Your marketing results hinge on successful partnerships with agencies.

Outsourcing fills in the gaps across digital and traditional marketing so you can focus on the bigger picture. This is why it’s vital to have good agency-client relationships that are built around trust, cooperation, and communication.

The first step toward having one of those enviable alliances is to find a great agency.

But that’s just the first step.

Maintaining a productive relationship requires work from both parties. Here are four things you can do to have a highly successful partnership with your agency:

Be responsive

You hire an agency to do work for you, but that doesn’t mean you can give the project specs and wash your hands of it. It’s not something you can set and forget. You need to be responsive.

For an agency, there’s nothing worse than running with clients’ ideas and delivering a final product only to learn it’s not exactly what they had in mind. This causes delays. This stymies results. This fuels bad relationships.

Even if you’re busy, it’s important to provide feedback when it’s solicited. These are your opportunities to say:

• “This is off-track. It’s not the right tone or audience”
• “I  like the direction, but I’d prefer it better this way…”
• “It’s exactly what I had in mind.”

Small changes early on in the process will keep the project on-target and on-deadline. This will make both you and your agency happy.

Don’t Micromanage, Either

Even though you should be involved and up-to-date on what’s happening with your agency, don’t helicopter the projects.

Your work may never get off the ground if you are asking for daily updates or halting the process until you can give approval over the smallest changes. Not to mention that it could quickly cause the relationship to go sour. No one likes to feel that someone is constantly looking over their shoulder, waiting for them to make a mistake.

If you put in the work up front to find a great agency, you should have no problem trusting the team to execute your work. Plus, there are plenty of opportunities to give your two-cents if you are approving pitches and attending meetings with your account manager.

Align Your Goals

Don’t assume your goals are the same as your agency’s. The 2016 State of Digital Marketing Survey by Ascend2 found that 55 percent of marketers say increased lead generation is their top priority this year. This was followed by 48 percent who say increased conversion rates are the most important.

You might be thinking about generating leads or conversions, but your agency could be working toward a different goal, like traffic of brand awareness. Be clear about the end-result you want to achieve with each project so you know your team is on board and working toward the same aim.

Get To Know Your Creative Team

Creative content is becoming more important in marketing strategies. It’s estimated that 62 percent of companies outsource their content marketing to keep up with the trend, according to Demand Metric.

If you’re doing any kind of content marketing, it’s a good idea to get to know the team – the designers, writers, and producers – who are building your collateral from the ground up.

Your project or account manager will continue to be your main point of contact, but if you have a relationship with your creative team, you can directly communicate your vision to the people who are closest to the work. This is an easy way to avoid problems with miscommunication along the chain of command.

Of course, the only way to ensure a good agency-client fit is to find a partner that shares your values.

With so many options out there, this can be a challenging process.

If you’re looking for the perfect agency match, contact us. We offer custom search services to find the right team with the right focus for your business.