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May 11 2016

8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Agency

CHuntly

If you have decided to work with an agency to handle your marketing and communication needs, you need to make sure their approach is in line with your needs as a business. Here are 8 questions to ask your agency before signing a contract with them.

  1. Do they have the skills to do the work you need done?

Before starting a relationship with an agency, you need to make sure that they offer services that fulfill your marketing needs or if they have to outsource any of the work. It’s good for you to know that you have an agency that has experience and success doing the kind of work you need.

  1. Who will be working on and managing your account?

Sometimes, if an agency is larger they will delegate a lot of the work to junior consultants or interns so they can have larger profit margins. Don’t be afraid to confirm who will be working on your account and managing the day to day execution.

  1. Do they have case studies/a track record?

Be wary of an agency that either avoids or refuses to provide case studies and examples of their work.

  1. Do they practice what they preach?

If an agency is trying to sell you on a strategy that you “absolutely must be doing” then check up on them to make sure they are also doing it well for their own business. If they make lofty promises about your social media accounts but they haven’t posted in the last 6 months, then perhaps they aren’t for you.

  1. What is the communication/connection process? How often will you talk?

You need to be comfortable with this process, whether it’s a weekly or monthly meeting or phone call, a monthly written report, etc. You also need to know that your agency will be available if you need them (within reason!). If you have to wait for 2 days to hear back from them to answer a question, it can get frustrating.

  1. How long will it take to see results?

Be wary of agencies that overpromise results – they normally under deliver. It takes time to see successful results where you marketing strategy is concerned – it could be 3 – 6 months, but some projects can take up to a year before you see significant results. Clarify this before you get started so you can adjust your expectations.

  1. How do they measure success?

Certain tactics are harder to measure (in terms of data) than others, but if you talk to your agency you should be able to come up with a way to determine whether the strategy is successful. Otherwise, you won’t know if you are successful or not!

  1. How are they different from other agencies?

There are a lot of agencies out there offering a variety of services. Your agency should be able to tell you why you should pick them instead of another agency. This will speak to the character fit between you and the agency.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: account managing, agency, Candace Huntly, communication, consultants, hiring, managing, marketing, measure success, practice what you preach, skills, Songbird Marketing Communications, Track Record

Apr 11 2016

6 things to consider before hiring an agency

CHuntly

When you are running a small business, it can feel overwhelming to try to “wear all the hats” to get things done. You have to be the new business development and sales manager, the accountant, product development, HR (even if you’re a solopreneur, you still have to take care of yourself!), marketing director, operations director, etc. You get the picture. It can be overwhelming to stay on top of everything while ensuring your business is growing at a rate you are happy with.

Perhaps you have thought about hiring someone, but you can’t necessarily cover a full monthly salary cost. You could consider an intern, but they may not have the experience necessary to get you to where you need to be. One option you may not have considered is hiring an agency to take care of your marketing efforts.

Maybe you aren’t ready to work with an agency to take your marketing off your to do list, but if you are, here are six things to look for in an agency.

  1. Chemistry: Sometimes you will have the option to “date before getting married” if you have a smaller project you want to work on before signing a longer-term commitment. This isn’t always the case, but either way you want to make sure that you have a good fit with the agency. They should uphold the same business values and ethical standards that you do as they are representing your brand.
  2. Budget transparency: It can be easy to take a “budget” at face value, but make sure you clarify all that is included in the budget. One of the biggest issues to cover is whether you are working on an hourly basis or with a set fee. If you are working hourly, you may be surprised when you get your bill at the end of the month as it might be higher than what was quoted. Negotiating a set fee will ensure you don’t pay for any overages in hours worked.
  3. Nothing is guaranteed: Be wary of any agency that will “guarantee” you specific results such as “We’ll get you TV coverage” or “We’ll guarantee you xx number of media hits” or even “We’ll guarantee you 50,000 followers within the first month.” I have worked with many clients who have been attracted by these guarantees only to find that they are empty. The key is finding an agency who is as invested in your success as they are their own. It should be more like a partnership than two separate entities.
  4. Know what success looks like: Work with your agency to determine how you will know when your campaign has been successful. Every industry has certain metrics they track, and they all mean different things for brands.
  5. Check their track record: A great agency will be able to put you in touch with current and former clients who will sing their praises. At the very least, they should be able to provide you with case studies of clients who have similar goals to your own. Just because an agency has a lot of clients listed on their site doesn’t mean they are the best at what they do.
  6. Know your account team: Don’t be afraid to ask who will be working on your account. It is common in a lot of agencies to sign a contract and then have the interns working on the bulk of the work to create higher profit margins for the agency. If you are concerned about this, just ask. Again, this is your brand, and you deserve to know who will be representing you to your audiences.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: 6 things, accountant, agency, budget transparency, business development, Candace Huntly, chemistry, commitment, guarantee, hiring, HR, intern, product development, sales manager, small business, solopreneur, Songbird Marketing Communications, Track Record, wear all the hats

Mar 28 2015

Lessons from social entrepreneurs for newbie self-starters

As an organization that helps socially conscious ideas come alive, our teams faces the same challenges faced by first-time entrepreneurs. Perhaps you can relate to this:

marisol blog image 1

Here are 3 tips from this #socent gal for all you lovely folks:

 

  1. It’s All In The Details

Many starter projects struggle through the infancy stages. During this period, projects are usually not fully developed yet, missing details, or are unable to fully guarantee success. During this stage, nothing is perfect. Money is tight, and manpower limited.

However, if you are just testing the waters, but don’t have everything figured out, or feel a little insecure about your project – Don’t worry. Just make sure you are able to communicate your project ideas and the intended outcomes clearly. Being able to do so will already set you apart from many other entrepreneurs.

Amidst the unpredictability of starting off, use storytelling and visuals to minimize misunderstandings for your listeners. Moreover, try to engage your audience by carefully crafting your communications material ahead of time, and have someone else review it for you.

  1. Keep Growing Your Track Record

We all know it. Starting a business can put a big financial stress on business owners – no matter how well prepared they are. Plans can fall through, partnerships may crumble, economic climates will change.

When money is not falling from the sky, always remind yourself to be patient, and that clients seek out proven track records and testimonials. The more opportunities you have to prove yourself, the easier it will be to command the fees you want. Hence, look for opportunities to showcase your skills.  If you’re creative in demonstrating your abilities, the value of your product, and are not afraid to take risks (an essential part of the entrepreneurial DNA), clients will take notice, thereby making it easier for you to adjust your pricing in the long-run.

  1. Don’t Listen to Fear

People sense desperation and fear in email replies, when conducting meetings, or even when negotiating prices. And it sucks. Because if anything, fear is the last thing anyone needs – especially, when you’re already struggling to pay your bills.

Whenever you feel restlessness and desperation kicking in, just sit back, breathe and take a step back. Remind yourself of why you started. Acknowledge that failure is part of the journey. But most importantly, stop internalizing these feelings of inadequacy, and embrace the natural progression in your business.

And if all fails, be confident even when you’re not. If you have to, practice your pitch in the bathroom mirror until the words naturally glide off your tongue. Attend meetings with someone, especially if you know that person is going to fortify your presentation or overall standpoint. In other words, fake it until you make and don’t be afraid to own all the work you’ve put into your business.

Written by Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Founders of JDC.

JDC supports socially conscious organizations with finding sustainable ways to tell their stories using visual design, engaging content and non-traditional media. We help you with anything from organizing fundraising campaigns to web design and social media management.

www.joint-development.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Marisol and Silvia Fornoni · Tagged: business, business development, business owners, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, details, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs, fear, financial stress, JDC, Joint Development, Marisol Fornoni, newbie, selfie, Silvia Fornoni, small business, small business development, small business owners, testimonial, Track Record

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