In the modern business environment, partnerships between organisations and agencies are increasingly common and increasingly valuable. Whether it's for marketing, technology, or operational expertise, agencies can offer specialised skills and perspectives to drive your business forward. However, like any partnership, success hinges on mutual understanding, honesty, and clear communication.
In this blog we investigate why clarity and collaboration are vital when partnering with an agency and how setting clear expectations can create a foundation for success.
1. Establishing a Clear Engagement Model
Before diving into the details of the partnership, it’s crucial to define the engagement model.
What does the partnership look like? Is it project-based, retainer-based, or ad hoc? The scope of work must be explicitly outlined, leaving no room for assumptions.
Who does what? Clearly defining roles and responsibilities for both the agency and the customer helps prevent duplication of effort or gaps in execution.
What is the communication protocol? Decide on how often updates will be shared, the preferred communication channels, and who the points of contact will be on both sides. Open conversations during the planning stages on campaign metrics, focus, audience demographics etc., to explore potential pit falls and challenges, thereby giving the opportunity to explore alternative routes to market that may yield a better return.
Without clarity here, misalignment can derail even the best of plans. For instance, if the customer expects daily updates but the agency operates on a weekly reporting schedule, frustration is inevitable. Open and honest conversations from the outset ensure everyone is on the same page.
2. Defining Goals and Outcomes
The importance of agreeing on goals and outcomes cannot be overstated. Vague objectives lead to wasted time and resources. Imagine an agency delivering what they believe is a stellar campaign, only for the client to feel disappointed because their definition of success was not met.
Be specific. Instead of "increase website traffic," aim for "achieve a 20% increase in website traffic within six months, with a focus on organic search."
Be measurable. Agree on metrics, KPIs, and the tools you will use to track progress.
Be realistic. Align on what is feasible and achievable, given the timeline, budget, and resources.
Be respectful. Mutual respect for the advice and guidance being given by the agency and product/audience knowledge offered by the client ensures optimum outcomes
When goals are clearly articulated there is no room for doubt, both the agency and customer can work toward a shared vision of success.
3. Transparency in Results
One of the most common pain points in agency partnerships is the "grey area" surrounding results. Often, customers feel unsure about what is being delivered, why certain metrics matter, or how success is being defined.
To avoid this:
Demand detailed reporting. Agencies should provide clear, easy-to-understand reports that outline performance, explain the data, and tie results back to agreed-upon goals.
Encourage open dialogue. If the customer does not understand a result or a trend, the agency should be ready to explain it in non-technical terms. There is no room for jargon-laden reports that confuse rather than clarify.
Focus on outcomes, not outputs. For example, generating 500 dials (an output) isn’t meaningful unless those calls lead to conversation and convert into a sales opportunity to align with the customer’s target audience (an outcome).
Be wary of ‘lead guarantee’ agencies – with so many variables when it comes to marketing and demand creation, as well as the need to often tweak campaign elements, in this current economy and B2B landscape, it is extremely difficult to put a guarantee on deliverables. Agencies should be open about the potential pitfalls as well as potential opportunities.
Accepting that in the world of marketing and demand generation not all ideas and concepts will always work the way we would hope mean that close communication, collaboration, adaptation, analysis, and changes are often required to re-steer campaigns onto a path of success. A culture of transparency builds trust and ensures that both parties feel confident in the partnership.
4. Creating a Plan for Actionable Results
It’s not enough for the agency to deliver results – they must also be actionable. This means having a clear plan for how the customer will use the insights or outcomes produced by the agency.
Define the next steps. For instance, if the agency delivers set appointments as part of a telemarketing assignment, how will the customer’s team implement efficient lead follow up?
Assign responsibilities. Decide who is responsible for actioning the results – whether it is an internal SDR team in the first instance, the sales team or a combination of both. Ensuring all involved parties are clear on defined steps and best practice of lead follow-up.
Schedule follow-ups. Regular check-ins to assess progress and refine strategies help ensure the partnership remains dynamic and responsive.
A results-driven approach turns data and deliverables into real-world impact. Work with agencies who have ample analysis at hand to be able to put forward realistic expectations on deliverables, to ensure everyone is on the same page and clear on what is expected.
5. Case Study Example – CPB UK Ltd
CPB UK’s client engagement model demonstrates how it structures lead generation campaign set up and illustrates how closely and meticulously CPB’s teams work with clients to design and execute each multi-touch marketing campaign.
CPB’s campaign set up guide details the steps required for comprehensive campaign design and execution, including:
Telemarketing activity
Email activity
TechKnow.Online mass marketing activity
For more information download the campaign set up guide.
Furthermore, CPB is renowned for recognising the value of expectation setting and ensuring its deliverables for any telemarketing activity are watertight. This is based on granular analysis of the last 6 months and on the client’s chosen campaign demographics, i.e.:
Verticals. How have these chosen verticals performed recently?
Company sizing. How have the chosen sizing parameters performed recently? Typically, Enterprise focus campaigns will be notoriously more difficult than SMB or Mid-Enterprise.
Value proposition(s). What appetite to do we expect to identify within the specified verticals and sizing brackets for the value proposition and tech focus that we will be taking out to market. All recent campaigns of a similar ilk are analysed (where possible).
Lead types. With a variety of outbound campaign types, i.e., appointment setting, lead nurturing, standard telemarketing etc., and with customer centric lead type options, i.e., short-term, nurture funnel etc., deliverables will be based on the lead and campaign type chosen by the client to align with their sales team’s requirements
Campaign Length. Including both the number of days and the time span given for completion, both can affect momentum, number or people spoken to and leads gained.
Going to such lengths really does ensure client-agency solidarity, trust and partnership are as strong and durable as possible.
Conclusion
Communication and feedback are key. Clarity and collaboration are the cornerstones of a successful agency partnership. By setting clear expectations, defining goals, ensuring transparency, and establishing actionable plans, businesses and agencies can work together seamlessly to achieve meaningful outcomes.
The commitment to work closely and as an extended team is vital. Remember, the best partnerships thrive on honesty, communication, and a shared commitment to success. Whether you are the customer or the agency, investing the time to build a solid foundation upfront will pay dividends overall.
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