Should I Hire an Analytics Agency?

This post was originally published in 2018, and last updated 2022.

When making the decision to hire an analytics agency, there are many questions you need to ask yourself and any potential agency to determine if you have a good fit.

Below are 10 evaluations to do before pulling the trigger on hiring an Analytics Agency.

Should I Hire an Agency for Analytics?

1. Yes, hire an agency if you’re investing in digital marketing.

As a rule of thumb, at least 5% and as much as 10% of your marketing budget should be invested in analytics tools, internal team, and agencies or consultants.

At around 5-10% your analytics investment is around the right level to have a positive impact on your overall marketing budget helping to reduce wasteful spend and improve current efforts.

2. Yes, hire an agency if your company values data decision making.

A company that values data and its role in making business decisions will always get more value out of their analytics investment than one that does not.

While an agency can help build trust overtime, data-driven culture is something that also requires internal advocates working with the agency. If data isn’t valued, analysis may fall on deaf ears and resources to implement data tracking will be deprioritized, meaning your agency won’t be able to provide real value.

3. Yes, hire an agency if your in-house analyst desperately needs support.

You probably have someone, even if it’s only part of their job or unofficial, who at a minimum pulls reports. Or, maybe you have a full-time analyst who digs into great analysis for your company regularly.

Either way, an agency can augment the work they’re doing flexing to pick up the areas of a comprehensive analytics plan the in-house resource hasn’t had the time or expertise to dig into.

4. Yes, hire an agency if you have a lot of stakeholders to align.

20 departments that all need reports? 3 VPs with different questions about their site to analyze? 8 different sub-brands and websites with combined and separate reporting needs?

An agency can help you wrangle these differing needs across stakeholders, while helping keep an overall measurement strategy moving forward.

5. Yes, hire an agency if you work with/plan to use a premium tool.

Not only do you need to go through a reseller to purchase an Enterprise tool such as Google Analytics 360 (GA360) - but if you’re investing in a paid tool, it’s worth the time making sure it’s set up in a way to provide you the best value. Also, with an agency that will continue to act on new features as they become available.

6. Yes, hire an agency if they get to know your business first.

Data analysis requires context. A good agency will start off their process getting to understand your business, customers, and industry. This isn’t just at the start but an ongoing process.

7. Yes, hire an agency if they provide more than just tracking.

Most agencies, Seer included, will start out with an audit and setup phase, ensuring data tracking accuracy. But your agency should be providing benefits beyond tracking, such as:

• Measurement strategy
• Data analysis
• Remarketing support
• A/B testing
• And more!

8. Yes, hire an agency if they care about data integration.

While most agencies will start with auditing and setting up a primary digital analytics source, such as Google Analytics, does their long-term strategy consider other data sources?

A good agency will expand with as many data sources as they can over time such as qualitative data from heatmapping or survey tools, your internal sales/CRM data, paid platforms, social media data, and others.

9. Yes, hire an agency if they collaborate with your other partners.

Your analytics agency is unique as they are supporting and reporting on data that impacts everyone. Other agencies or internal teams may be responsible for a single marketing channel or website UX, and will focus on their specific data points.

Your analytics agency needs to make sure and collaborate with all of them to put together a complete data picture.

10. Yes, hire an agency if they are Google or Adobe Certified.

Anyone can claim to help you with your analytics, but Google Analytics Certified Partners (GACPs) have gone through rigorous testing, regularly report to Google, and can provide Google-backed support.

BONUS: Yes, hire an agency if you plan to go through a redesign.

If you’re going through a website redesign you almost certainly want an analytics agency to at a minimum help you through that. Most web design firms will offer only minimal tracking support at launch but drop off the map afterwards.

"Don’t wait until after the site is launched."

An analytics agency can help from the beginning with analysis about your current site to inform the redesign, and work throughout the redesign to ensure the site is set up in a way that from launch date you’re collecting all the data you need.

In Conclusion

Should your company hire an Analytics agency?

Leaning toward hiring an Analytics agency after thinking through these items? Check out our Analytics & Insights services at Seer.

Is Seer the Analytics Agency For You?