Hiring
The Right Talent:
Advertising Agencies & Designers
Having recently purchased a business
in Central Oregon, the owner wanted to use direct mail as part
of his advertising strategy. Having "inherited an advertising
agency" with the purchase, the agency was, of course, his
first place to seek advice.
After several frustrating conversations, the business owner determined
that the agency really didn't understand direct mail. That's
what prompted his call to me.
After listening to his story, his frustration was not unlike
that of many other business owners I've spoken with in the past
-- the expectation that the "agency" had the expertise
to deal with all marketing issues equally well.
As with most professions, agencies specialize. Not a new concept,
surely. Asking them to cross specialties and still do a good
job is like asking you to speak Greek to me today, Japanese tomorrow,
and Spanish the next day. Only a few talented linguists have
such education and capabilities. And only a few talented agencies
deliver adequate results in every aspect of marketing. Novices
to the world of marketing and design often don't know the right
questions to ask to ascertain the true talents of the firm or
person they're considering. So let's take a look at some fundamental
issues.
Number one, don't mistake a designer for an agency. On several
occasions I've seen a designer (someone who is especially good
at the artful delivery of a message), asked to buy ad space for
a client, and next thing you know, out goes the "agency"
shingle. Designers typically don't have training or experience
in marketing strategy, and media buying (making the right choice
of media, frequency and timing is far more than a quick call
to buy space in your local newspaper). Also, they often have
a tendency to over design, making materials, ads, or direct mailers
cost more than necessary, and not necessarily deliver any better
results.
Agencies often spring out job experience in a specific aspect
of media. For instance, a woman starting a 'yellow pages' agency
spent years selling ads for the yellow pages. In an agency specializing
in radio, all four partners had extensive experience in radio
advertising sales or station management. And print design folks
set themselves up as agencies in print media.
I've even seen cases where the service provider, in this case
a designer, stated in plain English that 'design' was the specific
talent he delivered. Yet a business owner, using his services,
expected him to deliver what an 'agency' would normally be called
in for, strategy, concept, copy, etc.
The business owner using the designer's services insisted she
had an ad agency working for her, and couldn't understand why
her ads didn't get results. It simply wasn't the designers job
to bring to her attention that she didn't include an address
or phone number, it was his job to 'design' only. What was more
outrageous, however, was that when I brought to the attention
of this business owner that she couldn't expect ads with no address
and phone number to get much response, her comment was, "well,
we don't want to be bothered by all those phone calls."
Perhaps these two deserved each other!
The point is that you simply can't assume that any particular
agency has the capabilities you need to get your marketing goals
accomplished. You must evaluate prospective agencies the same
way you evaluate key employees. After all, you are hiring them
to do a job. And please, don't fall into the trap of hiring them
because you like their work -- (usually that means you find it
esthetically pleasing). How the materials they develop look is
far less important than whether their overall plan and strategy
generated satisfactory results for their clients.
"Results" is the operative word here. Granted, creating
a professional look through good design is important. But you
can look fabulous, and still go out of business because you're
not getting sales results.
Ask prospective agencies to give you specific, results that they've
helped other clients achieve. For instance, did the client realize
a 35% increase in sales, or a 22% reduction of sales costs through
their work? If they balk at giving you this information, or come
up with excuses like, "oh, you just can't measure that",
question whether or not you want to hire them. A savvy agency
should not only be able to deliver good design, but should deliver
other valuable services to you. And, they should be able to advise
you on how to track and evaluate results of the programs they
develop for you.
But most importantly, you, as the business owner or manager in
charge of marketing, must understand sound marketing strategies
so you can evaluate whether your agency or designer is on track.
After all, it's your money and your business.
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Jody Hornor
By:
Jody Hornor
(800) 989-8112
Associated articles:
What's In it for ME?
How to Make Your
Advertising Work
Hiring The Right
Talent:
Advertising Agencies & Designers
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