During a recent introductory meeting with a new client’s marketing team, the team’s Director explained, “We’re not looking for another vendor. We’re looking for a partner.”
That’s a common sentiment in many discussions we have with our clients. As budgets remain tight and the marketing landscape grows more and more complex, companies need an agency to provide more than simple execution and deliverables. They need an agency to provide expertise and strategic vision. They need an agency to understand their business and their goals. They need an agency to provide unique solutions to the budget, timeline, and creative challenges that inevitably pop up in every project. They need a partner.
The good news is that there are ways to convert a vendor relationship to a partner relationship. Start with these five:
1) Involve your agency early in a project’s lifecycle.
Let’s face it, some projects can be tricky. Many seem to consist entirely of competing interests, conflicting direction, impossible timelines, and non-existent budgets. And any project — even one that has been rolling along smoothly — can get hijacked at the worst possible moment by an infinite variety of factors.
Agencies can’t prevent these difficulties. No one can. As frustrating as they may be, they’re a normal part of business. An agency can, however, help diminish the negative impact that these challenges may have on a project’s success. If brought into the process early enough, an agency partner can help spot potential trouble and provide alternate recommendations before a project gets derailed.
When is the best time to talk to your agency about a project? Before the project even officially exists. You may be reluctant to add more meetings to your schedule, but it pays to meet regularly with your agency, whether you have an ongoing project or not. You can usually get a free coffee out of it, as well.
2) Explain your own processes and preferences to your agency.
Every agency has its own unique way of doing things. From proposal and estimate processes to project management and client communication, agencies constantly refine their methods to provide the best possible service while delivering the highest-quality work.
These methods, however, should not be set in stone. If your agency’s processes don’t align well with your business and your way of doing things, speak up. Good agencies will welcome your feedback. Most will be happy to accommodate your preferences even when those preferences go outside of their typical processes.
In addition to improving your working relationship, revealing your own preferences will help your agency understand you and your business.
3) Utilize all of your agency’s creative firepower.
We used to find it surprising when our clients were unaware of our full capabilities. We’re constantly working on a wide range of projects, and we’re typically providing multiple capabilities within each project, so, it seemed only natural that our clients would be aware of all the services we provide.
Our clients, though, are busy with their own day-to-day efforts and don’t typically see the full picture of our capabilities. This disconnect is understandable, but it can also limit the client-agency relationship unnecessarily.
The next time you’re browsing the web, take a few minutes to dig through your agency’s website and read their capabilities. Or, better yet, just ask your agency to talk to you. You may be surprised to hear the full range of services they can provide. You may even find out that they offer a solution to a problem you’ve been dealing with for far too long.
If it turns out that your agency does not offer a specific capability that you’re looking for, talk to them about it. Even if they don’t offer that service themselves, chances are pretty good that they’ll know someone else that does.
4) Listen in on your agency’s blog and social media channels.
Whether you’re a fan of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or even good old-fashioned email, chances are pretty good that your agency has a channel set up to communicate with you. Take advantage of as many of these channels as you can. You’ll gain valuable insights into the capabilities, culture, and values of your agency.
If your agency shares content related to your industry and/or your role, these channels can also serve as a helpful, time-saving information curator. At a minimum, you’ll get to know your agency’s team on a more personal level, and you’ll have an opportunity to assess your agency’s true character and expertise.
5) Share access to your company’s collective brain.
No one knows your business better than you and your team. You know your company’s history, its brand, its products and services, industry, and competitors. You know the story of its successes and failures. And, most importantly, you know your company’s goals.
All of this knowledge can be put to use by a well-informed agency, but only if the agency has access to the information. No matter how much research an agency might conduct, they can’t replace the wealth of knowledge contained within your company’s collective brain.
As far as I know, no creative team has ever complained that they know too much about a client and their objectives. We learn new things about our clients every day, and each new bit of information provides valuable context for our work.
If you have insights that might, in any way, help inform your agency’s work, share them. This could be something as simple as forwarding a new press release, or something more significant like inviting an agency representative to sit in on an internal team meeting to better understand your priorities and challenges. Whatever form it may take, sharing more information about your business will help your agency engage and inspire your audience with more meaningful creative work.
A good agency is a vendor AND a partner
There’s nothing wrong with a good, efficient vendor. Sometimes you just need to get something done, and you don’t have time for anything else. In these situations, working with an agency that can execute quickly and effectively, without any hand-holding, is essential. But when you need to go beyond simple deliverables, and you’re looking for additional expertise and creative leadership, you need your agency relationship to evolve from vendor to partner.
At Olive & Company, we pride ourselves on our ability to serve as both a vendor and a partner to our clients. If you’re interested in learning how we can be both for your company, please contact us.
