When evaluating a digital agency for a long-term partnership in the United States, it is more important to evaluate whether or not they will operate as an extension of your business than if they have an amazing portfolio. In fact, the best partnerships are formed in the USA because they have a transparent, organized, scalable, and flexible partner.
A strong agency relationship should create comfort and consistency for your business; therefore, communication should always be clear; reports should always relate to the agreed-upon strategy; and the strategy itself must change as a result of ongoing discussions and performance testing.
The real test
Evaluation of an agency will usually suffice from the preparation phase through the performance phase; however, most businesses evaluate agencies too soon and too narrowly. Businesses also consider only the proposal, case study, and first meeting in their evaluation; however, the primary component of long-term success with any agency is how well they will perform during the execution of work once the priorities of the agency and business change and the level of detail in terms of feedback received increases.
In summary, the question is not simply “Can I trust this agency to perform work?” It is “Will this agency provides guidance for growth, effective communication regarding decisions, appropriate documentation of decisions, and accountability through the duration of our partnership?”
Start with alignment
Start by checking if the agency can help align with your goals before looking at pricing and deliverables. A strong long-term partner should be able to show how they help you achieve revenue, branding, customer acquisition/retention, etc. in practical terms.
A good agency will ask you some smart questions about your target audience, growth stage, internal constraints, and what success means to your team before jumping into a “generic” pitch.
Review their communication
The way agencies communicate with potential partners is one of the most telling signs of whether the agency will be able to successfully support a long-term relationship with them. While timely responses are very important, clarity is even more important than timeliness.
When evaluating an agency’s ability to communicate, look for evidence that they explain options, stay on-topic during meetings, and identify risks ahead of time. Agencies that are good communicators usually have better systems in place behind the scenes; poor communication is often indicative of larger operational challenges.
Check their reporting habits
For a successful long-term agency partnership, it is also essential that your agency provides visibility into their process and status updates. You should never feel like you are chasing them down for updates or guessing where your budget or effort has gone.
Find out how they will notify you of progress, performance and next steps. The best agencies will make it easy for you to know what has been achieved, what has been delayed and what has been successful.
Examine their process memory
An agency’s ability to document effectively is one of the most important yet undervalued signs of strength. When context disappears after every meeting, trust decreases, making the relationship and project scale difficult.
Proper documentation allows an agency to explain the rationale behind the decision, trade-offs and changes that occurred along the way. This is especially important in long-term relationships where teams are developing, priorities are changing, and new stakeholders are being introduced into the conversation.
Look for consistent quality
A polished sales process is relatively simple for an agency to deliver. However, maintaining that same level of quality once the daily work is in process is much more difficult.
You’ll want to identify early signs of quality drift, including urgent deliverables, repeated errors, insufficient QA efforts, or an overall decrease in quality compared to what you observed during your initial meeting(s). A reliable partner will maintain consistency in their quality standards even during busy and/or complicated engagement cycles.
Test scalability early on
A long-term agency business partnership should not crash as your company grows. Strong agencies can manage increased budgets, additional channels, and more complex goals/ages without sacrificing organizational structure or ability to respond to customers.
Utilize A Straightforward Scorecard
In most instances, a simple scorecard is preferred to a complex evaluation model; because it’s easier to consistently apply an uncomplicated method of evaluation; ratings are provided for the Agency in four areas:
- Communication
- Reporting
- Documentation
- Quality
The team evaluates the agency on a scale from 1 to 4 and reviews its performance monthly or quarterly based on the engagement size. If one or more categories consistently score low across multiple review cycles, the team identifies this as a historical pattern and takes action.
Know When To Continue Or Leave
Not every issue you encounter will warrant terminating the relationship. Occasionally, your course of action will be to reset your expectations, narrow the scope of work, and/or improve internal decision-making processes.
However, if the same issues continually arise, even after feedback has been provided or structure has changed, it may be time for you to move on. An effective evaluation process will provide you with evidence (beyond feeling frustrated) when making that determination.
What Successful Partnerships Look Like
In the USA, successful Agency partnerships possess four traits: openness; strategic discipline; flexibility; and, shared commitment to results.
In practice, the agency provides ideas. It documents decisions, shares regular updates, stays flexible as your business needs change.
Your internal teams give timely feedback. They stay accountable for their work. They understand how success is defined.
FAQs
1. When searching for a digital agency partner, what are some things I should evaluate?
You should consider things like how well the agency aligns with your business values. If the agency has a good communication style, if there is a good level of reporting, if their documentation is complete, and if they will be able to grow alongside your business.
2. How can I tell if the agency that I am considering is a good long-term fit?
There should be clear evidence from the first few communications that the agency has clearly thought out the way they do business; they should have asked relevant questions; and their process should align with your goals.
3.What is the most common mistake made by businesses when selecting an agency?
The most common mistake is that businesses evaluate the agency based on how impressive their proposal/portfolio is and do not consider how strong the agency will be as a long-term partner.
4. What is the best way to evaluate an agency’s communication style?
You will need to look at how quickly and clearly an agency responds; if they are upfront about potential risks; and if the meetings feel productive and organized.
5. Should I utilize scorecards in evaluating agencies?
You can absolutely use a simple scorecard to keep track of your communications, reports, documentation, and overall quality as you evaluate the agency as a long-term partner.
6.When should I terminate my relationship with an agency?
If you find yourself facing the same issues over and over through multiple rounds of reviews and the agency has not been willing to make improvements based on the feedback they have received, it may be time to terminate the relationship.