High performing businesses know that they can no longer ignore the importance of their web and digital initiatives as marketing and communication platforms to connect with their customers and target markets. The challenge for these businesses when looking for a service provider for web design, development and online marketing services, is how to isolate the ‘right’ service provider from the thousands in the market. An eight year old can build a website these days (yes, I’ve seen it), so what do businesses serious about succeeding online need to look for?
According to Wikipedia, a digital agency is a business that delivers services for the creative and technical development of Internet based products. These services range from the more generalist such as web design, e-mail marketing, logo design and micro sites, to the more specialist such as custom built content management systems, ecommerce, web application development, social media marketing, mobile compatible web development, search engine optimisation, and systems integration services.
Digital agencies tend to differ from their more traditional advertising agencies and their marketing agency counterparts in digital web agency they tend to deliver only certain types of web complimentary off-line services such as logo design, icon design and graphic design. Some advertising and marketing agencies do however attempt to deliver digital work but there are a number of shortfalls for businesses that are serious about online solutions utilising their services.
During these last few years much has changed in the marketing landscape. Now I might be wrong by saying this, but my feeling is that in recent years, traditional marketing agencies that have moved toward the online landscape still have a flimsy grasp of it. The majority outsource online services to other experts and are struggling to survive the growing demand for businesses to include more complex web based marketing solutions. Alternatively they may be able to offer basic web related services but struggle when their client’s requirements are more complex or custom.