Hiring is hard, time-consuming, and stressful. And yet, you know that this is one of the most important processes of successfully scaling and building your business. 

This holds true in any industry. But when it comes to hiring a digital marketing agency in 2022, the hiring process can be a special kind of demoralizing. The industry average for hiring a marketing agency is 8-12 weeks. (With Credo? You can expect 3-5 weeks.)

The industry average for hiring a digital marketing agency is reduced with a digital marketing matchmaker.

Let’s be honest, you don’t have 8-12 weeks to spare. You want to: 

  1. Hire fast. 
  2. Hire with confidence.
  3. Keep the interviews & time commitments to a minimum.
  4. Find the ideal marketing partner for your business.

Basically, you want the hiring process to be as efficient, effective, and streamlined as possible.

Been through all that before and sounds impossible? Read on. There’s hope below. 

How NOT To Hire A Marketing Agency

First, is a cautionary tale. And one we know all too well here at Credo after nearly a decade of marketing matchmaking across numerous industries and verticals. 

Someone comes to us looking to hire a marketing agency or a consultant to help them grow their business. They are usually at their wit’s end, grasping at straws. Exhausted. 

The conversation tends to go something like this:

Difficulty in finding a digital marketing agency without a digital marketing matchmaker.

Unfortunately, this rarely works out for the business. There are fantastic agencies out there that are not on Credo, but hiring someone in this way (local to you that a family member’s friend of a friend used) often ends up badly (at worst) or is ineffective (at absolute best).

[From The New York Times to Adobe to Airbnb, check out these Credo success stories.] 

Some Not-So-Fun Facts On Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency

*This average was 5.3 years in 1997. In 1984, it was 7.3 years.  

The high turnover rate in agency-client relationships echoes the cautionary tale above. This can be attributed to several factors, including friction between company cultures, poor communication, and an agency’s failure to get results as promised. 

Sometimes partnerships just don’t work out and that is to be expected. But going back to the drawing board to find another marketing partner every three years isn’t tenable. 

Why It’s Only Getting Harder To Hire (Well)

Another major difficulty, if not the top challenge, in finding the right marketing agency is the ever-growing number of options available. The number of digital advertising agencies in the United States alone has grown 12% per year between 2017 and 2022.

Options seem nice but they can be overwhelming. 

There will be promises upon promises. ‘KPI this’ (key performance indicators) and ‘ROAS that’ (return on ad spend). Result reports until your eyes glaze over. Shimmering shiny client reviews that sound exactly like the 247 others you already read. 

We are marketers at Credo. We love the value this industry provides. But vetting dozens of potential marketing agencies is time-consuming. Blink, and two months of time—time you didn’t have to spare—is gone. And you still haven’t found the right marketing team match. 

This is the dark side of hiring. Luckily, all is not lost and you don’t need to go it alone.

Top Tips On How To Hire Faster And Smarter

While hiring can be daunting and difficult, there are practical ways to tackle this all-important task. 

Use these resources to help streamline your hiring process:

Then, there is the turnkey approach to onboarding a marketing agency…

Enter The Digital Marketing Matchmaker

Credo is the industry’s most experienced digital marketing matchmaker. We connect brands and decision-makers with the right pre-vetted firms from our exclusive network of digital marketing agencies. 

Credo eliminates the noise. Even for the savviest, marketing-minded business owners, who know exactly what they need in a marketing team, this can be a deafening endeavor. Our team sifts through the ever-growing number of marketing agencies, consultants, and freelancers available. 

Why? Because marketers, at least those worth their salt, know how to tell a convincing story that sells.

Remember, marketers are all selling you their most valued product: themselves. 

Again, this is not to bash marketers. We at Credo are marketers ourselves.

There is true value in quality marketing. Find the right agency, with the skill set you need, and watch your business boom. But waiting is the hardest part, as they say. 

With Credo, clients save an average of 16.5 hours of time and hire 68% faster. That includes getting pre-vetted and qualified leads at no cost (other than the time it takes for your brief intake consultation). 

What We Offer & How We Make It Happen

So what do we offer that helps you fast-track the grueling process of hiring a marketing partner? 

  • We are marketers ourselves.
  • Our team knows who is good at what.
  • Our partners have a deep marketing industry network.
  • We’ve worked with 350+ agencies since 2013.
  • We’ve seen or met some clients from each of our partner agencies.
  • We reject 40% of agency applicants.

This last point is crucial. Figuring out which agencies to eliminate is the time-consuming part of the hiring process. 

That’s why Credo exists.

We also work across a multitude of verticals, including:

We weed out duds, test industry knowledge and tactics, conduct face-to-face interviews, and do everything else that goes into our 3-step, 28-point vetting process. 

With Credo, you get 2-3 bespoke marketing partner options tailored to your specific needs. Our goal is to provide quality leads to help you hire in confidence. 

Ready to hire on easy mode, with the help of Credo’s turnkey digital marketing matchmaker service? 

Get started today!