10 tips to get the best from a design agency

There are lots of business web sites (and experts) who will tell you how to improve and grow your business. One of the central things that they all mention is branding and marketing – but if you want to be successful ‘make sure you get a good design agency’ is not much use. So I thought I’d summarise what you should look for, and how you should approach, commissioning and working with a designer or design agency.

1. Have a meeting. Basic maybe, but you have to talk face to face what you want to achieve – over the telephone, via email or a short chat at a networking meeting won’t work – you need to understand that they understand what you’re after, and if you get some intelligent and relevant comments & questions back, you’ll be more confident they will work well on your behalf.
2. Who does what. If you’re using just a design consultant, that’s not an issue, but for a bigger agency you need to understand who will develop the ideas, who will execute them, who will take them to press or develop the web site – if you only meet the creative or business director you’ll probably only meet a small part of the team who will be working for you.
3. Don’t ask for free pitching – no agency likes pitching their ideas for free (the most valuable and difficult element to develop well), and if they agree to do it, it may have lost some trust in your relationship with them – and it won’t save you any money. You will also probably put off other agencies from working with you in future. A credentials pitch should be enough.
4. Ask business-relevant questions. One way to tell if your agency is up to scratch is if they appreciate there is a practical application for their work, and they’re willing (and able) to prioritise and focus on that. Even better if they bring these questions up themselves.
5. Be realistic. Establish and agree clear and achievable goals and targets at the start – design and marketing can achieve a lot, but only in the context of a intelligent business plan and strategy, and for a realistic budget.
6. Multi media branding is important. Even if it’s a simple project you need to know it can – if necessary – be applied on different media, marketed on and offline, and most importantly, fit within a brand strategy that leads somewhere. Even if there’s no budget to look at these questions in detail, at the very least a discussion is worthwhile.
7. Content is king – there’s nothing that makes a project run smoother than a client that’s clearly on top of the content for the project and provides copy and images on time. Usually the one element that is underestimated the most in terms of effort to get right.
8. Have a budget – and communicate it. If you’ve agreed what the objectives are for the budget and there is no room for manoeuvre, let them know – small problems or a change of mind may lead to cost overruns and will impact on what is achievable. Equally, if you have some flexibility if the specifications change or youchange your mind, or if the timeframe is extended, discuss it – a good agency will give you more than just a creative input, but a planning and strategic one as well.
9. Be open to ideas. If you’ve agreed the aims and objectives, invite other ideas on different ways to get there – you will be using the agency at its most creative.
10. Be honest, quickly. If something is not working for you tell them straight away so more time is not wasted. Politeness is all very well, but you are running a business!