OK, you lovely in-house marketing managers and directors (a.k.a. “clients”)…

…it’s time to turn the tables and look at the good, the bad and the indifferent on the agency side.

Just a few thoughts, because this rant could last for years!

I would suggest three key topics:

• Expertise/knowledge
• Capacity
• Team structure

And the greatest of these is expertise and knowledge.

Let’s start with ‘E for expert’.

If you want a good job done, hire an expert.

But what exactly does ‘expert’ mean?

First, there’s the obvious thing of domain knowledge. Do they know your industry? Can they talk intelligently about recognisable industry issues and trends? Do they have other clients at least broadly in the space (or former clients)?

You want an agency that can hit the ground running, whether for lead gen, campaigns, content, SEO, PR, social, whatever.

If they don’t know about your sector, they’re not going to do the job you want them to do. They won’t understand your offering and value proposition. And they won’t understand how your customers tick.

Don’t get shanghaied by some blather about ‘transferable campaign skills’ – they’re useless without knowledge. Don’t get conned by ‘excellent relationships with the top press’ because those relationships aren’t built on the basis of pitches from firms like yours. Don’t be fooled by whizzy content examples unless they have been used to influence and activate people in YOUR industry.

The we come to C for capacity.

What does that really mean?

You want a big job done so you need a big agency? This is arrant nonsense.

Most agencies (even the big ones) will staff up to manage your business if you’re offering a big gig. There’s a strong argument to say that smaller and medium-sized agencies will value your business more. They’re also probably leaner and better value.

On the other hand, if there are specific agency people that you want to access and deploy, and they’re in a big agency, and they’re not charging eye-watering fees, and you have robust metrics to check you’re getting the results you want, and you’re not being negotiated into silly-length contract terms…. then go for it!

Better still, go for an agency with a smaller core staff but a wide and flexible freelance network (I know – I’m biased on this particular point).

Finally, there’s ‘S for seniority’.

How many stories have I heard over the years about the big hitters who win the client gig, only for the juniors to end up servicing the account?

At the very least, the experienced and knowledgeable seniors need to define precisely what they WILL do on the account, and be seen to follow through. We all understand that a team is being hired and that the agency CEO isn’t going to be writing your blogs for you. So a clear idea about who the team is and what each member does is critical. And it needs regular monitoring.

Here’s the great way of telling if you’re getting this or not….

Ask yourself whether the seniors, when they do appear, are plugged into the accurate detail of your account. Do they know what’s going on? Are they up to date? Do they have substantial and actionable inputs? Do things get richer and more energised when they’re involved?

Or do you have embarrassing meeting moments when the seniors make inputs only for everyone else to know that they’re not really up to speed, they’re talking in irrelevant generalities, or they’re inputting contradictory or inaccurate thoughts?

So those are a few points on the agency quality issue.

Many agencies are very good, act as an extension of your business, know your field and bring real value to the party.

Many others, however, do not know what they are talking about, are only concerned about their own profitability, try and lock you into unreasonable contracts, palm you off with naïve juniors, and are out to gouge your budget.

Spotting the good agency suppliers is part of the art of the really capable in-house manager.

Bonne chance!

I hope you find these bulletins entertaining. I’m happy to discuss all relevant engagements – from customer community creation, to directorial mentoring, to strategy development, to thought-leadership content development, to full campaign structuring and management, and more.

Do get in touch!