How To Find The Right Agencies To Invite To Your Search
Hello and welcome back to another agency search quick tip form AAR Partners! AAR Partners is an agency search consultancy that has been managing agency reviews since 1980.
This week we had a question from a corporate marketer at a technology company, and she wrote in:
“We are about to begin an agency review, but there are thousands of agencies in the industry. Other than referrals, how do you know which agencies to invite into the search process?”
This is a very common and frequent question that we get asked at the beginning of every agency review.
First of all, according to Statista, in 2018 there were over 13,800 advertising agencies in the US alone. That doesn’t even include all the other disciplines, which make that number skyrocket even higher. So, I go back to the point and the question, where do you begin?
Well, if you have been doing agency search for decades, you tend to know whos who in the industry and while I hate to say it, you also tend to know where the “bodies are buried.”
But what if you haven’t done an agency search before? Well, start with the internet where there are plenty of resources. Here are a few resources I recommend depending on the discipline you are searching for:
- PR Reviews: Check out OdwyerPR.com
- B2B Review: Take a look at B2Bmarketing.net
- Digital/Social Media Reviews: Look over SoDaSpeaks.com
The point is, there are plenty of resources and websites that you can visit to evaluate a variety of marketing agencies.
Before you begin reaching out to agencies, there is something much more vital to start with. It is essential to make sure that you have a very clear scope of work in which your marketing team is in alignment and agreement with.
When you have a very crystal clear scope of work, it forces you to take a look at four things that are crucial to helping your brand find the right agency:
- Your output
- Any current gaps in your marketing program
- The skill sets your team requires
- The resources you need access to
Addressing these will help you identify the most appropriate agencies to invite into your review process while making it easier to eliminate the wrong agencies.
There you have it! That’s my suggestion on how to invite agencies into your review process!
If you have any questions about your agency review, don’t hesitate to write in. Go to LinkedIn or Twitter, ask your question, and simply use the hashtag, #AskAAR. I will be here to answer your questions!
In the meantime, good luck with your agency reviews, good luck with your current agencies. If we can help out in any way, please reach out to AAR Partners.