Leaders at large, successful enterprises know to do their due diligence when considering any vendor. At your level, you need professionalism and accountability. It’s easy to start sorting the wheat from the chaff – you know, for example, that a “solopreneur” isn’t up to the standards you expect.
As you narrow the field, however, the choice becomes more complex. Between marquee marketing agencies worth billions and the freelancers in mom’s basement is a vast number of premium options that might meet your needs. You need a heuristic for identifying which of those good options is truly the best for you.
Andrew & West has it.
Our years of experience have helped us identify the factors that separate serious marketing agencies from the ones that are only playing around. Yes, some of the latter will eventually grow up; but you deserve to choose your marketing agency based on a proven track record. Being someone’s learning experience is never enough.
Here are the factors to keep in mind:
1. Accountability
Accountability is the #1 factor that differentiates a full-service marketing agency from an “agency in name only.” When you contract with a company that offers true accountability, you know exactly what you are getting and when you are going to get it – as well as precisely what happens if output ever falls short of expectations.
A marketing agency cannot guarantee specific results for your campaign, but it can demonstrate what results it has yielded in the past. And even without a conventional guarantee, a company can stand by its work. Tangible deliverables such as blog posts, social media posts, and email campaigns should be on time and high quality.
2. Lower Liability than an Employee
All legitimate business partnerships are built on a contract. Your outsourced marketing agreement should be no exception. A truly accountable marketing agency already has a contract ready for your review. There should be no need to connect with a third-party attorney or even query your own counsel (unless you want to respond to specific provisions in the agency’s contract.) And, of course, the contract should not be a downloaded template.
Good agencies have contracts with all of their clients, their own employees, and their own third-party vendors so their liability simply cannot become your liability. What’s more, they have the right insurance in place for the work at hand, including Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance and any special endorsements the work calls for.
3. Consolidation of Efforts
It’s true: Not all businesses, even the most successful and sophisticated, find that having an internal marketing function is right for them. But outsourced marketing through freelancers can be like herding cats. Freelancers can be effective individually, but each one usually has only one specialty. You might ultimately need dozens.
An agency streamlines the matter.
An effective marketing agency combines both vision and execution. There should be no duplication of effort. Done right, this means that even complex marketing campaigns can be imagined, delivered, reviewed, and adjusted quickly based on the latest data. Everything produced remains relevant, cohesive, and impactful.
4. Consistency of Brand Image and Tone
There is far more that goes into a successful brand than most consumers realize. Google’s business profiles are littered with examples of small businesses whose founders thought they needed a logo and a website—without giving much thought to the rest. Usually, their ill-spent online advertising budget dragged them under.
A good brand is powerful. It requires many different elements all working together. Above all, branding is about consistency. A well-rounded marketing agency understands branding well enough to help you fill in any gaps in your existing branding, then ensure everything—from tone to color palette and beyond—is always on point.
5. Collective Experience of a Team
By bringing experienced perspectives to the table, a trustworthy agency team ensures that your marketing campaigns aren’t just a collection of tactics. Each individual on the team likely has a focused specialty, but everyone understands how to interface and collaborate so the best ideas are integrated into the whole.
One of the most powerful assets a marketing team develops from the start is an editorial calendar. The calendar lists all deliverables, demonstrating clearly how the terms of a marketing contract will be fulfilled. Each member of the team works around the calendar, which project leaders adjust as needed to meet their commitments.
A lack of clarity on project management is one pitfall that can prevent a marketing agency from reaching its full potential. Even the most enthusiastic and creative ideators need the practical skills to bring their ideas to life. A worthwhile interview with a would-be marketing partner includes tough questions on the details of fulfillment.
Accountability Is the Crux of What Separates Real Marketers from “Starving Artists”
Outsourced marketing should provide value that neither freelancers nor internal employees can match. These five factors are essential to the concierge marketing experience you deserve. It is often the case, however, that by the time a company begins looking for a marketing agency, they truly need something more.
Most businesses will frame the question in these terms: “Freelancer or employee or agency?” Large enterprises with exacting standards should also consider the possibility that what the situation really calls for is a fractional CMO. A focused engagement with a strategic consultant gives you the ability to see around corners and make informed choices about how you want your marketing initiatives to unfold.
Call us to inquire more. You can reach us at (386) 287-0246 or email us at hello@andrewandwest.com.
