As you survey the landscape in your search for a new digital marketing partner, you may notice that many agencies—particularly newer, smaller ones—are fueled by the charisma of a single partner. Typically, she or he has left a large firm with a client in tow as they hang out their own shingle and brazenly proclaim their intention of becoming a disruptive force heretofore unseen in the digital agency space.

But success often doesn’t come easily, if at all. As we have discussed, many agencies struggle for a number of reasons including those we have detailed in our previous four posts: Agency Longevity, Agency Size, Technology Resources and Walking the Walk. Therefore, it is probably no surprise to you that many agencies that don’t stack up in these four key areas often compete for business almost solely on the basis of price.

Perhaps this is a good time to remember the time-tested adage, “You get what you pay for.”

At Imaginuity, our clients don’t come to us based on price. If fact, we are usually 20-30% higher than most of our competitors. Clients come to us because of our reputation—earned over nearly two decades—of being the best at what we do. They come to us because they value our work. They come to us because of our people. And they come to us because they know that everything we do—from strategy, to creative, to technology, to program execution—is done 100% in-house. Ultimately, they come to us because we deliver results.

While low numbers may be appealing on first blush, don’t let them distract you. That too-good-to-be-true contract you are about to sign is just that—a financial pipe-dream. It’s this simple: Low price is just another name for pain.

Our CMO friend, and countless other crisis-mode clients who have turned to us, went with the low bid first. And what happened? Account planning and management was haphazard. Project documentation was almost non-existent. The quality of creative was substandard. The technology components were shoddy. And the list goes on.

But that initial low bid is, perhaps, the worst part of it all. Agencies that low-ball bids play the change order game. They come in low to win your business and then hit you with change orders at every turn to drive up the cost. Our CMO friend and many others have ended up paying more for incomplete projects than they would have if they had engaged with us in the first place.

Yes, we may ask you to spend a dime where others promise to deliver on a nickel. But because we are transparent about our cost structure and the resources needed to complete any given assignment, you know exactly what you are getting and where your money is going when you engage Imaginuity. Cutting corners is not an option. And while it may be more expensive upfront, in the long run partnering with us usually ends of saving clients precious budget dollars as well as time and pain.

Pricing certainly is important, but aren’t value and ROI even more important? What key qualities are you looking for in a new digital agency? What would you pay a partner you can entrust with both your brand and your budget?

We can’t answer these questions for you, we can only provide you with the best-in-class digital marketing strategy, creative and technology services for which we are known. And we think that is well worth the price.