You might be surprised when we list the 3 best practices used by top online marketing companies because they don’t apply to numbers, data and marketing speak. These are the skills that the very best online marketing agencies use every day to win their online marketing battles.

1) The best agencies know their clients. The best agencies know their clients inside out. Their clients’ unique characteristics aren’t just noted in a CRM software tool. Online marketing companies know what drives their clients’ business success and they align marketing campaigns to make that happen. The online marketing agency acts like a really good journalist; constantly digging and scratching for more information that it can use to build the brand story and engage the audience.

2) Top agencies use great tools. They don’t waste time. They use the tools that make data visualization and analysis easy. They provide insights to their clients. This is not the same as slick-looking reporting. Anyone can white label a nice-looking report. What we mean here is to collect data through use of measuring tools and provide a well-reasoned conclusion to the client that can be used for decision making.

3) Superior online marketing agencies call in additional experts when needed. On an ad-hoc basis an agency may need to call in a specialized market research firm or other experts to help gain intelligence needed to proceed with the campaign. Reinventing the wheel costs a lot. Knowing who to call to mine their expertise is a skill in itself and one that the best agencies can offer you.

These three best practices can transform your online marketing. When you are shopping for a new agency, keep this list with you so you can use it to vet online marketing companies. It can save you hours of agony that could have been spent winning online.