{"id":1434,"date":"2022-03-22T06:39:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T06:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2022-03-22T06:41:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T06:41:02","slug":"what-to-expect-from-an-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/what-to-expect-from-an-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"what to expect from an agency?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What to expect from an agency?<\/h2>\n

Over the last 15 years, I have personally worked with over 100+ clients, entrepreneurs and large enterprises. With every single one of them, from the time we first meet until the last day of sign-off, we work hard towards seeking their validation, approval and meet and exceed expectations. This is true not just for a creative service partner, I guess, anyone in the services space will be able to relate to this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, looking back, we have realized, 6 out of 10 of them have never worked with a \u2018creative agency\u2019, 2 have worked with \u2018freelancers\u2019 and the last 2 have a well-oiled system in place + adequate budgets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to get some clarity, here\u2019s a list i have made. This list will help anyone seeking to work with an agency:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. It begins<\/span><\/a> with a well-defined problem statement. Can you clearly articulate what you want to be solved? Is it building a brand? Is it generating leads? Is it a go-to-market strategy? or anything else?<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Look for pedigree. For older agencies, seek references. For newer agencies look for hunger and passion.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Review their portfolio. Look for their work specific to your problem area. If you are looking for packing designs, ask them to share similar work done.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Seek references from their clients. Go one step forward and actually talk to one of their oldest clients. See what they have to talk about this potential agency partner. <\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Exclusive spoc. If you are a founder \/ entrepreneur-led, then, have a dedicated spoc. Ensure you have one of your brightest, smartest minds work with the agency to get your work done.<\/li>\n
    6. Begin with setting a budget. In your first or second meeting, set commercial expectations. ask for a proposal \/ understand the billing model.<\/li>\n
    7. No freebies, please. If you are seeking proof of concept, pay for it. Nothing comes free. when you offer to pay, the agency will perceive you as a \u201cgood client\u201d and will be willing to walk the extra mile for you and your business in the future.<\/li>\n
    8. Embrace technology. Thanks to the pandemic, virtual meetings are a reality. It may be easier and faster to just do a virtual call than a physical meet-up.<\/li>\n
    9. Look for a team. Not an individual. Though there are exceptions to this rule. A team means business continuity and less dependence on one person.<\/li>\n
    10. Be responsive. Something that\u2019s rare in today\u2019s generation despite the best and most transparent communication tools available. Reply to that proposal shared.<\/li>\n
    11. Look for happiness in an agency. Where people are happy, they create superior outcomes and experiences.<\/li>\n
    12. Avoid poaching. Instead see if the founder allows one of his \/ her colleague to come and do a stint with you. Small companies find it extremely hard to hire and retain talent.<\/li>\n
    13. Look for governance. Do they pay salaries on time? TDS and GST filing? A well-governed agency will take better care of your business. Make this non-negotiable.<\/li>\n
    14. Observe their social handles. Most agencies build their own brands using social media. Look for creativity there. You can find inspiration. Seek out similar ideas that may be appropriate for your business.<\/li>\n
    15. Ask yourself, how approachable \/ responsive \/ people friendly is the founder of the agency? If she responds to you, the chances are her colleagues will stay responsive. This list can go on and on. and, I believe this is a good enough to make a beginning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      We hope this list lets you onboard a partner who can become a trusted custodian for your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      What to expect from an agency? Over the last 15 years, I have personally worked with over 100+ clients, entrepreneurs and large enterprises. With every single one of them, from the time we first meet until the last day of sign-off, we work hard towards seeking their validation, approval and meet and exceed expectations. This is true not just for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fbl-new","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1438,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions\/1438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firebrandlabs.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}