Summary
¦ An external agency can provide an objective view of the market.
¦ It provides access to a resource that can be used according to need and budget.
¦ Product training will bring the agency up to speed.
¦ Objectives should be agreed at the start of the year and evaluated at the end.
It is widely accepted that in times of economic difficulty, one of the first resources to be cut is marketing. This comes in spite of many agreeing that companies should hold fast in the market and ensure they are one step ahead of the competition.
Where budgets are under intense pressure, where a once strong marketing department becomes depleted, or even where marketing has previously not been on the radar, one of the most flexible ways to create and maintain momentum is to commission the services of an external agency partner.
Working with an external agency partner essentially provides access to a scalable resource that can be “turned on and off” according to business priorities, needs and budget. The client-agency relationship also affords the opportunity to obtain a more objective view of the market and provides access to a breadth of expertise that is often beyond the reach of many smaller businesses.
For those businesses with a small marketing department or where the remit falls as a secondary responsibility to the sales team, working with an external agency taps into a wealth of experience and, ultimately, bolsters the in-house capability.
Whilst the agency route offers a flexible and sound marketing model for many companies, the key – and the first step – to maximising the effectiveness and return on this relationship is to appoint the right partner.
The most critical success factor is identifying a partner with a strategic business fit and ensuring that their team can work seamlessly with yours. Researching the agency’s professional credentials and client references are a given, but for a partnership to be truly effective, the dynamics need to be right as they are an extension to your own team.
Equally important is agreeing terms that work for your business. Most agencies operate on a monthly retainer fee but this may not be right for your needs. Where a retainer does represent the most cost-effective option and meets your marketing service requirements, then the next step is to establish exactly how you are going to ensure best value from the relationship.
Close relationship
Having worked with a number of our clients for several years, the key theme that has emerged in getting the most from the agency has been the closeness of the relationship. The most successful client-agency partnerships have been built on the agency team becoming embedded in the business and ultimately a ‘virtual’ marketing resource.
The closer the agency is to your business, the better they will understand it, which then translates into more effective marketing and PR campaigns.
To make any relationship a success requires an investment of time – and the external marketing agency partnership is no exception. In a well-matched partnership, the greatest level of time investment will be at the start, when you will need to spend time on areas such as product training to bring the agency team up to speed. Following on from that, regular and structured meetings will provide a solid foundation for the ongoing relationship. These meetings should be used to constantly assess whether the marketing activities are meeting the business needs as well as to respond to any topical changes in the market.
From a return on investment perspective, never allow the agency to become complacent. Agree clear objectives at the start of each year and review these at the end of year to evaluate performance. The most successful client-agency relationships might be built on good working dynamics, but those that last in the long term can only be maintained by the delivery of results.
