You might not stay with one marketing agency for the rest of your life but making the decision to find a new partner feels just as much of a commitment, can we work & stay together for the long-term? Do they share the same values as me and my organisation? Are they loyal and will have my back through thick and thin? There’s a pressure to make the right choice.

So how do you go about finding that perfect match?

Before you do anything, you need to identify what type of agency you are looking for, creative, digital, full-service or sector specific. It’s crucial to be sure before you start looking otherwise you might fall in love with the right people but wrong agency.

So what exactly do you need to decide? To put it bluntly, you need to know what you want. What is it that’s going to make your business successful? How can your marketing help you achieve your goals? If you don’t have a good handle on things like objectives and budget, it’s really difficult to know whether one marketing partner or another is going to help.

Finding the one!

So you know what you want, but how do you go about getting it?

Swipe left, swipe right, OK what I really mean is what channels do you use….do you check out their social media accounts, their website, LinkedIn profile or award wins? But how did you hear about them in the first place?

You may have heard of an agency through word of mouth or seen some coverage of an award win or project they’d worked on that you loved, so you may have someone in mind.

Equally you may carry out an online search; we were intrigued as to how you’d look for an agency partner, so we recently asked the very same question in an online survey on LinkedIn.

How would you approach looking for a new creative/digital Agency?

• 86% – Recommendation / Word of Mouth
• 71% – Search Engine
• 57% – Social Media / LinkedIn
• 48% - Location
• 38% – PR / Award win

Not surprisingly the majority vote was for a personal recommendation or word of mouth however search engines and social media channels were still really popular.

Location doesn’t seem to be as much of a consideration post-covid with the introduction of on-line meetings which have proved to be one of the biggest shift changes in agency / client relationships and ways of working since the pandemic and are here to stay (with one on one time too)!

So you have your eye on the one. What next?

• Research - yes do some social stalking plus do your due diligence - all pretty par for the course in 2022.
• Short-list - who do you want to talk to, don’t spread yourself too thinly, 2 - 3 agencies maximum please (no commitment phoebes here).
• Evaluate - you’ve made your shortlist and you’re ready to select an agency to work with. Now it’s time to start narrowing down your options and meeting with your potential future partners to determine which is the one you’ll build a (marketing) life with. Remember chemistry is key but can they deliver for you, the all important question.
• Decide - once the big decision is made spend time on-boarding both agency and your team, setting in place contracts, SLA’s and agreeing ways of working and best forms of communication to ensure the ‘new relationship’ starts off in best way and your can both feel the love and deliver together in a happy union.

If you’re going through a break up with your agency I’m here to talk, call me on 01204 478 208 or email [email protected]