You're sitting in the Marketing Communications Department. Within that responsibility, what do you expect from your partners? The simple answer should be the same as what is expected of you. To be really successful with your business partners, start with the strategic foundation. Here is a way to approach the challenge.
What should you look for when selecting an agency?
Successful agency partnerships start with strategy, not tactics: look for an agency that can listen to your strategic direction, bring proactive expertise, prove its impact with evidence, and challenge you to improve.
Strategy first, tactics second
Best-in-class clients think strategy first, tactics second. I've seen many MarCom organisations struggle to formulate their strategic direction, often citing a pressing business to take care of that can't be neglected. But when you invest resources and time into strategic work, you will find that your day-to-day work will become easier. You see more clearly what needs to be done, in relation to whom, and more importantly, you will be able to judge your agency's proactive proposals from a much more insightful and even relaxed perspective, because you can simply tick off whether the suggestion supports your objectives or not.
With a strategy in place, you will find you can start having a productive dialogue with your agency, rather than asking for things you "think you need" or being exposed to stressful proposals from them that you can't relate to.
What agency red flags should you avoid?
Two warning signs are agencies that are "creative" without a clear strategic purpose and agencies that simply execute what's requested rather than offering proactive input.
A good agency should understand your business objectives before proposing solutions and be willing to challenge your thinking.
For example, when Interwheel partnered with Zooma, the work started with the company's business and brand strategy rather than individual marketing activities. This guided the development of a new brand, online presence and connected sales and service operations. One year later, the agreed KPIs had been met, and user NPS had improved by more than 60 points.
Read the Interwheel customer case.
The worst type of client
The only way to avoid this, however, is to prepare yourself as well as possible for the relationship, both before and during it. Every day. The worst type of client (if we should visit the blame-game field where we've all been one time or another) is the client who evaluates an agency based on feelings and emotions rather than on what was agreed upon from the beginning.
Why relationships succeed or fail
In my experience, agency relationships succeed and fail for the same reasons: the existence (or not) of a clearly documented strategic intent for the relationship, and the identification (or not) of metrics to assist in evaluating the activities executed together. The more thoroughly you prepare this, the more likely the relationship will succeed. And it will for sure be easier to identify what went wrong and how to improve it.
That's why I'm delighted to contribute to Zooma's future success, as it has been a cornerstone of Zooma's philosophy and offering since its inception.
