Agency Reviews – 10 Tips for Finding Your Agency Without Losing Your Mind

Right now, managers are being asked to produce results with significantly fewer resources than before.  Even with budget cuts and downsized staffs, management is still expecting top performance.    At the same time, perhaps your agency is not performing well.   Less staff, less resources, a revolving door of junior account people – all this adds up to less responsiveness, even if your agency hasn’t been one of the ones to shut its door.

It may be time to find a new one.  But with all the agencies calling you and the cute promo pieces stacking up in your vendor file, which do you pick?  How do you make the right decision?

Here are the steps for picking the right agency without losing your mind:

  1. Assess the current situation

Maybe you just need to re-evaluate and re-direct the agency you have.  Considering the amount of work involved in changing agencies, and the learning curve a new agency will require, try to keep the one you have if you possibly can.  Examine the reasons for a change.    If compensation is the only issue, ask your agency to reconsider their contract.    Or if responsiveness or personnel are the issue, have a frank discussion with your agency management about expectations.  See if a specific list of goals will get what you want or need.

If the situation is more severe  - the creative is never up to par, the agency is always over budget, can’t make a deadline, or if you dread every contact with their team, it may be time to review.

  1. Think ahead for an interim solution

Here’s the facts.  In the best case, it takes a minimum of three months to find a new agency.  Longer if your account is large or your product is in a competitive category.  And once your existing agency knows the account is in  review, don’t rely on them to complete any work.  Decide how you’re going to continue your marketing efforts ahead of time. Stop assigning new projects to your existing agency and consider staffing up internally with full time people or freelancers to get work done while you’re looking.   Consider using an agency that will do projects in the short term, but may not be a fit for a long term use.  Make sure you have a workable solution before you proceed.

  1. Plan how you’re going to manage the search

Conducting a search is a full time job.  Even if you’re already briefed on agencies to look at and know exactly what you’re doing, it’s going to take 50 - 100 hours of your time to complete.     Consider using an agency search consultant to maximize your time.  They have the agencies screened, the experience and processes in place to run a search smoothly and their advice can be invaluable.  Pick your search consultant carefully.  If you’re looking for a PR agency, get one who knows PR.  If you’re looking for B to B or direct marketing, find one with experience there.  Be sure to ask about compensation – some search consultants are paid by both the client and by agency “listing fees” and only recommend those agencies that participate.  This brings the pool of talent down considerably for your search. 

If you don’t use a consultant, use other resources available.  Ask colleagues who have conducted searches for hints.  Use resources like the American Association of Advertising Agencies – they have screening questionnaires and agency listings available.  Also try the Direct Marketing Association and the Advertising Red Book for lists of appropriate agencies. 

  1. Let your existing agency know 

Once you have a plan for interim work, it’s time to let your agency go.   Check your contract terms to make sure you give the appropriate amount of notice.  Visit the head of your agency team and be direct about the reasons and discuss options for a smooth transition.  Bring a written confirmation that serves as written notice.  While most agencies respond professionally and handle the news with dignity, some may have more drastic reactions.  It’s not unheard of for an agency to quit work immediately on unfinished projects.  Be prepared for this – another reason to have your interim plan firmly in place.

Note – it has never been my experience that keeping an existing agency in the review is wise.  In most cases, it’s likely that all you get from your current agency is a temporary improvement and a return to old habits.  But be prepared for this request from your agency and have an answer ready.

  1. Set your “Hot Button” criteria

Now decide what you want.  Gather all the players and decision makers from your company and get their wish list of needs.  What do they love or hate in an agency?  With everyone’s input, prioritize your needs into specific itemized list of criteria.  Choosing an agency can be confusing and can get emotional –  quantifiable objectives help keep the process on track.  These criteria are used to prepare questionnaires, evaluate responses and to choose the agency.  For instance, if your programs are primarily direct marketing, put that experience a high priority.  If you’re trying to get more sophisticated at online marketing, make that a hot button.  If you never do broadcast, put it down as unnecessary to keep from getting sidetracked by an agency’s brilliant TV work.

  1. Start your search

Prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) to screen agencies you’re considering.  A good RFP contains an overview of your company and current programs and gathers information from the agency.  Things like contact information and ownership, questions about specific client relationships and experience, staff and their backgrounds and how the agency charges.  Be sure to determine the size of the agency – if you choose an agency too large, your account may get lost in the shuffle.  Too small and you may overwhelm them.    Be specific about what you want and keep the RFP brief.  Don’t forget you have to read all of these!

Next, contact agencies that may be of interest.  When you’ve identified an agency, call and speak with their new business person or principal and send them the RFP.  Give a firm deadline, but be fair about turnaround times.  Don’t forget good agencies have plenty of clients and want to make sure that they don’t ignore existing clients to pitch your business.  About 2 weeks is reasonable.  Be available to answer questions during this period – a good agency will ask questions to make sure they understand what you want and need. 

  1. Review and visit

Review the RFP’s, evaluate them by your hot button criteria and then go visit the top three or four.  Communicate what you’d like to learn to the agencies and use it as an opportunity to test for compatibility.  If you like to give detailed written direction, do so when you communicate the purpose of the meeting.  If you’re casual, use your normal email or phone call.  It’s important that your agency be able to work well with who you are.  Don’t be unfair or tricky, but be yourself.  A few requirements – ask to meet the staff that will be your day to day contacts and take the time now to review creative case studies.   

It is preferable to go to the agency’s location to see the agency in its own environment.  While it’s tempting to bring everyone who is interested along for the ride, bring only the decision makers if you can.  You don’t want to turn these presentations into a zoo. Remember that you’ll need to schedule some “debrief” time after each presentation to compare notes about how the agency fits in your priorities and that these meetings will be time consuming and tiring.  Don’t do more than 2 agencies a day.

  1. Review the Results

Start with your hot buttons again.  How does each agency stack up after the presentations?  Put them in priority order and then get to the subjective side.  Which team had the best chemistry?  Which team fit your metabolic rate?  (You don’t want to pick a laid back agency if you’re a type A client.)  Which team did you learn from?  Which group got you all fired up with enthusiasm?  And look at the practical – if two agencies are tied for first place, consider the one located near a sales office or that’s on your way home from work.  

  1. Choose and inform

Put all the information together and call the winner to share the good news.   Some agencies decline business even after participating in a review, so confirm they’re still interested.  Discuss a few specifics – goals for finalizing contracts and fees and general information to make sure you’re on the same page. 

Once the contract is signed, call the rest of the participants and let them know that you chose someone else.  And don’t be mysterious about the reasons,  It’s only fair to answer questions about what factors made you eliminate a specific agency.  They went to a lot of work to pitch your account – give them something to learn with for the next one.

  1.  Compensation/contract

Hopefully, you had some discussions about compensation early in the review process.  But agency compensation is highly flexible and negotiable.  Almost every agency has a preference, but as long as they make a reasonable profit, negotiate what works best for you.  If your company production in-house, you may prefer a fee basis.  If your work is all projects, you may want to consider a “bottom line” approach.  If you’re looking for strategic help, consider a retainer to ensure you get enough time from the senior team at the agency.  This is another area where an agency search consultant comes in handy.  In this soft market, agencies may be open to a flexible arrangement or in setting a short term arrangement to be reviewed after a few months.

It’s all over and you’re on your way to improved results, a better working relationship and a fresh perspective that will mean superior performance for your marketing programs.  With your mind intact!  Don’t forget to thank everyone on your team and the agencies that pitched your business. Muffin baskets,  latte gift certificates and thank you letters are a great idea all around – including for you.

###

Jackie Walts is a marketing consultant specializing in agency searches and direct marketing.  She has been featured as a speaker on direct marketing, media and business-to-business advertising for the Direct Marketing Association and has been featured by Microsoft Press and in Fortune Small Business and Expo Magazine.  She is available at jackie@jackiewalts.com or www.jackiewalts.com.       

 

Back to Articles/Speeches