The secret to drama-free agency relationships.

Like any good recipe for success, the best way to get the most out of the relationship with your agency is to use essential ingredients that most of us can rustle up… openness, honesty and transparency. But unlike most cooking shows on TV these days, the one thing you don’t need is drama!

Outsourcing any component of your business is a tough decision – but these days it’s an essential requirement for:

• Cost containment
• Skills coverage
• Best practice
• Growth

Rather than approaching it with dread, think of outsourcing as the opportunity to explore new approaches and extend the skills of your own fabulous marketing team.

Common fears in hiring a marketing agency

Common fears are that costs are hidden and accumulate without your knowledge, or that control will be lost and a complete stranger will ‘run away’ with your brand identity… this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The truth is, marketing agencies want you to succeed. If you are successful, then we are very happy. We heavily invest in every one of our engagements with clients, because if our recommendations don’t bring about a significant shift in results, our clients won’t come back for more. So, we owe it to both you and ourselves to create valuable outcomes.

Two-way traffic: how to work effectively with your marketing agency

Working effectively with an agency is a two-way street; the more you share, and the more open and collaborative you are with your agency, the better the results – think ‘one plus one equals three’. Yes, we can research your market, competitors and the trends that influence your buyers but, given you know your business better than we do, don’t hold back! The better you brief, the better the end result.

Invite us to the table early and we’ll be able to help you build a strategy that delivers sustained success and satisfies the needs of your business. It may even enhance stakeholder engagement and rubbish the term ‘marketing just make things look pretty’.

So next time you take the leap and sign up a marketing agency, think about what can be gained… don’t consider it a loss in any shape or form. And it pays to evaluate any agency on the basis that they are ‘humans’ too – because the most successful client/agency relationships are built on trust, respect and communication.