On the face of it, there’s a fairly standard process to selecting an agency for digital work. As an agency, we’ll meet or chat with you, we’ll both decide that we could work together, you’ll present us with an outline for the work, we’ll respond and be shortlisted to pitch, we’ll pitch and we’ll be appointed. Give or take a few exceptions, that’s pretty much it.
However, there’s a huge opportunity to add a load of value to your project before it has even begun and move smoothly from proposal to pitch to project without breaking sweat or biting your nails…
Who gets my brief?
Send your brief to the most appropriate people.
Unless you’re a public sector body you don’t need to hold an open tender. You can do, but you risk getting a huge number of inappropriate responses, either from agencies who just aren’t right for you (or good enough).
Not every agency can do what you need and not every agency wants to work with you. Sometimes, your project is too big or too small for an agency to take on board. It’s unlikely, for instance that a global billion pound agency will take on a web project with a budget of £7,500…
Also, sometimes you’re just not the right kind of client for an agency or perhaps they aren’t right for you. If you’re an environmental charity, is an agency who works predominantly in the auto industry the right team for you? Probably not…
Obvious? You’d be surprised.
What goes in my brief?
That depends…
Do you know exactly what you want?
If so: put everything in your brief
Tell us everything, treat us like you’ve nothing to hide. Every little thing is useful—every piece of insight into you, your organisation, your audiences, everything you know about your technical infrastructure, your present future marketing and communications strategy, what you had for breakfast, everything… That way we have a shared understanding of what meets the brief and we can ‘tick all the boxes’ (and be open about those boxes we can’t, or won’t tick) and, vitally, make sure we tick the boxes in the best possible way. This, in turn, gives you the best possible response and solution.
Are you looking for us to help you work out what you need?
If so: be minimal with your brief.
This may sound like a brave move, but an agency should be able to understand you well enough to deliver a solution that fits your needs. One of the best briefs we’ve ever had was a single sentence. It said “Young, funky charity needs a website for £xx-thousand. Up for it?” We loved this. It gave us pretty much free reign to look at any and every tool/technology we could think of and do something really exciting and effective (within the bounds of ‘website’ and of course the budget!).
Is money no object?
If yes, fine.
If not, give us a budget. Please. That way we know what we’re working towards, we won’t propose a solution that’s a step or three too far and conversely, we won’t underestimate you and propose something too simplistic.
I appreciate the perceived risk, the worry that if you fix a price the agency will run exactly to what you have and try to convince you that ‘that’s what it costs’. However, honest agencies won’t do that and at the risk of sounding like a teacher, it’s a few bad apples that spoil it for the rest of us. A budget means we can qualify the work appropriately and everyone’s time won’t be wasted by unfit proposals.
Be open to being challenged
You’re looking for an agency because you need some extra expertise. We’re approaching your brief with fresh eyes and minds. I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been working on something solidly for ages, I can get to a point where everything begins to swim a little and the big picture becomes a little blurry. We’re here to help you see things anew, to help you to look at new ways to reach your audiences and achieve your goals. That’s not to say we’re always right but, certainly at the earliest stages of a project ‘no idea’s a bad idea’. Except supporting Liverpool—that’s always a bad idea.
Talk to us all the time…
Finally, and most importantly expect your agencies to keep channels of communication open throughout. We’ll be refining our proposal and solution right up to the point we hit send at 5.29 on deadline day. With this in mind we’ll be chatting to you, confirming things, validating ideas and generally having a team of people considering your project, your organisation and your audiences in great nit-picking detail. For you to make the most out of our thinking, we’d love to chat through it with you, so you can glean ideas from everyone you talk to and you’ll likely get a load of good ideas from every agency you talk to, not just the ones you appoint. Don’t be afraid to use them all if they’re appropriate, after all the point is to ensure that you get the best solution possible, however that comes about.
So, from an agency’s perspective that’s how we’d like to see the process work and how we feel you can get the best out of selecting one of us. Hopefully you’ll agree that it makes sense. However, I’m sure that from a client’s perspective there are things I’ve missed. What are they? What would you like to see from us that makes the process smoother and more beneficial for you? I’d be interested to hear what you think. Comments below…
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