Help! My agency isn't listening...
How can you resolve frustration with your agency?
Here is the situation. So I am working with an agency on social media outreach for a project. I provided the agency with all the assets, collateral, messaging, and target audience demographics. I asked them to put together a strategy and tactical execution plan to reach the identified audience either using the assets we have provided or provide within the plan what assets were needed to create the plan with this objective in mind: How do we reach this audience using social media? What social media outlets should we use? How do create awareness then preference? How do we measure success? We have gone round and round on con call after con call….no big vision has been presented, no holistic strategy and tactic plan with benchmark goals to measure our success.
I look to an agency as a partner. You provide an expertise that my company doesn’t currently have. I provide the inputs, the direction and expect the agency to take their expertise, their research to provide a go-to-market plan to reach the objective of reaching a specific audience using social media as a platform.
So my question to the agency peeps out there…how can I overcome this frustration? how can I communicate clearly to my agency my needs and get them to provide me a clear plan to reach our objectives? What are the steps I can take, as a client, to get us on the same page to reach our objective?
Tags: client agency relationships, client frustration, social media
October 22, 2008 at 10:23 am |
Well, my first reaction was to defend the agency and suggest that perhaps you’re not as clear in your communication with the agency as you think (sorry, can’t help but defend us agency folks), but then I realized:
1. I don’t want to sleep on the couch tonight
2. From what you’ve outlined here, you’ve given your agency more than enough to at least start moving.
Do they ask questions? Do you sit down and really discuss the problem? My sense is, if I was given this much clear communication on what the objective was, and what the expectations were, I’d have enough to start building a plan. The important thing is to ask questions, talk, communicate…this shouldn’t happen in a vacuum, where client gives direction and the agency goes away, and comes back with a plan.
Anyway, my advice: One on one with the AE. Try to get to the bottom of the issue. If you still aren’t getting anywhere, it’s time to go to the Acct. Sup. or above. Trust me, if you go up high enough, eventually you’re going to find the person that will rattle the cages.