Over the course of my career, working within public relations and marketing agencies large and small, I’ve been lucky to be a part of many creative and successful campaigns — including a long tenure on the client side. From launching new brands and products and promoting events to entering new markets, a cooperative collaboration between client and agency was always the hallmark of the most successful, memorable — and fun — campaigns. I have also seen my fair share of campaigns that fell short of expectations. Even the best-laid plans can miss the mark for a variety of reasons, not the least of them being a disjointed client/agency relationship. 

Collaboration and cooperation create a seamless, pleasant experience for both the client and the marketing and public relations agency. But it’s easy for the relationship to go sideways when proper level setting and expectations are not thoroughly considered and discussed — and this should be a regular occurrence. 

For brands looking to augment their marketing and engage with an agency partner, it’s important to start off on the right foot. That’s why we have assembled eight key considerations to help make the most of your next agency partnership: 

1. View the engagement as a partnership in the truest sense. The best engagements are true partnerships where the agency team can excel in supporting your organizational needs. Collaboration is key, and partnering with an agency that is transparent throughout the engagement is a great first step.  
2. Choose an agency that listens. Your agency partner should truly understand your business and help you problem-solve. They should also be passionate about your success and eager to deliver results that impact your business. A marketing agency’s ability to listen is crucial because it allows them to understand your unique needs, preferences, and goals. Agencies that excel in active listening demonstrate they understand your specific situation and ensure they’re on the same page with you, which builds trust that translates into results. 
3. Critically evaluate your needs and prioritize them. Be realistic about your internal resources dedicated to supporting the agency. The agency will need support and gather information from your team to be successful. While this can seem like a lot of work at first, the initial time investment will pay off as campaigns progress. It also gives the agency the proper tools to make your campaigns successful from the outset.  
4. Gather internal team input early on or even prior to the engagement. Don’t silo your partnership with a marketing agency from the rest of the organization. Treat other departments as stakeholders and seek out their opinion and input. Otherwise, the KPI goalpost can shift, leading to disjointed campaigns that are less impactful. 
5. Research your potential agency partner. When investigating agency partners, go with one that complements your company and its values and aligns with your organizational goals. If you are a mission-driven organization, look for agency partners that can adequately support you in your corporate culture, showcase similar values and have previously worked with companies with similar values. 
6. Establish clear expectations. Be clear with the agency about your goals. A good practice is to meet weekly and evaluate results regularly. Learning from the metrics that the agency discovers and provides, be willing to adjust KPIs as necessary and set realistic goals.  
7. Ask lots of questions about your campaigns, KPIs, the team and more. You should never feel intimidated to ask questions. Your agency partners are subject matter experts, and they should be happy to share information and educate you and your team regarding their approach, best practices and results. 
8. Nurture the relationship. You want to be viewed as a good partner, as much as you would like the agency to be as well. Regardless of the engagement, staying positive and open to new ideas is key to success. Agency partners want to be successful, and their efforts should be viewed as mutually beneficial. When you win, they win! 

It is important to consider the above-mentioned steps and partner with a growth marketing agency, a PR firm for tech or a B2B tech PR agency that has the experience and know-how to properly and professionally communicate to establish expectation parameters — and exceed them.  

At GMG, we’re in the business of partnering with like-minded, mission-driven and passionate changemakers to disrupt the status quo with innovative solutions that positively impact industry, economy and humanity. We strive for excellence in everything we do, whether it’s HubSpot management, SEO content development, brand strategy frameworks, go-to-market plan templates, media relations strategy, or anything else in between. Our goal is to help changemakers make a positive impact on humanity and industry. We’ve successfully partnered with more than 300 high-growth clients in our 12-year history and we have helped organizations see the full value of public relations come to fruition with custom-tailored strategies.  

Ready to find out how a partnership with GMG and its team of experts can deliver successful strategic marketing and public relations solutions with the metrics to back them up?