Tips for Working With a Marketing Firm
When you retain a marketing communications firm to help present your business to the public, you’re forming an important strategic alliance. How much you get in return will depend on how much you put into the relationship.
Making the most of the services and expertise your public relations agency offers isn’t difficult, but you have to put forth the effort from the beginning. When you do, you’ll build a productive and successful partnership that should produce positive press and, eventually, increased revenue. There are three main ways to increase your chances of creating a successful and productive partnership with a MarComm agency.
Nurture the relationship
Be ready to spend a lot of time and effort up front to build the alliance. No matter how good your MarComm agency is, you’ll have to inform your account representative about your company and industry. Ideally, you want them to know as much as you know about your business and the market it serves. The more time you spend getting them up to speed, the faster they’ll be able to represent your company effectively.
Keep them informed
If your business is growing rapidly, you’re probably hiring employees, opening accounts and releasing products at a dizzying rate. All these events represent outstanding opportunities for positive press, but your MarComm agency needs to know about them as early as possible.
Open channels of communication between your business and the agency are critical. There’s no magic rule about what works best — you can schedule weekly or monthly meetings with your PR firm or send all important memos to your account representative immediately. But it’s essential to create a system to keep the agency informed and stick to it.
Be an active listener
Remember, you’re the expert on your company, your customers, and the products and services you offer. Your agency is the expert on crafting and delivering messages that will present your business to the market in a positive and creative way. Don’t underestimate the importance of active listening on both sides.You need to leverage each other’s expertise to achieve the common goal of promoting your company.