Who are we putting in charge of our business?

As I watched this video of Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason apologizing for a business in Japan that couldn’t handle the orders that Groupon generated for them over New Years I couldn’t stop thinking; VIDEO

“Here is a vendor that set a marketing strategy in place for a business using price positioning and email executed on it and then when the business wasn’t prepared to deliver, HE’S apologizing to HIS customers for it?” A nobal gesture.

This is amazing, these businesses that work with Groupon have virtually no margin in what they sell through that channel, they are told what they need to price or discount their services at to work with Groupon and all the while making the customer more and more loyal to Groupon, Yes Groupon looks at the customers at their customers not the businesses customers…

How did Groupon get their customers? Do they have a product to sell? NO they got those customers on the backs of the business they convinced to deeply discount their product to get Groupon the loyalty they have at the businesses cost not Groupon, in fact Groupon got paid to do it.

"Groupon bought its loyalty with money from its clients"

HMMM who does that sound like in the Retail Auto Industry?

Wake up dealers take charge of your own marketing or you’re going to end up like these small business sheep that follow Groupon to the slaughter.

Who are we putting in charge of our business?

As I watched this video of Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason apologizing for a business in Japan that couldn’t handle the orders that Groupon generated for them over New Years I couldn’t stop thinking; VIDEO

“Here is a vendor that set a marketing strategy in place for a business using price positioning and email executed on it and then when the business wasn’t prepared to deliver, HE’S apologizing to HIS customers for it?” A nobal gesture.

This is amazing, these businesses that work with Groupon have virtually no margin in what they sell through that channel, they are told what they need to price or discount their services at to work with Groupon and all the while making the customer more and more loyal to Groupon, Yes Groupon looks at the customers at their customers not the businesses customers…

How did Groupon get their customers? Do they have a product to sell? NO they got those customers on the backs of the business they convinced to deeply discount their product to get Groupon the loyalty they have at the businesses cost not Groupon, in fact Groupon got paid to do it.

"Groupon bought its loyalty with money from its clients"

HMMM who does that sound like in the Retail Auto Industry?

Wake up dealers take charge of your own marketing or you’re going to end up like these small business sheep that follow Groupon to the slaughter.

It has been suggested that we start an #automarketing tweet chat. So as is my fashion I just went ahead and did it.

Please join us every Wednesday 12pm to 1pm CST (Central Time) for #AutoMarketing Tweet Chat. This is your chance to engage with some of the most talented and brightest in the Auto Marketing space we will be discussing sales & service marketing from Social Media to Traditional and everything in between.

To follow the stream easily go to http://tweetchat.com/ and sign in with your twitter account if you don't have a twitter account this is a great reason and opportunity to get one go to www.twitter.com and sign up it's free and if you don't use it for anything else but to learn from the #automarketing tweet chat forum it will be worth it.

So come jump in the conversation,

Larry Bruce

@pcmguy

It has been suggested that we start an #automarketing tweet chat. So as is my fashion I just went ahead and did it.

Please join us every Wednesday 12pm to 1pm CST (Central Time) for #AutoMarketing Tweet Chat. This is your chance to engage with some of the most talented and brightest in the Auto Marketing space we will be discussing sales & service marketing from Social Media to Traditional and everything in between.

To follow the stream easily go to http://tweetchat.com/ and sign in with your twitter account if you don't have a twitter account this is a great reason and opportunity to get one go to www.twitter.com and sign up it's free and if you don't use it for anything else but to learn from the #automarketing tweet chat forum it will be worth it.

So come jump in the conversation,

Larry Bruce

@pcmguy

This is a short post because you need to read evey one of the 32 proclaimations in this Manifesto. Then think before you post or comment ever again.

Proclaimation #1 - There are tools. There are people who use the tools. And then there are people who are tools. Know the difference. 

You can read the rest here http://bit.ly/socialmanif

Pay paticular attention to #19, #31 &#32

This is a short post because you need to read evey one of the 32 proclaimations in this Manifesto. Then think before you post or comment ever again.

Proclaimation #1 - There are tools. There are people who use the tools. And then there are people who are tools. Know the difference. 

You can read the rest here http://bit.ly/socialmanif

Pay paticular attention to #19, #31 &#32

For the past 2 days I have been in debate on dealerrefresh about online marketing numbers and conversion. It appears that my comments on what a website should convert at have caused a stir in the dealer community, enough so that I was called out on it and asked to back off. It also appears a label I have placed on a main website is causing some people heartburn.

This post will hopefully clear up a few things:

1.       Why I believe that the benchmark for conversion in online marketing should be 30% minimum.

2.       What the definition of a “Random Access Website” is and why they are the way they are.

3.       Why I believe that you should NEVER…EVER send paid traffic back to your main website deep-link or otherwise.

So let’s jump right into conversion percentages and benchmarks.

First let me start out by defining conversion – A conversion is any form submission, phone call (tracked from your online properties), email or chat session where good re-contact information was captured that would allow the dealership to follow up on the customer. I have yet to have anyone dispute this as a proper definition. If anyone has something that I am missing please feel free to share with the rest of the class. Make no mistake each of these actions can be tracked with absolute accuracy, do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

So how did I come to this 30% benchmark? Ok it starts with my own store were we track everything. We found that we could use the visitors query string data to determine intent and direct visitors to the part of our website that closest matched that intent and when we did so our conversion rate rose 377% to as of this morning 26%. We also found that by tracking and changing certain things about our eBay motors ads we got a higher conversion rate to as of this morning 17%. We also found that using Facebook marketing in ways that were geared to customer interests not so much to customer in market probability we got higher click through and as of this morning a 47% conversion rate, ironically add all of that up and average it and as I write this post we are an average of exactly 30% (there are some decimals there but I am rounding up) and we are a small independent used car operation with none of the brand help dealers have today.

Which brings me to phase 2 of my justification for a 30% benchmark.  I have personally analyzed hundreds of dealership websites over the last 9 months and come to the same conclusion I hear from a lot of dealers and internet personnel I talk to in the store. Branded terms (your dealerships name) drives over 60% of the traffic that comes to my website. I have met very few that will argue this stat, the ones that do say it is too low. Ok so now let’s do some math:

Average dealership website gets 3000 unique visitors per month. 60% came from the stores branded terms (dealership name) that is 1800 visitors whose specific intent was to find your dealerships website.

1800 x 30% = 468 is it too much to ask that out of 1800 visitors 468 engage the store in some way? Let me ask it another way.

If your dealership got 1800 visitors last month and your sales staff could only get 468 of the people who came in entered into your CRM system would any of them be still employed at the dealership?

Any way you slice this up it doesn’t make sense to say 30% is unrealistic. I don't care who you are.

The definition of “Random Access Website”, apparently this adjective has offended a couple of people in the auto community as this is the second post I have been called out on this term, in this last post the offended person even when so far as to Google the term.

A main website has random people that wonder into it from organic links (one of the problems with web marketing and SEO by the way, but that is another post) you have no idea how or why they are there and when they get there they can wonder randomly throughout your site, hence the term “Random Access” a site that is randomly accessed from anywhere by anyone and anyone can randomly go anywhere in it and yes this is basically all main websites. A main website is basically the Encyclopedia Britannica of your online presence you have everything including the kitchen sink in it. From inventory to job postings to press releases to Facebook and twitter links, is it any wonder that visitors become distracted, lost and just basically give up when it come to this maze of information?  I discussed this in depth in my post “Get outside your random access website” from Feb this year go there for more on the pitfalls of conversion in a main website.

Finally the above is a great lead into why you should NEVER…EVER send paid traffic back to your random access main website…EVER!

You should understand by now that your main website is so full of distraction that anyone coming there with a specific purpose will have to work hard to complete that purpose. People specifically looking for your dealership will work harder to get the information they want than others, not by much but harder none the less. I think we can all agree on that and that is why you see higher conversion form branded terms (your dealerships name). When you pay for a click you have to get something out of it sending that to a place where you know they are not interested in all the distractions around them, that doesn’t match with what they were searching for in the first place and make this work to find it, is a recipe for conversion disaster.  

Aside from the distraction factor of a deep-link here are some other reasons to use off site pages and microsites.

1.       Tracking and accountability – it is much…much easier  to track and hold marketing channels, ad groups and keywords accountable for results when you have separate landing experiences.

2.       Split testing – you cannot get to high conversion rates without testing and it is impossible to test in a dealership random access website today even a deep-link.

3.       Matching the message tightly with the ad and the landing. If you think you are doing this with a dynamic deeplink landing page that changes the picture and the header your sorely mistaken you will have to get much more relevant than that.

4.        Getting searched right out of an opportunity – time and time again I see deep-links go to inventory then the customer searches to find out you have 1 or 2 that’s not choice and you missed the opportunity before you ever got a chance to win the customer.

5.       With each off site page or Microsite you create another back-link for you main random access website helping its SEO value.

PPC is and will continue to get more competitive, it is imperative that you create a culture of continuous improvement in conversion for any traffic you are paying for and lets be real you're paying for all of it. Branded terms (your dealership name) comes from your traditional media advertising, organic links comes from SEO (that aint free! All dealerships are paying for this in some way or another), listing sites are costing you subscription & listing fees and obviously you are paying for every click in PPC. You need to track all of these and hold them accountable for conversion because conversion is indicative of what walks in the door…period. Off site landing pages and microsites help you track all of this very accurately and helps get more of what you are paying for.

I hope this clears it up for those who were unclear. For those that think I should “back off” sorry that just wouldn’t be me, can’t do it and for anyone this somewhat helps I’m glad. If I can clarify anything here or you need help contact me I will do all I can.

Cell – 281.455.3811

Email – lburce@micrositesbyu.com

For the past 2 days I have been in debate on dealerrefresh about online marketing numbers and conversion. It appears that my comments on what a website should convert at have caused a stir in the dealer community, enough so that I was called out on it and asked to back off. It also appears a label I have placed on a main website is causing some people heartburn.

This post will hopefully clear up a few things:

1.       Why I believe that the benchmark for conversion in online marketing should be 30% minimum.

2.       What the definition of a “Random Access Website” is and why they are the way they are.

3.       Why I believe that you should NEVER…EVER send paid traffic back to your main website deep-link or otherwise.

So let’s jump right into conversion percentages and benchmarks.

First let me start out by defining conversion – A conversion is any form submission, phone call (tracked from your online properties), email or chat session where good re-contact information was captured that would allow the dealership to follow up on the customer. I have yet to have anyone dispute this as a proper definition. If anyone has something that I am missing please feel free to share with the rest of the class. Make no mistake each of these actions can be tracked with absolute accuracy, do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

So how did I come to this 30% benchmark? Ok it starts with my own store were we track everything. We found that we could use the visitors query string data to determine intent and direct visitors to the part of our website that closest matched that intent and when we did so our conversion rate rose 377% to as of this morning 26%. We also found that by tracking and changing certain things about our eBay motors ads we got a higher conversion rate to as of this morning 17%. We also found that using Facebook marketing in ways that were geared to customer interests not so much to customer in market probability we got higher click through and as of this morning a 47% conversion rate, ironically add all of that up and average it and as I write this post we are an average of exactly 30% (there are some decimals there but I am rounding up) and we are a small independent used car operation with none of the brand help dealers have today.

Which brings me to phase 2 of my justification for a 30% benchmark.  I have personally analyzed hundreds of dealership websites over the last 9 months and come to the same conclusion I hear from a lot of dealers and internet personnel I talk to in the store. Branded terms (your dealerships name) drives over 60% of the traffic that comes to my website. I have met very few that will argue this stat, the ones that do say it is too low. Ok so now let’s do some math:

Average dealership website gets 3000 unique visitors per month. 60% came from the stores branded terms (dealership name) that is 1800 visitors whose specific intent was to find your dealerships website.

1800 x 30% = 468 is it too much to ask that out of 1800 visitors 468 engage the store in some way? Let me ask it another way.

If your dealership got 1800 visitors last month and your sales staff could only get 468 of the people who came in entered into your CRM system would any of them be still employed at the dealership?

Any way you slice this up it doesn’t make sense to say 30% is unrealistic. I don't care who you are.

The definition of “Random Access Website”, apparently this adjective has offended a couple of people in the auto community as this is the second post I have been called out on this term, in this last post the offended person even when so far as to Google the term.

A main website has random people that wonder into it from organic links (one of the problems with web marketing and SEO by the way, but that is another post) you have no idea how or why they are there and when they get there they can wonder randomly throughout your site, hence the term “Random Access” a site that is randomly accessed from anywhere by anyone and anyone can randomly go anywhere in it and yes this is basically all main websites. A main website is basically the Encyclopedia Britannica of your online presence you have everything including the kitchen sink in it. From inventory to job postings to press releases to Facebook and twitter links, is it any wonder that visitors become distracted, lost and just basically give up when it come to this maze of information?  I discussed this in depth in my post “Get outside your random access website” from Feb this year go there for more on the pitfalls of conversion in a main website.

Finally the above is a great lead into why you should NEVER…EVER send paid traffic back to your random access main website…EVER!

You should understand by now that your main website is so full of distraction that anyone coming there with a specific purpose will have to work hard to complete that purpose. People specifically looking for your dealership will work harder to get the information they want than others, not by much but harder none the less. I think we can all agree on that and that is why you see higher conversion form branded terms (your dealerships name). When you pay for a click you have to get something out of it sending that to a place where you know they are not interested in all the distractions around them, that doesn’t match with what they were searching for in the first place and make this work to find it, is a recipe for conversion disaster.  

Aside from the distraction factor of a deep-link here are some other reasons to use off site pages and microsites.

1.       Tracking and accountability – it is much…much easier  to track and hold marketing channels, ad groups and keywords accountable for results when you have separate landing experiences.

2.       Split testing – you cannot get to high conversion rates without testing and it is impossible to test in a dealership random access website today even a deep-link.

3.       Matching the message tightly with the ad and the landing. If you think you are doing this with a dynamic deeplink landing page that changes the picture and the header your sorely mistaken you will have to get much more relevant than that.

4.        Getting searched right out of an opportunity – time and time again I see deep-links go to inventory then the customer searches to find out you have 1 or 2 that’s not choice and you missed the opportunity before you ever got a chance to win the customer.

5.       With each off site page or Microsite you create another back-link for you main random access website helping its SEO value.

PPC is and will continue to get more competitive, it is imperative that you create a culture of continuous improvement in conversion for any traffic you are paying for and lets be real you're paying for all of it. Branded terms (your dealership name) comes from your traditional media advertising, organic links comes from SEO (that aint free! All dealerships are paying for this in some way or another), listing sites are costing you subscription & listing fees and obviously you are paying for every click in PPC. You need to track all of these and hold them accountable for conversion because conversion is indicative of what walks in the door…period. Off site landing pages and microsites help you track all of this very accurately and helps get more of what you are paying for.

I hope this clears it up for those who were unclear. For those that think I should “back off” sorry that just wouldn’t be me, can’t do it and for anyone this somewhat helps I’m glad. If I can clarify anything here or you need help contact me I will do all I can.

Cell – 281.455.3811

Email – lburce@micrositesbyu.com

So you know your online marketing needs to be better and now you just need to find someone to do it. The following questions are ones you need to ask to ensure that you maximize your investment:

1. What increase in conversion rates should I expect?

Can an online marketing company guarantee specific results? I have yet to meet a credible company that is able to guarantee specific results. The truth is, every project comes with its own unique situation. However, a good online marketing company should invest time with you up-front to set target goals for any planned improvement and optimization work. Keep in mind though those pre-set targets can be both achieved and missed. The point is to focus on defining success parameters for the project from the very first day.

2. What time frame should I expect the project to be set up by?

Online Marketing is an ongoing process. There is always room for improvements. Some companies will provide the work within a month and disappear after the initial implementation. Your best bet is to find companies that offer support services in the months following initial implementation and will continue to work with you dealership to improve.

3. What happens if our conversion rates do not increase?

Some elements of your online marketing may already be performing at their full potential (if there is such a thing). There are numerous reasons as to why you do not see the desired results. When asking the chosen company this question, you need to pay close attention and really listen to how they answer you. A company just starting out in the online marketing space or that is not very good at what they do, will focus on the fact that you will see improvements. A credible company or practitioner will be focus on a transparent process, keep you updated on how the project is going, and be willing to provide additional work within reasonable parameters if the project goals are not met.

4. What are some of the risks involved in a online marketing project?

A red flag should immediately go up if someone tells you that there are no risks involved with any marketing project. Again, keep in mind that some elements on your online marketing might be performing at their maximum conversion rates. There is always a slight chance of lowering conversion rates, although it is a small risk with companies that know what they are doing. A recent client of ours came to us after a change in online marketing companies caused his lead rate to drop by 40%! Online marketing optimization will most likely require changes in site layout and copy, traffic direction and landing. There are times where such changes will affect results.

5. Do you follow a specific methodology to online marketing and conversion optimization?

If you are buying traffic, clicks or eyeballs conversion is the only thing that matters. Following any of the conversion optimization blogs should help you improve conversions. However, reaching double digits in conversion rates requires a unique and repeatable methodology. I have to add here that testing is not a methodology. It’s a component of a methodology, but cannot and should not constitute a whole methodology. Finally, the methodology should be easily adaptable to each specific project and dealership.

6. Do you work with any partners?

Online marketing work requires collaboration with design firms, SEO houses and other marketing companies. A good online marketing company will have some of these tasks in house. Some will work with partners to complete the work. Check their partners’ work and make sure that you are happy with it. Also ask what would happen if the partner defaults or does not deliver on time or within the acceptable standards of quality.

7. What are some of your failures?

If you work long enough in online marketing optimization, you will have few failures along the way. There are many reasons why a project could fail. An honest company will be open and transparent about the mistakes and lessons they have learned. A company that never had a single failure is too good to be true.

8. Do you work with my website company?

Your website is getting a significant amount of traffic, most of that traffic is looking for you dealership specifically so it is important that your online marketing company have creative ways to work with your website to increase conversion. Most website vendors in the automotive space have limits on the type of work that can be done on the site. It is almost impossible to find an online marketing company that works with all the different web companies in our industry, but the more experienced companies should have worked with some of the major website vendors out there. What’s more important than working with a particular website vendor is understanding what kind of limitations working with a templatized framework can bring.

9. What is expected from my personnel?

Having responsibilities well defined prior to the start of the engagement will make everyone’s life a lot easier. If the online marketing company is expecting you to complete any specific tasks, you need to have the time, money and resources ready to do so. Is your technical staff going to be required to complete any specific tasks? Should your internet group or management be prepared to participate in specific discussions? Answering these questions and preparing your team to support the online marketing company will impact the overall success of the engagement.

10. What conversion optimization platform do you use?

Always test, test, test! There is a variety of testing software available out there. Is the online marketing company going to use Google website optimizer or are they going to use proprietary tools set? Using Google website optimizer works in many of the cases but is difficult to implement takes longer to achieve results and you have no control over the testing process. Other company’s use 3^rd party software that they have little control over the process and will be limited in their ability to optimize for the automotive industry and there are too many who use nothing at all and if they are just buying you some traffic that’s the company you need to run from.

11. What will I learn from you?

Are you expecting to learn anything from the online marketing company? Will they engage in knowledge transfer, or is the online marketing company solely focused on doing the work for you. There are times where clients hope to learn from online marketing companies while these companies are only focused and interested in keeping them as a paying client.

12. What kind of support will we receive?

Online marketing is never complete. It will not be sufficient for you to hire a company that will charge a monthly fee then no further interaction, or you have to continuously contact them. You need to find someone who will stand behind you and provide additional support if you need it and continuously bring new ideas and opportunities to your attention.

13. What is the cost?

Some sales people run away from answering this question. They want to tell you about all the benefits you will get and the value they can bring first. In all honesty, I am a fan of being up-front of what clients should expect to pay. In the end Online Marketing is just about the numbers if you're as good as you think you are then the price can be justified by the results.  

14. Will you accept to be paid on achieved performance?

This might be the toughest question for a online marketing company to answer. Most online marketing companies are really consulting firms. Traditionally with any consulting practice, you pay for the time and effort spent by the company regardless to the results achieved. That is the reason, you -the client- need to make sure you are hiring the right company. However, there are few of us online marketing companies out there that operate on performance based models. These are the companies that are confident in their methodology and have a sustainable repeatable process and the companies you are most likely to have success with.

Okay, so I focused on online marketing companies in this post but the same questions would work for many of the online marketing disciplines.

Any other questions you recommend adding or removing from the list?

So you know your online marketing needs to be better and now you just need to find someone to do it. The following questions are ones you need to ask to ensure that you maximize your investment:

1. What increase in conversion rates should I expect?

Can an online marketing company guarantee specific results? I have yet to meet a credible company that is able to guarantee specific results. The truth is, every project comes with its own unique situation. However, a good online marketing company should invest time with you up-front to set target goals for any planned improvement and optimization work. Keep in mind though those pre-set targets can be both achieved and missed. The point is to focus on defining success parameters for the project from the very first day.

2. What time frame should I expect the project to be set up by?

Online Marketing is an ongoing process. There is always room for improvements. Some companies will provide the work within a month and disappear after the initial implementation. Your best bet is to find companies that offer support services in the months following initial implementation and will continue to work with you dealership to improve.

3. What happens if our conversion rates do not increase?

Some elements of your online marketing may already be performing at their full potential (if there is such a thing). There are numerous reasons as to why you do not see the desired results. When asking the chosen company this question, you need to pay close attention and really listen to how they answer you. A company just starting out in the online marketing space or that is not very good at what they do, will focus on the fact that you will see improvements. A credible company or practitioner will be focus on a transparent process, keep you updated on how the project is going, and be willing to provide additional work within reasonable parameters if the project goals are not met.

4. What are some of the risks involved in a online marketing project?

A red flag should immediately go up if someone tells you that there are no risks involved with any marketing project. Again, keep in mind that some elements on your online marketing might be performing at their maximum conversion rates. There is always a slight chance of lowering conversion rates, although it is a small risk with companies that know what they are doing. A recent client of ours came to us after a change in online marketing companies caused his lead rate to drop by 40%! Online marketing optimization will most likely require changes in site layout and copy, traffic direction and landing. There are times where such changes will affect results.

5. Do you follow a specific methodology to online marketing and conversion optimization?

If you are buying traffic, clicks or eyeballs conversion is the only thing that matters. Following any of the conversion optimization blogs should help you improve conversions. However, reaching double digits in conversion rates requires a unique and repeatable methodology. I have to add here that testing is not a methodology. It’s a component of a methodology, but cannot and should not constitute a whole methodology. Finally, the methodology should be easily adaptable to each specific project and dealership.

6. Do you work with any partners?

Online marketing work requires collaboration with design firms, SEO houses and other marketing companies. A good online marketing company will have some of these tasks in house. Some will work with partners to complete the work. Check their partners’ work and make sure that you are happy with it. Also ask what would happen if the partner defaults or does not deliver on time or within the acceptable standards of quality.

7. What are some of your failures?

If you work long enough in online marketing optimization, you will have few failures along the way. There are many reasons why a project could fail. An honest company will be open and transparent about the mistakes and lessons they have learned. A company that never had a single failure is too good to be true.

8. Do you work with my website company?

Your website is getting a significant amount of traffic, most of that traffic is looking for you dealership specifically so it is important that your online marketing company have creative ways to work with your website to increase conversion. Most website vendors in the automotive space have limits on the type of work that can be done on the site. It is almost impossible to find an online marketing company that works with all the different web companies in our industry, but the more experienced companies should have worked with some of the major website vendors out there. What’s more important than working with a particular website vendor is understanding what kind of limitations working with a templatized framework can bring.

9. What is expected from my personnel?

Having responsibilities well defined prior to the start of the engagement will make everyone’s life a lot easier. If the online marketing company is expecting you to complete any specific tasks, you need to have the time, money and resources ready to do so. Is your technical staff going to be required to complete any specific tasks? Should your internet group or management be prepared to participate in specific discussions? Answering these questions and preparing your team to support the online marketing company will impact the overall success of the engagement.

10. What conversion optimization platform do you use?

Always test, test, test! There is a variety of testing software available out there. Is the online marketing company going to use Google website optimizer or are they going to use proprietary tools set? Using Google website optimizer works in many of the cases but is difficult to implement takes longer to achieve results and you have no control over the testing process. Other company’s use 3^rd party software that they have little control over the process and will be limited in their ability to optimize for the automotive industry and there are too many who use nothing at all and if they are just buying you some traffic that’s the company you need to run from.

11. What will I learn from you?

Are you expecting to learn anything from the online marketing company? Will they engage in knowledge transfer, or is the online marketing company solely focused on doing the work for you. There are times where clients hope to learn from online marketing companies while these companies are only focused and interested in keeping them as a paying client.

12. What kind of support will we receive?

Online marketing is never complete. It will not be sufficient for you to hire a company that will charge a monthly fee then no further interaction, or you have to continuously contact them. You need to find someone who will stand behind you and provide additional support if you need it and continuously bring new ideas and opportunities to your attention.

13. What is the cost?

Some sales people run away from answering this question. They want to tell you about all the benefits you will get and the value they can bring first. In all honesty, I am a fan of being up-front of what clients should expect to pay. In the end Online Marketing is just about the numbers if you're as good as you think you are then the price can be justified by the results.  

14. Will you accept to be paid on achieved performance?

This might be the toughest question for a online marketing company to answer. Most online marketing companies are really consulting firms. Traditionally with any consulting practice, you pay for the time and effort spent by the company regardless to the results achieved. That is the reason, you -the client- need to make sure you are hiring the right company. However, there are few of us online marketing companies out there that operate on performance based models. These are the companies that are confident in their methodology and have a sustainable repeatable process and the companies you are most likely to have success with.

Okay, so I focused on online marketing companies in this post but the same questions would work for many of the online marketing disciplines.

Any other questions you recommend adding or removing from the list?