“Anyone from around the world can sell Digital Marketing. Because the industry is not regulated, they can promise anything for a small price. There are no laws to protect the businesses after they are burnt because of limited jurisdiction. The money flows out of the country and is not helping the economy.”
Sethi brings a wealth of experience in digital marketing, supplying quality services, building trust and rapport with clients, and ensuring agreed outcomes are delivered successfully.
You might think this ought to be the standard for business anywhere. Unfortunately not; digital marketing services are being sold to Australian organisations by people who are not actually capable of delivering on them. In fact, who may not even have any intention of doing so.
“Right now without the overarching laws that can protect the businesses, it’s as open and rampant as it can be. It’s the wild west. Anyone can approach small businesses in Australia, paint a pretty picture, promise the world for a ‘small monthly fee’. These empty offers are attractive and costly in the long run,” Sethi said.
Inboxes around the country every day are filled with unsolicited approaches from so-called SEO and marketing experts. You can spot the fraudsters and protect yourself from loss. Sethi advises, “when it comes to the return on your marketing dollars, it is important to understand who and what you’re investing in. In most cases, if you’re not aware of where the money is going, you will not get the desired return. We recommend checking for signs that can help you filter out the bad from the good.”
Here is Sagar Sethi's advice:
- A good digital agency or specialist would focus on their own presence. Always ask for their own rankings on Google, accreditations for their capabilities and proof of previous works.
- Ask for the research they have done specifically for your industry, website and audience – if they do not have the capacity to invest in research now, whatever they do for you will be half-baked.
By contrast, you can also spot an ethical digital marketer.
"They centre on return on investment (RoI) from day one. The agency concentrates on RoI and looks at the dollars spent as if they were their own,” Sethi said. Also, they “work as an extension of your business. They will ask many questions to understand the business thoroughly.”
A big problem is the lack of regulation, Sethi notes. "Many industries have regulations in place that limit the kinds of claims businesses can make when advertising or marketing. Something similar for digital marketing would be a big step in the right direction. For example, it’s very easy to cherry-pick data for a case study. You can advertise that you’ve achieved an 800% increase in traffic for your clients, but they won’t tell you that’s an increase from one to eight. But of course, they’re technically telling the truth and you can’t contest that if they’ve promised you the same results.”
"With regulation, you could demand the complete picture if you’re advertising results, or at the very least limit the kind of language that can be used in advertising similar to industries like finance and health,” Sethi said.
However, ultimately, it's a problem that needs widespread cooperation, as well as vigilance from everybody.
"Like other scams, the responsibility lays with everyone. Although the industry can do with regulations, we believe educating the businesses is what’s needed more. A well-informed business owner would hire for skill, not hopes and dreams,” Sethi said.
The prevalence of scams ought not to deter businesses from working with legitimate experts. “Every business needs marketing and with everything moving to digital, businesses need to think about incorporating effective digital marketing strategies to their business plans,” Sethi said.
Happily, you can evaluate a digital marketing provider to ensure it will be a trusted partner. Sethi offers these tips:
“The best way is simply to ask them. If they can’t be honest with you, continue to dodge questions, or don’t have a plan for progress tracking and reporting in place before you start with them, there’s likely going to be problems in the future,” he said.
"Any digital marketing provider worth their salt will have no problems providing you with more information, or at least proof that they can do what they say they can. Asking for a clear breakdown of costs involved is also a great way to work out if what you’re paying for is legitimate. Many of these providers make big promises while charging very little.”
“If they can’t tell you how your money is being spent or can’t be specific with it, walk out the door.”
