sales figures or the number of leads , so that it can be checked how well the measures of the digital marketing company are working. For example, the client’s sales figures can be tracked and the agency receives a percentage (5-15 percent as standard) of the proceeds. This type of billing can be worthwhile for an agency – as long as it is sure of its success. If a campaign or measure does not work, the agency hardly receives any compensation.
How do I find the right digital / online marketing agency?
Before hasty decisions are made, the client must also be clear about what is expected of the online marketing agency. To what extent and in what time frame should the agency work? What is the budget available? What are the goals? This should also be recorded in writing in a short briefing so that ultimately internal employees and the external agency are on the same page.
In order to find an online marketing company that ideally covers the needs of the company, it is essential to get an overview. On Google you are flooded with search results. Hence, one can resort to websites that do this tedious work. There are various providers for this. You can also use ranking lists to determine which agencies are suitable for the company.
Once you have selected a few favorites , it is worth investing time in researching the individual companies. In a first step, of course, the agency’s website should be examined carefully. Does this online marketing company offer what the company needs? Does the agency have the necessary human resources and know-how? Customer reviews and reviews from previous clients are also very helpful. So not only the word of the agency is in the room.
After this initial research, an initial meeting with the agency can provide information on all further questions and a first impression. Here, too, care should be taken to ensure that the agency’s statements are consistent with its offer and that the contact persons appear competent. Finally, an offer can be obtained from several agencies so that the offers can be compared.
How do you find an online marketing agency in Zurich, Basel, Bern and other Swiss cities?
In the service directory , which Marketing.ch makes available to agencies of all types can be searched. You can filter what type of agency you are
Online Marketing Agencies in Zurich
To find an online marketing agency in Zurich, first go to Marketing.ch and then to the tab “Directory”, where you can click on “Service provider”. You can already adjust your search here. If you click on Search without any information, all agencies listed in the directory will be displayed. In this view you can enter the location – in this case Zurich. A controller now appears, where you can also select the radius, here you enter approx. 30 kilometers. Now select “Online Marketing Agency” in the category and various digital marketing agencies from the Zurich area will be displayed.
Online Marketing Agencies in Basel
As with the search for Zurich agencies, you can also proceed for online marketing companies in Basel . With the location plus a radius of approx. 50 kilometers, the results are narrowed down.
Online Marketing Agencies in Bern
Agencies are also needed in the Swiss capital . In contrast to Zurich, there are not quite as many digital marketing companies in Bern – Marketing.ch saves you the long search with the directory.
Online Marketing Agencies in Lucerne
Digital marketing companies are represented all over Switzerland, and Lucerne is no exception. However, online marketing companies are not yet accumulating there , as the directory shows. You can adjust the search in it as you wish in order to find the right agency in a wide variety of Swiss cities.
Online marketing agencies for startups
New, still small companies are often dependent on outside help to take their marketing measures to the next level. That is why it is important for start-ups to know what to look out for when looking for a digital marketing company. Since start-ups rarely generate large sales in advance, the agency’s price-performance ratio is central. This is exactly where it pays to compare different agencies in order to be able to estimate which one best covers the needs of the company.
Online marketing agencies for SMEs
Established companies also rely on the work of digital marketing agencies. For SMEs, it is advisable to target agencies that specialize in their requirements and are located in the area. It can be worthwhile to look for different online marketing companies, in order to compare them afterwards. An offer from the agencies can be obtained for this purpose, or they can be invited to a pitch . At a pitch , various agencies present their ideas and their know-how on the client’s case so that the client can decide on the most suitable agency.
But which is the best digital marketing agency in Switzerland?
Which is the best online marketing company for a company depends on various factors – such as price, performance, offer and appearance of the agency. But if you trust the Best of Swiss Web Award , which has been around for 20 years, the answer is Hinderling Volkart and Jung von Matt / Limmat. Both of these agencies have designed and implemented large, successful campaigns for their clients – among others for companies like Zweifel, Die Mobiliar and Schweizer Tourismus.
And which is the largest digital marketing agency?
The largest digital agency – with a total of 410 full-time positions in Switzerland ( as of 2019 ) – is Namics , followed by Unic AG with 180 full-time positions. The web republic is also one of the major agencies with 150 full-time positions. These online marketing companies have also worked with well-known clients such as Siemens, the Post or Migros.
