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If you were to handle a lawsuit without the necessary legal advice and council, or audit your own books without the needed skills of a professional, you know that you are setting yourself up for failure. Not investing in professional help in either of these could have a dire impact on your business on so many levels. Communication, if not managed professionally, will also negatively impact your business and you could run the risk of ruining your reputation.
Fortunately,
more companies are seeing the benefit of investing in their reputations
compared to ten years ago. Unfortunately, there are many charlatans out there
that have jumped on the ‘reputation’ band wagon and have taken many organisations
for a Public Relations (PR) ride. I honestly can’t blame some companies for
being wary about investing in communication / PR agencies; I’ve heard some
shocking revelations of what some agencies get away with, with high retainer
fees to boot!
Whether
or not you are sceptical about engaging in the services of a communication
manager, have been dabbling with the thought of getting someone on board, or
just wondering whether you are getting the most out of your current service
provider, use the pointers below to help find or confirm that you have the
right communication fit in your organisation. This will essentially help you to
manage and maximise your communication initiatives to ultimately take your
reputation to the next level.
What
should you look for when selecting a communication consultancy?
Firstly,
have an agreed road map:
- Does
the agency make an effort to understand your organisation? They need to
live the brand to effectively communicate about the organisation. If they
are not integrally involved in what you do, how can they successfully
communicate to others what you do?
- Do
they ask about the business’ goals and is this incorporated into the
overall communication goals?
- Is
there a clear agreed upon communication vision? Does this feed into the
overall business vision?
- How
do they bill? This is quite a grey area, especially as there are no
set industry fees and rates. Some agencies bill per hour and allocate a
set number of hours to each client. Other prefer to bill per project,
while others opt for a retainer fee. Personally, I recommend a monthly
retainer fee with very clear deliverables that need to be reported on.
Building a reputation takes time, and it is quite tricky to do this if the
focus is only on an ad hoc project basis. With a retainer you can have a
much longer term view and build a stronger relationship if both parties
know where you are heading to and what it is going to take to get there. I
do understand that investing in a retainer could be quite daunting
especially if you have not had a good experience in the past. Consider
negotiating a shorter term engagement and take stock after a couple of
months to see what is working, what is not working and readjust where
necessary.
Secondly,
find out about range of expertise of the agency.
- Are
they able to cater for your specific needs? What is tremendously helpful
is to give a comprehensive brief of what you require. This will make your
life considerably easier when it comes to evaluating the proposals
received.
- Find
out what their area of expertise is. Many agencies offer a full integrated
communication service - be wary of this. Ultimately there will be one area
that they are far better at and that they will focus on more. You want a
specialist to help you, not a jack of all trades. Collaboration is the
name of game; consider a couple of experts in different areas.
- It’s
good to find out what experience they have in your particular market and
particular disciplines. With that said, if an agency has not worked
in a specific industry, don’t let that put you off. A fresh pair of eyes
could just be what is needed on a new approach to get your message out
there.
Thirdly,
who will be working on the account: resourcing?
There
are pros and cons when it comes to investing in a ‘one-man-show’ versus a
dedicated team (agency).
When
you invest in a consultant, you are investing in receiving their personalised
service, unfortunately when they are ill or go on holiday there isn’t a backup
team that can help out.
Investing
in an agency gives you team support, and you have a group of experts to tap
into as opposed to just one person. The snag is that when the proposal gets
sent to you, you are promised the highest calibre resources and then once the
contract is signed, you are assigned the newest intern to manage your account.
You can and need to be quite clear who you would like to work on your account
from the beginning.
Regardless
of who you select to work with, the most important thing is that there is a
good rapport between you and them.
The
fourth area to look at is measuring the results.
- Find
out what the measurement / return on investment of the service will be.
Having clearly defined goals in place helps immensely to make sure that
all parties are on the same page and knows what need to be done. You could
consider linking a deliverable to a business goal.
- How
and when will progress be discussed; a monthly report is highly
recommended to keep track of progress, as well as quarterly or annual
review.
Finally,
the agency’s reputation matters. Make sure that their values resonate
with those of your company. Ask for references, and speak to their current and
previous clients. Find out whether they belong to the industry body, as there
would be a code of ethics that members would agree to. How do well-informed
people judge the consultancy? Lastly, do they practice what they preach? Read
their work, and also see how they represent themselves in the media.
To
recap when it comes to investing in a communication agency:
- Have
an agreed road map; align the communication strategy to the business;
- Confirm
the range of expertise that the agency has to offer. Would a specialist or
jack of all trades work best for you?
- Find
out who you will be working with. Make sure that you resonate with the
person or team that you end up working with;
- Have
clear measurable goals in place to track progress and to measure your
return on investment and finally;
- Reputations
matter, investigate the agency thoroughly and get feedback from
current and previous clients before investing in a long term engagement.
To
continue the reputation management conversation, join Regine on Twitter
@ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.
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