Most business owners can see the demand for their product or service and are eager to dive in headfirst and push their business to the marketplace. The problem is, without proper planning in place they often run into all kinds of issues and challenges along the way. These problems can usually be avoided if thorough care and consideration are given to meeting several fundamental requirements before commencing any agency search and selection. At Marketing Search, we’ve put together a simple checklist of key macro issues you need to consider before proceeding to search for your ideal marketing solution. Our agency search checklist 101 as denoted below provides business owners and marketers with valuable information to assist in minimising the risks and costs associated with outsourcing a broad range of marketing and creative services.
Over time, this agency search and selection checklist will be improved and expanded upon with support and input from our valued network of specialist agencies and suppliers. It will become an essential tool for businesses and marketing professionals to use before searching for and selecting outsourced marketing providers, saving time, and money and producing better marketing outcomes.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat” – Sun Tzu
Before you proceed to search for a marketing provider, ask yourself these six key questions:
When you can answer yes to all these key points, you will be in a much better position to proceed with finding the right marketing service provider to fit the needs of your budget, timeframe, resources and project requirements.
The earlier you can get input and recommendations from relevant stakeholders, the better position you will be in when proceeding with your outsource marketing search. Consider these key questions when it comes to stakeholder buy-in and budgeting:
Briefs act as a form of contract between clients and agencies and vary in content depending on the activity being undertaken. The primary purpose of a brief is to provide clear direction on what’s important, while clarifying the problems you’re seeking to address.
Spending time writing a brief, no matter how short, will pay significant dividends in the long term, as it generally leads to better work and saves money and time for all.
The act of writing things down forces you to think more deeply about your issues. More often than not, creating a brief will result in you changing your initial approach.
Have you provided the basic information below to give to potential marketing providers?
Given the fragmentation of markets and the proliferation of specialisations that are evolving, finding the best-fit marketing provider to outsource for your marketing needs is today more complex and confusing than ever.
The key is to get clarity around what your organisation requires before you take the first step, which is where the checklist questions above come in handy. Based on that, you can start the process of shortlisting and ultimately selecting the best fit provider for your business and unique project.
Engaging any marketing provider should be approached as a calculated risk. You need to take an objective, insightful look at all the potential pros and cons associated with different types of providers before you make your decision.
For more information, read our guide to finding the best-fit marketing provider for your business.
Before you meet with a marketing provider, prepare a list of key questions to further evaluate their match to your needs.
Selecting a marketing provider/agency that matches the needs and communication style of your business is a complex process. Although you can never fully guarantee success, asking the most important questions will help put you in the best position to make your decision.
Here are some examples of key general questions you might ask potential service providers to assist in your shortlisting selection process:
At Growth & Search, we recommend you always take the time to think critically about what you plan to do up-front and be very clear about your goals and outcomes before approaching any provider.
By doing this, you will avoid many of those unexpected bumps and obstacles that arise down the track, which inevitably cause cost blowouts and time delays in bringing your project to market.
Having considered the questions on the checklist, you should now be well-positioned to start your search for the ideal provider to partner with. By now, you will hopefully have a better sense of the competencies and attributes required to meet your brief.
We recommend you initially shortlist up to three providers, with the aim to further qualify them to two. Ask those two final candidates to submit their pitch and proposal in person for your final decision.
Good luck!
Written by Neil Anderson
20th December 2022
Neil Anderson is the founder and director of Growthandsearch.com a privately owned business specialising in the provision of business growth-related knowledge and services for Australian small and medium size businesses operating in the services sectors.