Imagine running a business that offers premier products and services. You also have no trouble keeping your employees motivated and aligned with your goals. However, you can’t seem to get your company in front of the right people.
Scenarios like these are one of the many reasons that approximately 20% of small businesses within the United States fail within their first year. The good news is that you can leverage programmatic ads to take your brand awareness to the next level.
However, not everyone understands what to look for in a programmatic advertising company. Let’s explore the key information you should know when moving forward.
- Cost
Cost is one of the most important attributes to consider when searching for a company to help you with programmatic buying. You often get what you pay for, and it’s never recommended to go with the cheapest options you find. However, you also don’t need to spend as much money as possible on these services.
Somewhere in the middle of the price range can help you reach your goals without overspending. Ask for a comprehensive breakdown of what you’ll pay for.
This provides valuable insight and prevents financial surprises from occurring. If the company can’t provide this information, it is best to continue your search elsewhere.
- Transparency
Only choose firms that have no issue providing full transparency into the methods they use. Otherwise, you will have a difficult time determining whether their services are worth the money you spend.
If they avoid questions about this topic, it’s imperative to look for other options. For example, they might refuse to clarify how they configure their programmatic ads.
There’s no reason for reputable companies to withhold this information from their clients. Situations like these often indicate they’re using nefarious tactics. In context, this could involve artificially inflating your analytics to make it look like you got better results than you did.
- Technology
Choosing a firm that utilizes contemporary technology comes with another major benefit: You won’t have to train your team on how to use the software.
In some cases, integrating new technology on your own could take months to do successfully. Working with a provider who has partnered with these platforms, and knows how they are best used, removes the learning curve for you and gets the results you want sooner.
- Targeting Options
It’s best to find a programmatic advertising company that offers plenty of targeting options. Using blanket demographic data for your campaigns is essentially rolling the dice. You’ll need to get highly specific to get consistent results.
The more attributes you can work with, the better. Consider a situation where you can only target your audience by their age, gender, and annual income. Regardless of what product or service you provide, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to reach the people you intend to.
Having access to audience manager functionality so you can fine-tune your targeting is crucial. This plays a large role in the results you’ll get. This can provide comprehensive oversight of your key audience details.
- User Data
Does the firm you work with provide comprehensive access to user data? The better you understand your audience, the easier it will be for you to target them in the future. Even a minor oversight can dictate whether you bring your vision to life.
To clarify, you might accidentally target a demographic that’s slightly outside of the audience you should focus on. This could cause you to lose a substantial amount of money on your investment.
A great attribute of having access to user data is the ability to automate future campaigns. Once you fine-tune the necessary details, you should have no issue re-creating stellar campaign performance in the future.
- Technical Support
Issues will inevitably arise after enough time passes. The last thing you want is to deal with these issues on your own, as most people don’t have the tools or resources to do so.
Many service providers offer 24/7 support. They often do so through chatbots or outsourced employees. Regardless of how they offer support, make sure they’re accessible so you can get the help you need when necessary.
- An Intuitive Interface
When checking your campaign details, all the information you’re looking for should be easy to find. Having access to an intuitive interface will substantially impact the experience you have.
This is true no matter how efficiently the company provides its services. Keep this in mind when moving forward so you avoid options that won’t be suitable.
- Analytics
The more analytics information you have access to, the easier it will be for you to refine your strategy in the future. You can emphasize strategies that work and configure those that don’t. Key metrics to consider include:
- CPM
- Clickthrough rate
- Conversions
- Page value
- Total site traffic
- Traffic sources
Look for long-term trends in your performance so you can develop a comprehensive strategy. One of the best ways to use this information is to conduct split, or A/B, testing.
This involves running similar ads that have minor differences. For example, you could run two separate ads that are mostly identical aside from their call to action. By checking your conversions, you can determine which strategy is more effective.
Don’t Settle for the Wrong Programmatic Advertising Company
If you don’t find the right programmatic advertising company for your needs, you risk falling short of your goals. The info in this guide will help ensure you get started on the right track and avoid common pitfalls.
At Version2, we pride ourselves on our values-led culture, strategic execution, and intense passion for providing excellent service. We aim to take your company’s performance to the next level as soon as possible. You’ll learn more about the many benefits we can provide when you book a call with us today.
