How to Get The Most Out of Your Digital Agency Relationship

This blog post is written by Xenia Casas Espina, Digital Marketing Manager at Optix Solutions. In her previous role, Xenia managed several Digital Marketing agencies as a member of an in-house marketing team. She has now jumped to the agency side meaning that she has experience being in both sides of a company-agency relationship. This blog post gives you advice from her experience.

More than ever, companies are aware of the importance of having a good digital presence. Usually, internal resources are not enough to do it all in-house, so they look for a digital agency that can help them take their digital presence to the next level.

Finding the right agency is a big step. But, is your job done once you’ve signed the contract? No.
If you want it to be successful, you or a member of your team will need to book some time in your diary dedicated to managing the relationship with your agency.

In this blog post, you’ll find ten tips to make sure you get the most from your digital agency.

• Have one person in-house responsible for managing the relationship

It’s quite common to have a few people going to the meetings and talking to the agency. However, it’s important to have one main person in-house responsible for managing the relationship. This will ensure good communication and avoid any information getting lost in emails or calls.

• Introduce them to relevant people in your company

Often, your agency will need to deal with other people in your organisation. For example, if they want to know more about the sales process or if they need to create a technical blog post. Introducing them from the very beginning will allow your agency to be aware of your internal resources – which will help them plan tasks properly and be more efficient.

• Make them passionate about your business

People are often more motivated when they like the business they are working for. This can work the same way with agencies. Make them passionate about your company by sharing your company’s goals, values and achievements.

• Keep them updated with changes in the company (such as a product launch or an event)

Following the previous point, sharing as much information as possible with your agency is very beneficial. Not only to make them passionate about the company, but also to give them the opportunity to support your plans and suggest ideas that could help with your activity.

• Talk to them about changes in your industry

Naturally, it will be easier for you to know more about your industry and to keep up with any changes than for your agency – after all, you are the one working in that industry every day. Therefore, whenever there are significant changes, do not hesitate to share this information with them to keep them up to date.

• Alternate meetings in house and at the agency’s office

Variety is good. Having meetings in-house helps your agency better understand how your company works, its dynamic and culture. Meetings at the agency’s office gives them time to prepare the room for what’s needed – such as getting everything ready for a presentation. You will also get to know more about the agency and the people who work there – which will help improve your relationship.

• Listen to them

You may have lots of ideas, and maybe most of them are good ideas. However, try not to impose your ideas on them without listening to their suggestions.

• Remember they are experts but also humans

This point is just common sense. Sometimes, we can go down the route of thinking experts can never do anything wrong, however, we need to remember they are also human. If you think they made a mistake, of course you should say, but in a polite way. Also, if you know they are giving you extra time or effort, be grateful and let them know that you appreciate their support.

• Understand their reports

All the work and results should be tracked with monthly reports. Review these reports and make sure the agency is tracking what your business needs.

You may need to explain these reports to someone else in your business – your manager, director or a team member. Therefore, it’s essential to make sure you understand every section of the reports. If you don’t, just ask. The agency is there to help you.

• Ask questions and learn

Since the moment you sign your contract, you have a team of experts working with you. This means you can ask them questions and learn from them.

Some agencies will even give you the option of training your internal team, such as the Optix Digital Academy. Consider it. Most companies benefit from a good balance between a qualified internal team and an external agency.

When you start a relationship with a digital agency everything is very exciting. Lots of new ideas and improvements start coming out from it, which will help your company be more successful in the digital world. Make sure you follow these tips and enjoy your new adventure!

See Matt and Will from Thirsty Work and Xenia from Optix Solutions in the picture above.