Choosing an Agency...

The selection of an individual or firm to handle your marketing is one of the most important decisions a small company can make. Often, the choice involves a trade-off between quality and price--or at least between experience and price. Some full-service advertising agencies and graphic design firms are geared to work with deep-pocket corporations and will be beyond a small company's budget. Many, however, provide excellent service at more reasonable rates.

The following proven steps can help you determine if an ad agency or design firm can serve your needs while fitting within your budget.

1. Ask other small-business owners for recommendations. If an ad agency or graphics firm has performed well for others at a reasonable rate, it's likely the company will do the same for you. When asking for recommendations, see if you can look at what the agency did. Examine materials such as ads, brochures, Web sites, direct-mail pieces, etc. Talk with the business owner to see how well the marketing material performed for him, in terms of revenue or new customers generated. Ask how easy the agency was to work with. Ask about charges. And see if there were any specific individuals at the agency who did a great job.

2. Before meeting with agencies, prepare by gathering all information they'll need to make suggestions. These include: your present marketing materials, your goals and timelines, your vision of the image you would like your company to have, your budget, etc. This information will be necessary for an agency to make realistic suggestions and price projections.

3. Ask to see samples of work done for previous or existing clients. The work should resonate with you. If not, you should move to your next interview because it's often hard for an agency to revamp the style of work it does, just as it's difficult for an artist to draw or paint in a style other than what they've developed over the years. If you don't like the way the agency's ads look, or if their design style doesn't seem like it would fit with the image you want, keep an open mind. But don't expect that they'll be able to change just to suit you.

4. Ask about fees. It's often hard for a creative person or agency to give an exact amount for how much a brochure, logo, ad campaign or other types of work will cost. But you'll need to know a ballpark figure to determine if you can afford to work with them. When talking about fees, don't assume that an agency will come in at the low end of an estimate.

5. Visit the agency's offices. You'll be able to tell a lot about an agency by how their space feels. It is orderly or is it a mess? Does the staff seem dedicated? Do they have samples of their work on display?

Tip: At least once, walk through the offices near the end of the day. People's true colors come out when they've been hard at it for eight hours or more.

6. Ask about the people who will be doing the work on your account. Meeting with the sales manager of a large ad agency doesn't really give you much information about the people who will be creating on your behalf. Agencies range in size from independent entrepreneurs to large, full-service agencies employing hundreds of writers, designers and account representatives. No matter how large, however, individuals within the agencies undertake creative decisions and create the final product. For this reason, a one-person shop may do even better work for you than a large agency.The proprietor of a one-man or one-woman agency, for example, may formerly have been a creative director at a larger agency. They may have experience and ability far beyond what you could expect to end up with at a larger agency. Because of your small-company budget, a large agency could assign your work to a relatively inexperienced person.

7. Does the person who will be doing your work understand and share the vision you have of your marketing goals? This is probably the most important factor in the selection process.

Final note: When starting work with an agency, don't get locked into a long-term contract. Start slowly and commit gradually. If you're looking for a new logo, for instance, ask to see sketches before paying a significant deposit. If you're working with the company to create a brochure, ask to see layout samples and copy ideas before too much time (and expense) goes into the creation.