So you’ve done your research and hired a marketing agency. That’s great. But what now?

Do you just leave everything in their hands? Do you keep checking in with them to see what’s going on? Do you work side-by-side with them? Different styles of working are right for different people. However, the best thing is probably to go for a balance between complete autonomy and working together.

If you leave the marketing agency to do whatever they think is best, you might be startled by the results six months down the line (and not in a good way). On the other hand, if you’re constantly working with them, you’re not giving them the desired space to come up with new ideas. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

How do they usually work?

To begin with, you might want to consult your contact at the marketing agency to figure out how they work.

Do they come up with a marketing campaign for you, then give you a presentation and then start putting things into action? How much autonomy do they need? How much input from you do they need?

Overall, checking in with your marketing agency once a week seems fairly reasonable. It will keep you in the loop but still give your agency enough autonomy to come up with new ideas for your campaign

Communicating your needs

When you hired your marketing agency, you probably sat down with them and spoke to them about what you were looking for.

You might also have looked into the work they did for others and maybe that appealed to you. But now that you’ve hired them, you can have a longer conversation about your needs.

• What goals have you set for your business in the coming year?
• And how do you expect your marketing campaign to contribute towards that goal?

At the same time, listen to what your marketing agency contact has to say about whether your goals are reasonable or not.

Sometimes, you might be expecting more than they can deliver. So it’s best to know what they think they can deliver, right from the beginning.

Getting a detailed plan

Before the marketing agency puts anything into action, they should give you a detailed plan of the marketing campaign they have in store for you. This can be done in the form of a presentation or a report. A presentation often works best because it also gives you the opportunity to ask questions and suggest changes. Remember that a good marketing agency will always give you a plan or presentation before putting anything into action.

Understanding the basics

It might help you to learn a few marketing terms so that you know what your marketing agency is up to. In th