When I was fresh out of college, I did what most baby-designers do. I accepted a low-ball offer working on a design team where I was over-worked and under-paid (to clarify – I feel like the best designers I know start out this exact same way – so I am not complaining. All these years later, I am thankful, in more ways than one, for the upward struggle of my early career experience).Â
I can remember the owner of the company saying to me “everyone wants to be an artist and graphic designers are a dime a dozen.” And while that isn’t completely untrue, it left a bad taste in my mouth and impacted how I viewed him. To a young me, he essentially said that I was replaceable, expendable and that my skillset wasn’t anything special.
And looking back on it, he was right.
Our industry is an over-saturated one where people that are internationally trained can end up in the same agency as people who refused to use anything other than Corel Draw up to 2014. My major point being that there is such a discrepancy in quality in our industry, because so much of it boils down to personal tastes.Â
Fresh out of college and having no experience meant that I didn’t have the business maturity or the range of skills to make me a selling advantage when it came to his business. I was great for being told what to do, and getting it done – but beyond that, I hadn’t really “grown into” my design or marketing processes.
This always left me asking myself – if designers are a dime a dozen, would he be able to tell which ones are worth investing in? Can he and other people see “bad” or “cheap” design?
Let’s assume you’re design blind.
For anyone that is looking for a serious creative agency to work with, there are some markers that help differentiate quality creatives apart from rest. These things often define if an agency will be a quick fix to an issue you’re having right now, or if they’re a partner that will grow with your business as the years go.
Are you looking for a quick fix? If so – then you can likely skip past this blog post and go about your Google search. But – for those of you who are looking for a dedicated provider that collaborates with you – stick around for a few minutes.
So, what’s important to think about when picking an agency to collaborate with?
1. Does their process allow you to be in control?
One thing is absolutely certain when it comes to building effective marketing – and that’s how intimate of a project it is for the lion’s-share of small businesses. Just because you’re outsourcing this role to an agency doesn’t mean you should be passive about your involvement, and any agency that’s worth their weight won’t allow you to be disengaged from the process.
“But I have a business to run and don’t have time to micro-manage these projects.”
We get it. And we’re definitely not advocating that you need to be involved in every little decision. But your voice, input and expertise need to have a regular place at the table – so look for an agency partner that will help keep you accountable.
• What types of workshops and toolkits do they have that help you engage with every stage of your project?
• Are they easily accessible?
2. Do they Agree with Everything You Say?
Hiring a team filled with “yes men” can be as detrimental to your brand as hiring a therapist that lets you decide on what your treatment plan is going to be.
Your marketing team should be working in your best interest, and sometimes that means pushing you to try new tactics, or doing things that you may not see value in or that frustrate you because you’re not seeing instantaneous results. The important thing is to stop throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, and instead – focusing on building out evergreen initiatives that are going to deliver better results.
• Are they using metrics and data to back their experience?
• Does the team offer comparable solutions to ideas that they feel won’t produce a good return on investment?
3. Do they hire senior talent?
I know what you’re thinking – senior talent equals EXPENSIVE. But, that’s not always the case and you’re foolish to thing that hiring cheap talent won’t cost you in the long run. It also doesn’t mean that you need to seek out some large agency that is filled with bustling offices.
What we mean is that working with a small boutique shop, that offers a diverse range of services can often provide you with the best of both worlds when it comes to service and affordability.
Another great component of hiring senior talent is that it often means your projects are able to be done while requiring less overhead. Anyone in business is familiar with the old adage that 20% of the employees do 80% of the work. Find an agency that embodies that level of talent, and you’ll see higher returns on productivity at lower investment levels.
• Ask for employee bios and backgrounds as part of your vetting process.
• Make sure to inquire on experience and specialties of each person running your account.
• Seem like there are three managers to every one designer or developer? Make sure you’re paying hourly rates that cover the production time of your work, and not the padded needs of upper management.
4. Do your personalities align?
You don’t need to be best friends for life, but why now make sure the people you choose to work with are a comparable match in temperament, style and goals? Not everyone is going to be a perfect fit for you in business, so just like all other walks of life – make sure that you feel like you can get along with the personalities that make up your team.
Even if you’re not going to be spending your weekends doing brewery tours together, being comfortable, open and trusting of one another will bolster how successful your projects are.
• Don’t ignore red flags that can be early signs of future pain points and deal breakers.
• Do their core values align with yours?
• Avoid forced relationships. When people don’t get along, it inevitably shows up in the work.
5. Are they multi-disciplinary?
Today you may just be looking for a brand. But what about when you need a campaign built or want to re-write all of your marketing content?
The secret to effective marketing is having access to a team of people who know your brand inside and out. Working in conjunction with your company, they can anticipate your needs by knowing when your slow season is, being tuned into your ideal clients and anticipating what your company needs to be successful as the landscape changes.
Finding an agency that is multi-diciplinary allows you to have a partner that can grow with you and handle a variety of projects under one roof.
• Do they have different people in charge of different services?
• Is an agency asking you good questions about your clientele?
• Does your agency do extensive research?
• Are they able to focus on multi-channel marketing campaigns?
6. Are they transparent?
The tables have turned on big advertising, and that means that you – the little guy – can be more in control of what your ad money is doing every minute of the day. And if you physically are not able to control your ad spend because you just don’t have the skills or the patience, you should at least be able to see source data the reinforces performance reports.
It used to be that you, the buyer, would purchase ads through a media house and be relatively blind to where the heck your money has been spent and whose interests are being represented. Things like Display Ad Fraud (fake ad impressions from bots who inflate your ROI numbers) and Agency Kickbacks (hidden account credits and bonuses for using specific advertisers that may not best serve your niche needs or audience) are just a few ways that the bad-apple-agencies may hinder full disclosure.
Find an agency that goes beyond standardized reports and actively engages in open, honest conversations. Honesty is woven into a business through their values, how they present information, the way they communicate – even down to how their contracts are packaged.
Protect yourself from dishonest, opaque agency practices that will only serve to foster a culture of mistrust (which is something you definitely don’t want associated with your brand)!
• Do they farm out the actual work that needs to be done, or is it completed in house?
• Do you have access to your ad accounts and data centers?
• Do they have a proven track record?
Ready to see if LovelyPixels can stand up to the agency partner test?
We’re genuinely passionate about helping businesses just like yours. And I know what you’re thinking – “you can’t possibly say that, because you don’t know what my business is!”
You’re right – we don’t know yet. But we do know that we’ve gotten really excited about marketing a trash company (yes, a TRASH company) in the past, along with handfuls of other types of businesses. So if you’re passionate about what you do – we’re going to feed off of that excitement as well.
Being able to inspire and energy around a brand is just one part of a successful digital marketing strategy – and we’re ready to help you build on what you’ve already started!
Call us at (304) 207-0678 or contact us online today to signup for one of our free strategy sessions!
