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Whether you are picking your first creative marketing agency or running an annual review of the marketing agency that you presently work with, there are many crucial factors to look at when making your decision.

deciding on the wrong marketing or brand agency could be incredibly costly for your company both in terms of cash spent and final results accomplished. The success of a business depends highly on its marketing efforts and so deciding on the incorrect agency could be the difference between your enterprise booming or going bust.

So what should you look out for when selecting a new marketing agency for your company? Here are our top five tips on what you should be examining carefully;

Is the agency reactive or proactive?

A marketing agency that is reactive is fine if you want to commit every minute of every day instructing your agency on what to do to obtain your targets. However, the chances are that this will be a extremely expensive way of conducting your marketing.

selecting a proactive agency will not only save you time and expense organizing the marketing procedure but will also enable your marketing to become truly progressive.

A proactive marketing agency will always be suggesting new concepts for your marketing, assisting you to set the agenda and strategy and driving your product and service on to larger and better things at all times.

How strong is the agency’s portfolio of work?

An agency with a proven track record of results is more likely to generate strong results and outcomes for you than one without. Be sure to look not only at the visual work that has been created, but client testimonials too – these can often be the most telling indications of past good results!

Also check to see if the agency has examples of work within your industry or sector and if this has proven productive. It may also help to establish if there will be any conflicts of interest with other clients being your competitors.

What are the people like?

Is the agency full of people that you would like to work with on a everyday basis? The chances are that you will have a lot of communication with your agency over the coming weeks, months and years, so a very good working relationship is vital. Are there any likely personality clashes? If so, such an agency should be avoided.

How does the agency report back to you?

many phone calls and emails throughout each day will not leave you much time to be productive. Unclear reporting approaches will make it difficult for you to measure the usefulness of your agency. Be sure to clear up how and when contact between you and the agency will take place.

Also look to identify key metrics on which they should report and will be measured. This will assist you greatly when it comes to reviewing the work that your integrated marketing agency has completed for you.

What are the agency’s thought processes?

When coming up with ideas for your next campaign or strategy, how much resource does your agency throw at it? Do you get the office junior coming up with ideas or an external brand consultant or does your account get the complete attention of the agency’s Creative Director?

Ultimately you don’t want marketing suggestions that have been done before and help you to blend in with the rest of the market – your agency’s thought processes should always be targeted on separating you from the competition and making you stand out in the mind of the consumer.

Is your potential agency’s thinking fresh, or just the same old stuff?