If you’re looking to build a long-term partnership with a creative design agency, it’s essential to vet them thoroughly. But how do you identify a good fit early on? Start by asking the right questions, right away.
At Chittlesoft, we offer content and design services to boost our clients’ sales and marketing results.
Want to empower your in-house team with high-quality sales and marketing collateral? Start here.
As an experienced creative design agency, we believe it’s important to be transparent with clients about your expertise and processes, as well as the level of involvement needed from them. Additionally, all expectations should be communicated clearly right from the start, to build a long-term, rewarding relationship.
Why invest in a long-term client-agency relationship?
Like any good, lasting business relationship, a lasting client-agency relationship can help you achieve your goals. Here are some advantages of selecting an agency you’d like to work with long term:
- Their understanding of your brand and audience will grow stronger over the years
- They will align themselves to your processes for maximum efficiency
- You won’t have to keep educating a creative team on your brand, expectations, target audience, and more
- Over time and with experience, they will be able to advise you better, helping you take better decisions for your brand
- They will become more invested in you as a client, and give you their best
How do you know if a creative design agency is a good fit for you? Ask these 10 questions.
To identify the right creative design agency for your business and brand, discuss areas such as their work history, services, team, and communication. Find out what you need to know by asking these 10 questions:
Work history
1. “Have you worked with clients in our industry?”
This question will help you determine the level of experience the creative design agency has within your specific industry. Their past work for clients with similar requirements will give you an understanding of what they can deliver, and whether they can meet your expectations.
2. “What do your clients say about you?”
Client testimonials often cover both the quality of the work delivered as well as the client’s experience working with the creative design agency. Request to look at existing testimonials and/or ask for references you can contact.
Services
3. “Which services do you consider yourselves specialists in?”
Before you ask about the services you require, it’s a good idea to let the creative design agency tell you what they do best. That way, you can see if your requirements and their expertise line up.
4. “How do you measure success?”
How does the agency measure the effectiveness of their design work? Establish what outcomes they consider to be successful.
5. “What is your product creation process?”
Understanding the established processes and methods used at the agency will give you insights into how they set priorities, communicate internally, and respond to feedback. Product creation can sometimes involve reassessing objectives and ideas during the process. Gauge how prepared the creative design agency is to accommodate these changes.
6. “What software and tools do you use? What will you be investing in next?”
Many agencies have SaaS subscriptions and paid tools for digital product creation, research, data analysis, and project management. While you may not be familiar with the software and tools they mention, knowing what they use will help you assess their capabilities and commitment to delivering the best they can.
Team
7. “How large is the team that will work on our account?”
It is essential to know what kind of support you can expect from the creative design agency. The resources and time allocated to your account, as well as the agency’s attitude (strict policy or flexible) towards that, will give you a clue about how committed they are to building a partnership with you. For example, we like our clients to think of us as an extension of their organization, where they can use our design expertise to supplement their resources.
8. “Which team members will be working with us?”
In addition to team size, it is good to know how many entry-level and experienced team members will be working on your account.
When you meet with a creative design agency, it’s likely that you will meet the decision makers and senior team members. However, these may not be the people who will actually work on your account. If you can meet the core team that will be doing the day-to-day work, even better.
Communication
9. “How much input or regular participation will you require of us?”
Some clients like to stay involved, while others prefer to let the agency take over and keep participation to a minimum. It helps to know how the creative design agency works, what they expect in terms of client input, and if they will be able to adjust to your communication preferences.
10. “How will you report to us on progress?”
Find out if they can give you access to a dashboard so you can see what progress is being made. Alternatively, the agency may prefer to generate formal reports at regular intervals. Ensure that you can agree upon a reporting method because this will impact your communication and the success of the projects you undertake with the agency.
Key takeaway: Ensure the creative design agency understands what’s important to you.
These 10 questions will help you determine whether the creative design agency you’re interviewing is a good fit. Keep in mind the kind of partnership you would like to establish, and ensure they are not only competent but aligned to your vision and way of working.
If you’d like to learn more about how we work with our clients, message us here.
Blog updated on March 8, 2023.
