Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the country and one of the fastest-growing suburban populations, and its agency market serves both. The result is an unusually wide supply, from firms staffed to run a national brand's media to two-person shops serving a single suburb, all appearing in the same search and describing themselves in the same language. Working out which tier is quoting you is most of the job.
Establish the tier before you read the proposal
The question that separates them fastest is what their smallest and largest current clients look like in size, and who specifically would do your work day to day. A firm whose smallest account is far larger than you will staff you with its most junior people and a process built for a client with an in-house team. A two-person shop may be exactly right and will not have cover when somebody is ill. Neither is wrong; being surprised is.
The metroplex is not one market and the plan should say so
Dallas and Fort Worth are separate cities with separate competition, and Plano, Frisco, Arlington, Irving and McKinney have their own identities. A plan that targets the metroplex as one unit is competing everywhere and matching nobody's description of where they are. Establish which places your customers actually come from and require the plan to name them.
Ask which disciplines are in-house and which are resold
A full-service offer usually means some of it is subcontracted, which is fine when it is disclosed and is a problem when the account manager cannot answer a question about the work. Ask, per discipline, who does it. The answer tells you where the agency's actual competence is and where you are paying a margin on somebody else's hours.
Corporate experience is not always relevant experience
A portfolio full of recognisable brands is impressive and says little about serving a business your size, because the problems are different: brand work assumes existing demand and a team to execute, while a growing local business needs enquiries this quarter with nobody spare. Ask for the case that most resembles your situation, and be wary if there isn't one.
Settle ownership at the start, in a market where changing supplier is common
With this much supply, businesses change agencies often, and the cost of changing is decided in the first week. The website, the analytics, the search console and the advertising accounts should be yours with the agency added, and the content produced should be your property. That single arrangement is what makes leaving a decision rather than a loss.
Questions people ask about Dallas digital marketing agency
Why do quotes in Dallas vary so widely?
Because the same search returns firms staffed for national brands and two-person shops serving one suburb. Establish the tier, who does the work, and what their other clients look like in size, and the range stops being mysterious.
Should we target the whole metroplex?
Only what you actually serve. Dallas and Fort Worth are separate markets and the suburbs have their own identities, so a metroplex-wide plan competes everywhere while matching few people's description of where they are.
Is a full-service agency better than specialists?
It depends on whether the disciplines are genuinely in-house. Ask which are resold. Coordination under one roof is worth something; paying a margin on work the account manager cannot discuss is not.
What should we own?
The website, the analytics property, the search console property, the advertising accounts and the content. In a market where changing agency is routine, ownership is what makes that a choice rather than starting again.