Your business and their needs are unique. It is important to find agents that suit that need and can grow with your company. Like any partnership, your relationship with agents must be considered carefully. Here are some questions you might want to ask before hiring agency:
Who will you work? Make sure this person is skilled and knowledgeable. Often the agent will send their top people to get an account and then set a lower person to work with you. Find someone suitable for you. You need to work with this person.
What size of his agent? Don’t be fascinated by a big agent. Many smaller agents can pay more attention. Look at the list of their clients and notice how long they work with their clients. Look for a client turnover.
Are they easy to communicate? Remember that you will work as a team. Be aware that agency is human and errors can be made. Do you have a good communication line with agency? Is there a good relationship. Don’t be fooled by a good sales person.
Do they have references? Agency must be able to give you the name of the person they are working on. Also check with local media and ask their opinion. Find out if the agency pays the bill on time. It’s not unusual for agencies to get out of business because of poor management.
How long is the agency in the business? Ask them about other experiences. Look for agents that have a background spent on all media. Often sales representatives enter into business as agents and specialize in the media they have represented because they are not knowledgeable from other media. Look for existing businesses for at least five years to ensure stability and business knowledge.
Is there a conflict of interest? Check to see if the agency does the work for one of your competitors. Request an exclusive contract. The body that has a good reputation usually only handles one bank, one car dealer, etc. Unless they have staff to form a team to handle competing businesses.
How is the agency paid? Agencies make money in one of three ways: commissions, fees or followers.
Commissions are usually 15% of gross costs. Costs are usually charged every hour for creative services.
Costs range from $ 50 to $ 250 in our region. Always wise to get offers on work before starting the project.
Retainer is a monthly fee that is charged to handle customer accounts. Usually a certain amount of work is agreed to be resolved every month at an agreed price. This can cause confusion over what work is being done if everything is not clearly documented. Make sure you know how you understand all costs.
What is the agency philosophy? Is their work philosophy mesh with your company. There are several agents that focus on the volume of the dollar because they do what is best for their clients. For example, agency can have an agreement with the Billboard company and encourage your company to buy billboards to fulfill their own obligations rather than giving you the right option for your business.
Visit the agency. Pay attention to both organizations and office personnel. You want to work with businesses that are well organized and pay attention to details. You want strong creative and friendly services. You can find a lot by the company by visiting and seeing how you are treated.
Find golden rules. The point is you need to be treated with respect. You deserve to be heard carefully. You know your business and you should be able to share your thinking freely so that your team can build the most suitable ideas for your business. Beware of companies that tell you what you will do – as much as you need to be careful for agents acting only as orders.
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