So you've written your business plan, secured funding and now your business is up and running.
But nobody knows about it and you’ve decided it’s time to seek some outside help with branding and marketing. And that’s as far as you’ve got…
Branding a business and the ensuing marketing campaign can be costly, and with a plethora of agencies to choose from, how do you know you’re investing your hard-earned funds into an agency that’s going to get results and win customers.
To coin a phrase it’s all about selection, selection, selection…
Do your research
First of all, you need to draw up a list of prospective agencies. Decide how far from your business you’re happy for the agency to be located. You may be willing to travel into London or your nearest city or you may prefer a local agency who you can visit quickly and without incurring huge travel bills.
You should also contact business associates and speak to friends or family who may know of reputable agencies and have worked with them in the past
Deciding upon a maximum-mile radius from your place of business can help narrow down the search.
You should also contact business associates and speak to friends or family who may know of reputable agencies and have worked with them in the past. As with many things, word of mouth and recommendations go a long way.
By now, you should have created a long list of potential agencies. But don’t despair, there are ways to narrow it down and come up with your shortlist.
Been there, bought the t-shirt
One tried-and-tested method of reducing your list is to remove any agencies with no experience in your industry sector.
Visit the agency’s website to find out whether they’ve worked with other companies in your area before or have experience in the type of marketing/branding help you need - eg, designing packaging, creating an exhibition stand, designing a logo and brand guidelines, etc.
Keep only those agencies with experience in your field and, even better, if this experience is shown on their website by way of a case study.
Show off
Any reputable marketing agency will display examples of previous work as case studies. This is, after all, their way of showcasing their work to the world. A good agency will be proud to show it off.
Remove any agencies from the list with no examples of their work.
When reviewing case studies, consider the following:
- Did it meet the client’s brief?
- Would you buy it/respond to it as a potential customer?
- What were the results?
- Your gut feel, never underestimate instinct!
The shortlist
So now you have your shortlist. Ideally this should comprise between four to eight agencies. The next stage is to invite your shortlist to submit their credentials for review.
Credentials usually include background information on the agency, information on existing and previous clients, any awards the agency has won, case studies of recent campaigns and information about key people who work for the agency.
You should use the credentials to narrow your shortlist down to three agencies who you will invite to the pitch and tell you, face-to-face, why they should be the ones to help you take your business to the next level.
Any more than three agencies and it becomes unfair as preparing pitches is a costly exercise for an agency and generally, only three agencies tend to stand a realistic chance of winning the work.
Before you invite your final three to pitch you will need to prepare a thorough brief.
