Getting the Most from Your Agency Partner

You’ve made the decision to seek professional help for your marketing needs, and you probably have a few high priority items that you need addressed. But how do you go about finding an agency that can meet your needs? It can be a daunting task if you haven’t been through the process of selecting and building a trusting partnership with a marketing agency before. Or perhaps you are recovering from a previous negative experience with a marketing agency. Either way, there’s high potential for putting the wrong team together without knowing it, and that can be an expensive, frustrating mistake. As if finding a great agency isn’t hard enough, once you have made your selection there is the difficult issue of making sure you are getting the most out of the partnership. Never fear. Rhythm Interactive has put together a few tips to help you pick a winning team and ensure great results:

Organizing On Your End
Define Your Business Goals and Project Objectives
Before anything else, decide what you hope to accomplish with your marketing efforts. Write down some business goals and project objectives, and review them with the appropriate people in your company.

Business goals are high-level statements describing the value the effort will bring to the business. It’s good to be as specific as possible. Try to write your goal statements using the “SMART” format: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based.

Examples of SMART business goals:

• Increase Sales by 20% in third and fourth quarter of current fiscal year.
• Establish a professional image that reflects the spirit of the brand by September 1.
• Ensure a consistent shopping experience at each retail location before holiday season next year.
• Generate 100 qualified new business leads by January 15th.
• Reduce annual call center costs by 20% by the end of next fiscal year.
• Reduce direct mail promotional costs over the next year by 60%.

Project objectives (not to be confused with marketing objectives, communication objectives, etc.) are statements that describe what the project will achieve and deliver. Project objectives should also be SMART. To be specific and concrete, project objectives should be deliverable-based. The completion of a project objective should be evident through the creation of one or more deliverables. If the statement is at a high level and does not imply the creation of a deliverable, it may be a goal instead. If the statement is too low-level and describes features and functions, then it may be a requirement statement instead.

Examples of SMART project objectives:

• Develop a comprehensive interactive marketing plan by the end of August.
• Create a new brand strategy by September 1.
• Plan, design, implement and launch a new corporate website before the upcoming trade show.
• Plan, design and publish online sweepstakes at the same time the new product launches in July.

Create Your Budget
Realistically decide how much you can and are willing to spend. Your marketing firm can help you get to where you need to go a lot quicker if you are up front with them about your budget. Don’t keep it a secret.

Gather Source Material
Assemble anything that the marketing strategy and design team may find helpful: company profile/history, your mission statement, company values, customer research, customer feedback, market research, articles that mention your company, a good cross-sampling of marketing material that your company has previously used, marketing material from your competitors, marketing material inside and outside of your category that appeals to you in some way, etc.

Build Your Team
Assign a sole representative who will be responsible for communicating with the agency, providing final approval, coordinating feedback and participation from all stakeholders etc. Also, develop a steering committee. Make sure all the proper people are involved.

Determine Your Readiness And Assess Your Level Of Commitment
Do all participants have the time to devote to the project? Do all stakeholders seem aligned on the objectives? Do they see themselves as partners on a winning team? Are they passionate about securing results? Has a formal budget been established? If not, this may not be the right time to enter the venture.

Sizing Up an Agency
Assess Your Needs
After reviewing the objectives you have defined for yourself, develop a general idea of what type of marketing and creative services you think you need. If you need help primarily with public relations, a conventional graphic design firm may not be the place to look. If you need branding, PR, web development, print communications and advertising, then you should be talking to full-service marketing agencies.

Understand A Firm’s Capabilities

• What are the firm’s specialties?
• What services are they most experienced in providing?
• Meet the team. Who will be dedicated to your account? Learn about their background and credentials. How much experience do they have?

Learn About the Firm’s Approach

• Does the firm’s approach recognize the big picture?
• What principles guide the firm’s work?
• Can they demonstrate a strong, procedural method?
• Is the approach customer-centered?
• Is it business-minded, with an eye on improving your bottom line and helping you sustain competitive advantage?
• Does it seem creative?

Review Work Samples

• How does it look at a glance? Does it make you feel anything?
• How conceptual is it? Even if it looks great, make sure it means something. What purpose did the piece serve and how well? Try to judge its quality within the context of the business problem it was meant to solve.
• As they are presenting work, does the agency rep talk about the problem they solved for the client and the results that were realized? If so, that’s a good sign that they will develop an intelligent solution for you that will produce the results you desire. However, if they just talk about how they technically executed the design and how they seemed to satisfy their own artistic idea, this is cause for concern. It may be an indication of an immature, self-indulgent approach to problem solving where the client’s business and customers do not take a front seat.
• Does the work show a range of styles that are appropriate to each client’s unique situation or does everything look similar? This could be good or bad. If all the work has a similar appearance, chances are yours will too. However, if the style of that agency’s work is what you want and seems appropriate, then maybe it’s a good way to go.

Assess the Agency’s Existing Client Base

• Review size, quality and types of existing clients
• Ask for references
• Ask to see testimonials

Analyze Costs

• Is the agency’s rate and billing model fair?
• Is the agency flexible? Do they adjust scope to meet your budget?

Does the agency listen to you and understand your needs?
It’s important to feel heard. Look to the agency as the experts and expect them to provide council on the best route for you, but make sure those recommendations respect your needs and budget.

How do their personalities and office culture seem to fit with yours?
You will be entering a strategic partnership with the agency you hire. For that partnership to be successful, you will need to be able to work well with the agency representatives. This means having reasonably aligned goals, beliefs and perceptions as well as the ability to communicate effectively with one another and have a little fun.

Is it necessary for the agency to have extensive experience promoting clients in your industry?
This is a common misconception. Strategic marketing and creative design principles apply equally to any industry. With the right approach, a qualified marketing firm can arrive at effective solutions for you regardless of whether they have previous experience promoting clients in your industry. The learning curve may be a little steeper, and you will want to make sure you are not overcharged for the time it takes the team to learn your business. However, an agency entering your business environment with fresh eyes may come up with unique solutions that firms specializing in your industry would overlook.

Can I save money by foregoing the agency route and hiring a solo freelancer?
The answer is yes. Freelancers’ hourly rates fall well below that of most agencies, sometimes by 50% or more. But as we all know, spending less does not always secure the best value. Generally speaking, team environments produce more creative solutions than those developed by one person. If too many people get involved however, the process can slow down quite a bit, and the solution can become muddled. Another thing to consider is that one person’s skill set and experience often won’t be nearly as broad as what an agency can offer you. The choice whether to hire an agency or a freelancer depends on your resources, specific needs and unique situation.

Crossing the T’s and Dotting the I’s
After you have selected an agency, the next step is for the project manager at the agency to draw up a work arrangement letter that will document the goals to be reached, the success criteria and the constraints that the team must work within. The following information should be included in the document:

Identify Projects
List the work to be completed, and break it into clearly defined, logical segments. For each work segment, specify the following:

Background and Overview
Briefly describe the background and context for the project and why it is being undertaken.

List Business Goals and Project Objectives
The business goals and project objectives will serve as important success criteria to keep the team aligned and focused. Again, make sure they are deliverable-based and follow the SMART format.

Determine Scope
Specifically list what activities, services and deliverables are to be included in the project. Be clear about what signifies the conclusion of the project. It is equally important to list which activities, services and deliverables are not to be included by the agency in the scope of work.

Create Timeline
As a client, you need to be careful to communicate all critical dates. The agency then must return a proposed timeline listing milestones, deliverables and completion dates.

Define the Team and Organizational Structure
Clearly list each team member, their role in the project, responsibilities and to whom they report.

Define Project Management Framework
Describe the way the project will be managed. Who are the point people? Will there be weekly status meetings? If so, are the meetings in person or on the phone? Who will facilitate? What format will the meetings follow? Who will be attending? In what manner will work be presented? Describe the review and approval process in detail. Define communication protocols. Establish a method for tracking issues.

There you have it. By practicing these tips, you will enjoy more confidence in knowing you’ve put together a winning team that will help you realize your business goals. In addition, by following this proven process, you will save time, save money and experience a much greater return on your marketing investment.