A note from the author: Hi, I’m Amy and I have nearly 15 years of experience as an in-house marketer, agency marketer, and freelancer. I’ve been on all sides and bring a unique perspective to the world of the in-house-agency-freelancer relationship. Pull up a chair.
How enterprise businesses and SMBs can build a great marketing agency relationship
Hiring the agency
As a CMO, you’ll have the final call, but give your team a stake in the selection process. If your team is invested in the process and can contribute in meaningful ways—like participating in discovery calls, recommending agencies they’ve had success with in the past—they’ll want the relationship to succeed as much as you do, as the relationship between your team and the agency will be a reflection on them.
The first project
Building a positive relationship built on clear, authentic communication is one of the most important things you can do to ensure projects run smoothly and on-time.
Be realistic: Agencies can’t crush a project if:
Goals of the project aren’t clearly communicated.
They aren’t provided essential assets—like your brand guide, your style guide, and a brief rundown of your typical messaging.
They aren’t given information on your company’s overall goals, the goals of your department, and a project’s specific goal.
If goals aren’t laid out clearly at the beginning of a relationship, you’ll be unhappy with the work the agency provides because they won’t have a full understanding of what you need, and how you want to deliver to the executive team and the organization as a whole. Frustration will ensue. You’ve probably been there, done that, right? This leads to work that’s not what each other expects and deadlines that fall by the wayside.
Be a decent human and show respect
Agencies cannot deliver exceptional results when every project is a fire-drill and due last week. Pull in the agency as early as you can, and build in adequate time for the project. Let them know your expectations, but hear them on what they recommend for a timeline. Often there are many experts weighing in on a given project, and the agency wants to delight you just as much as you want to be delighted.
Be clear about expectations
Be clear if a project is, in fact, a fire drill. These happen. Sometimes your CEO asks for something out of left field and you’re stuck in a pinch. We’ve been there. Let the agency know and be clear that this won’t be the typical cadence. Agencies are filled with understanding humans and if they’re treated fairly by a client on a regular basis, they’re going to do everything they can to over-deliver during your last-minute project. A great relationship with your marketing agency is possible, it just requires preparation, clear communication, and respect.
For Solopreneurs
You get what you pay for
If you own your own business and you’re at the point where you need help with marketing, first of all, congrats! That’s a huge accomplishment!
The next thing to know is that good marketing agencies aren’t cheap. You’ll want to weight the pros and cons of working with an agency over an individual freelancer.
We recommend working directly with a freelancer if you’re only in need o help here and there. If you’re at the point where you’re managing 2-3 freelancers, it might make more sense to work with an agency at that point.
The pros of an agency
Agencies have access and relationships with many different types of professionals, so they can often be your one point-of-contact for all kinds of needs. Think copywriting, graphic design, and web design all with one main point of contact. Did your shoulders just relax?
The pros of a freelancer
Often freelancers nan be more nimble, turning around projects quickly with expertise in one defined area. And, they don’t need to get a full team behind them up to speed on the project. Freelancers are amazing resources for most graphic design work, blog writing, running ads on your behalf, and many other tasks.
Be realistic
Now, if you’re really at the point where you need help, you need to be realistic. If you’re in need of a high-quality website, copywriting, graphic design, or something else, you get what you pay for. Freelancers with years of experience, a professional attitude, and who are ind demand will charge rates of around $175/hour or more. This is more than reasonable. They’re also going to need to use a handful of hours at the start of your relationship to read through your brand materials and to ask questions about your goals, your audience, and what you need them for.
Be thoughtful
Now that you know you’ll need to invest in your stellar marketing experts, make sure you’re ready. Make sure you’re clear on what you need help with and what will define success. If you don’t know what you’re looking for from a freelancer and exactly what you need help with, it’s going to give a rocky start to the relationship with a low chance of both parties being happy with the relationship.
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