Being in a leadership position means that you have to look through the thousands of agencies that are currently offering the same services. Even though your team can assist you in staying on course and in control, there may be times when you require some outside assistance.
An effective marketing agency can expand your capabilities by adding new eyes to find effective marketing or injecting much-needed creativity. Finding the right marketing agency is no easy task.
An analogy: the right marketing agency can act like a Lamborghini Huracan; a beast of a machine that can power its way to top performance much faster than a Ford Fiesta. It is a lot more fun to do so! Similar to a marketing agency, some agencies are like a brick in a windscreen. They cause you to stop growing and moving forward.
So, how do you make this important decision? How can an agency mismatch not get in the way of you? What questions need to be asked? And most importantly, how do you start to process of finding an agency to work with?
Simple! Find our below:
What we will discuss
Before writing this blog post, I spoke with our team to see what everyone would do if they had to find an agency. We worked together to develop the steps and advice in this article. What we’ll talk about:
- Identify your company’s needs and set goals to select the best marketing agency.
- To guarantee success, assess an agency’s level of experience, skill, and industry understanding.
- Enquire about their strategy and performance history to ensure a fruitful collaboration.
Recognising your needs and outlining the scope of work
A client-agency relationship’s scope serves as its foundation. You must assess and clarify your needs before you can build a scope. Ultimately, a plethora of distinct marketing agencies exist, each with their own particular areas of expertise. A hyper-specific specialisation can be their focus, or they can provide a full service. But what is needed for your business?
Assume that creating engaging content and dominating search engine rankings are your objectives. After that, you could wish to search for a content marketing company that offers a robust SEO service.
Alternatively, if your company is just getting started and you don’t think you have a strong brand identification, working with a brand development and design agency could be a good option to help you create a marketing plan and strengthen your brand.
It is imperative to ensure that your main stakeholders are in agreement with your needs. Put another way, you have to put in some effort if you’re the CMO looking to launch a worldwide brand awareness campaign but your CEO feels that your brand needs to be defined first.
Create a short list
Now that you have your brief in hand, it’s time to begin cutting through the abundance of options to select the ideal marketing agency. There are several factors to take into account, both qualitative and quantitative.
You would want an agency that can work to your brief at the best cost while checking all the boxes. On the other hand, you must also ensure that the agency team and your team get along well. Do you both share any values? Do you like the look of the agency? Will you enjoy working with them?
So… How do you start to filter through hundreds of thousands of agencies to, let’s say, your top 10, maybe your top 5?
- Peer recommendations: They are frequently the most reliable source. One of the best methods for finding reputable service providers is still word of mouth. Find out which agencies your competitors, business associates, or even partners have used successfully. Their first-hand knowledge can be very beneficial.
- Agency honours and rankings: Numerous trade journals evaluate marketing firms according to a range of factors, such as campaign success and client feedback. Prestigious honours like the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity can also serve as a barometer of an agency’s inventiveness and creative ability. These honours and rankings are a good place to start, particularly if you’re trying to get into elite agencies.
- Google Search: If you would like collaborate more closely with an agency nearby, a quick Google search such as “marketing agency in [your city]” will provide useful information. Local agencies may also have a deeper comprehension of the subtleties of the local market.
Refining your top 10/top 5 list, consider the following:
- Size and service capability: Make sure the team size and expertise of the agency meet the requirements of your marketing division. Greater account teams or highly qualified account staff may be needed by larger marketing departments. On the other hand, you don’t want an enormous agency team to attend every meeting if you’re a smaller customer because that could drive up expenses.
- Specialisation: Compared to a creative advertising firm, a digital marketing agency can assist you with distinct tasks. Explore their areas of expertise and use their internet presence to form your first impressions. This will enable you to determine whether they meet your unique needs or not.
- Examine their portfolio: When assessing an agency, one of your first stops should be their website. You should be able to see their portfolio of prior work as well as details on their specialisations here. Check to see whether they have any extremely original ideas for other clients in your business or a related one. Don’t forget to check out the outcomes they were able to obtain with that work.
Understand that selecting the ideal agency is a journey. If you put in the time, your union will become peaceful and fruitful.
Make your choice and begin working together.
It’s time to make a decision when you’ve narrowed down your list of potential agencies and assessed them. Think back on your research and follow your gut; the best decision usually seems like a natural match. If you’re still not convinced, think about doing a trial project to see how well the agency performs.
Transparent pricing and budget decisions
Budget and price clarity are important factors to consider when choosing a marketing firm. Here are a few things to think about.
- It’s important to ask about any additional fees or charges because hidden prices can result in unpleasant shocks.
- Ask for a thorough explanation of pricing and any potential additional expenditures. Pricing clarity is crucial.
- Find out upfront from the agency how any changes made to the scope of work will be handled. Find out when further funding is needed for the requested adjustment.
- whether a project needs to be completed quickly, find out whether there are any additional costs for priority or urgent service.
Recall the proverb: “There is fast, cheap, and good.” You can choose between the two.
Setting clear expectations for all parties involved and being honest with your agency partner about your priorities (quality, speed, or spend) will promote a more fruitful working relationship.
Questions to ask your top agencies
You can help determine whether potential agency partners are a good fit for your company by asking them relevant questions. You might want to enquire about the following:
What is your usual criteria for success? (Remember their tools as well as the KPIs they believe are most pertinent to your kind of needs.) What is your favourite way to communicate?
What kind of feedback is most appealing to you?
Which instruments do you employ? (Ensure that any provided assets are in formats that you can utilise.)
- Which SEO tactic, advertising campaign, activation, or concept do you think is the best available right now?
- How do you respond to scope modifications?
- When anything goes wrong, what do you do?
- Which project or client is your ideal one?
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualities should you consider in a marketing agency?
Agencies can address your specific brief during a pitch by displaying their methodology, innovation, and needs-specific strategic thinking.
Pitch sessions can yield insightful information, but they also demand resources from the participating agencies. Consider paying agencies for their time and work to ensure dedication and fairness. This can lead to more careful and committed pitch presentations in addition to acknowledging their investment.
You may choose to have a case discussion in the format of an interview rather than a full-blown pitch. Ask the agency to explain their approach to the problem or to provide their perspective after posing a strategic question or presenting a challenge. Using this approach can provide an overview of their strategic thinking and problem-solving talents without requiring the substantial resources that a complete pitch requires.
You’ll learn more about the agency’s capabilities and methodology with clarity if your enquiries and challenges are more focused and specific.
Is using a marketing agency worth the money?
The more focused and specific your enquiries or problems are, the more obvious the insights you’ll learn about An excellent complement or addition to your team could be a marketing agency. They may also present novel viewpoints on recommended procedures. Their versatility in working with a wide range of clients in different industries enables them to find innovative approaches and strategies that produce positive outcomes. The capabilities and methodology of the agency.
How can I pick the best agency?
Take into account an agency’s reputation, client options, portfolio, pricing, and customer service when selecting the ideal fit for your requirements.
To select the finest choice and guarantee a suitable fit based on shared values, size, and budget, be sure to assess and analyse all of the bids, references, and testimonials.
Macbeth Designs as a contender?
I’d like to think we would be at the top of everyone’s list. We have 7+ years in marketing as a business and 15+ years throughout the team. We are constantly working with clients for Search Engine Optimisation, building new websites, managing paid ad campaigns and so much more. If you feel Macbeth Designs can help your business, please get in contact. We would love to discuss your business and it’s needs.