You did it. You’ve decided to work with a digital marketing agency to take your business to the next level.

Perhaps you’ve just appointed your first ever agency, or maybe you work with multiple agencies at the same time and manage part of your marketing efforts in house. No matter your situation, there are steps you can take to get the most value out of your agency investment.

Here are three top tips to help you get started.

1. Maximise communication efficiencies

Take a moment to think about your most recent email communication with your agency. How long did it take for the agency to stop asking questions and start looking into your query? And if your agency asked you to clarify your meaning or provide further context, how long did it take for you to respond to them?

Running a business is a major undertaking and time is a valuable commodity. Sometimes responding to email communications within the same day can be a challenge, but it means that requests can be addressed sooner rather than later. It goes both ways; the faster you’re able to respond to communications from your agency, the faster they will be able to deliver what you require.

While being responsive to emails can help move tasks along, another time-saving opportunity lies in being descriptive in your communication. For example, one detailed email will lead to a faster outcome than five short emails over the course of several days.

It’s all about providing all the essential information to your contact from the very start of your communication. Every email you send to your agency should address three key subjects – what, why and how.

What?

What are you looking for and what action do you want your agency to take? You could have a question, an issue that needs to be looked into or an idea for a new marketing activity. Whatever it is that you need, be clear and specific.

Why?

Go a step further and tell your agency why it’s important for them to take the action you’ve requested. When an agency has your best interests at heart, its team members will take the effort to understand your business. Armed with knowledge about what you do and why, the agency can put forward the best recommendations and take the most effective approach to achieving success for your business. By providing context in your email communication, your agency will be able to provide you with the most suitable solution.

When?

When would you like the agency to action your request? Is it an urgent matter? Or is it something to be considered in the next few weeks? Every agency is constantly juggling a wide range of tasks. By giving them an expected timeframe for what you need, it gives them the opportunity to prioritise and provide you with a better service.

2. Clarify expectations

To build an effective working relationship with your agency, it’s important to ensure that you are both on the same page. You can achieve this by setting expectations for your agency and managing your own.

Set expectations

Provide your agency with insight into how you operate to allow them to accommodate you. Do you prefer to communicate via phone calls, face-to-face meetings or emails? Is it suitable to regularly meet once a fortnight, or would it be more appropriate to touch base once a month? What’s the best time of day to get in touch with you? When your agency is aware of your needs and what works for you, you will be able to strengthen your relationship, leading to smoother and more efficient collaboration.

Manage your expectations

Your agency will provide you with recommendations to optimise your current marketing efforts, which often means making changes to the way you have done things in the past. It’s easy to be resistant to change and you may be hesitant to try new things, but it’s important to have faith in your agency. You’ve hired them for their expertise, and they want your business to succeed. If you want your results to change, you need to be open to changing your thinking.

3. Sharing is caring

It’s best to share as much intel with your agency as possible. Great agencies want to gain insight into your business and help you achieve your desired results.

Tell your agency about your best performing product or service. Let them know the areas of your business that require more attention. Clue them into any future growth plans.

The more they know, the more they can support you.

If you engage multiple agencies, make sure each one is aware of what the other one is doing. Or, if you manage some of your own activities, let your agency know what you have in market. The media ecosystem is interconnected and both your online and offline marketing activities can impact one another.

For example, let’s say you book your own radio activity directly with the station and engage an agency for Google AdWords. It may not seem like these two marketing activities are interrelated but think about this: after hearing a radio ad, potential customers are likely to search your brand name or product offering and will land on your Google Ads. By telling your agency about your radio activity, they can make sure your PPC activities are best placed to support your campaign, ensuring success across both channels.

How to get started

To get maximum value out of your agency, start by giving them a call and letting them know that you would like to find ways to work better together. Having an open conversation with your agency is the first step toward getting the most out of your investment.

If you’re looking to get the ball rolling with a digital marketing agency that’s going to work with you to deliver meaningful results for your business, contact Distl today.