Cupid's Pointers for Finding a Marketing Agency Partner

While the client-agency dating game goes on all year round, Valentine's Day is an appropriate occasion to pass along a few tips for finding the best marketing partner. I've highlighted four key considerations: Size, Credentials, Impressions and Expectations. No relationship is wine and roses all the time, but you deserve the best and can achieve it if you plan accordingly from the start.

1) Sizing Up Prospective Agencies

Pretty faces don't always mean smarts, and size isn't everything. Huge agencies within holding companies are not necessarily more creative or dedicated. Sure, if you're a global marketer, you may need resources in many countries. If you're not, you might get more love and attention from a smaller agency. Plus, it will be easier to ferret out potential client conflicts, which are not always obvious at the biggest shops.

2) Considering Credentials

If you're not using a search consultant as matchmaker, you're going to have to be able to create a "short list" of agency candidates on your own. Look for right-sized agencies with relevant experience. If at all possible, stay within a comfortable geographic radius of your HQ. There's nothing like face-to-face business. Conference calls and emails can only achieve so much. If you can identify a few qualified potential agency partners you have a decent chance of ending up with a very good one.

3) First Impressions

As in dating, the first meet-and-greet tells a lot. Do the agency people seem comfortable with each other? Is there a good age mix in their client team? How eager are they to learn exactly what your expectations are? Ask them to explain their long-term client relationships and what they have learned along the way. How passionate are they about what they have achieved for other marketers? You want them to be passionate about you.

4) Make Your Expectations Explicit

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to romance and client-agency relationships. Many of the latter start on the best of terms but go off the rails for things having nothing to do with creativity. Many clients don't properly communicate their scope-of-work expectations, or they keep changing them along the way. Do your best to set clear, understandable performance goals and make sure everyone understands the parameters of those goals. Craft an explicit on-boarding process for your potential agency partner so that any differences in communication or interpretation are discovered and remedied soonest.

If you've decided it's time to find a new marketing partner, I'll be here to expertly set you up with a meeting that just might turn into "happily ever after."

Happy Valentine's Day!