Guidelines in Selecting a Marketing/Public Relations Firm

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by in Blog

The following are general criteria for selecting a marketing and/or public relations firm. This guideline will help you by matching your business goals with a firm who has the experience and dedication to meet those goals. There are also intangible assets such as personal chemistry, trust, and intuition, but the following objective criteria are the primary ways to guide you in making a decision.

  • Select an agency as a partner not a vendor — you will get much more creative and great results.
  • Define what do you want the agency to do by determining your needs (strategy, research, media, design, etc.)
  • Some of the criteria for selecting an agency include: location, deadlines, conflicts/competition, budget, billings (documentation), travel & mileage, and markups.
    • Invest upfront in getting agency to be specific about: costs, quality of work, experience of staff, buyer beware, stability of account team that sold job, references, client prospective value of skills and services, expectations.
    • You should not do expect a detailed proposal without paying for it. Make sure the contract contains specific language and agreements(confidentiality, ownership, body of work, retainer money over period of time, project assignment, expenses documentation).
  • Costs are determined by need such as: strategic counsel, tacticsltools and production/design. It is possible to hire an agency on a retainer/contract basis vs. project basis. This will save
  • Mutually develop goals/objectives
  • Make senior counselors of the agency part of your management team and be realistic about expectations.
  • Involve the agency early – in the planning stages. It could take up to two years to create a great working relationship. How involved do you want consultant to be? Get to know one another business.
  • Communicate frequently with agency to get feedback
  • Facilitate the agency’s access to key senior management decision makers.
  • Budget adequately – projected budget, major expenditures have to be agreed
  • Be easily accessible
  • Listen to the agency’s advice
  • Don’t be afraid to make decisions that challenge agency’s recommendations
  • Work with the agency to measure/evaluate results
  • Get full account of time and costs on a monthly basis
  • Agree to fair payment timeline

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