Tips on working with creative agencies

Image credit: Brooke Cragle from Unsplash

Most businesses will work with one or more agencies as an integral part of their day to day marketing strategy. Having a good relationship with the agencies you work with can make a huge difference to the success of your marketing.

Everyone has heard horror stories about agencies that have underperformed, drained resources, or just failed to live up to expectations. And while there are both good and bad agencies out there, it is often a number of easily avoidable factors that can doom the relationship.

So if you’re thinking about engaging with an agency to do your PR, web design, social media marketing, etc, then follow these tips in order to get the very best.

Get the brief right
Creating a detailed, realistic brief is the first step. You need to be clear about what you are looking for, the scope of work, how results will be measured, and indicative budgets. An agency will then be able to flag any issues with regards to what you’re hoping to achieve and what services they can provide. You can then reshape the brief together or move on.

Mismatched expectations when working together can quickly become apparent and can lead to the souring of the relationship.

Set key performance indicators
Being clear about what needs to be achieved is very important. For instance, if you’re working with a corporate video production agency, you should know what they are expected to deliver in terms of project management, timescale, additional costs, etc. By having these set-out and agreed upon between you as you start working together, you will be able to hold them to account for the work they are delivering. If these aren’t in place, you again have mismatched expectations that can cause the relationship to break down.

Streamline the points of contact
You will likely have an account manager, who will be your point of contact for the agency. You might well get to know other members of the team too, but your account manager will be the person you deal with the most. This helps an agency keeps track of their work and builds relationships with their clients.

It makes sense to have a similar process on your side too. If all employees start contacting the agency, requesting jobs be done, then it can complicate the entire process. It’s your job to be the point of contact for your company, to streamline your requests and communicate feedback. It will be less confusing for everyone and your agency won’t become confused, not knowing who it should be listening to.

Deal with issues promptly
If you’re not happy with some work the agency has done, or are concerned about any other aspect of the relationship, you should raise it with your account manager immediately. Usually, it is something that can be remedied quickly and you can move on. If you don’t raise it, it can start to build resentment towards the agency. It is much more difficult to come back from this.

Conclusion
Agencies can be the driving force behind your success, but this can only happen if you choose the right one and the lines of communication are open. Most issues stem from unclear expectations and failure to communicate effectively.