You’ve interviewed half a dozen marketing agencies to help you boost the signal on your brand and settled on one. Now it is time to review the work they’ve done based on your company’s goals, products, and services.
Always remember, the marketing agency you contracted is now part of your team. They are working with you to meet your business’s goals. You drive the decisions, budgets, and ultimately, success. Your agency needs your time, attention, and teamwork to drive short-term and long-term success.
Just like every other branch of your business, giving constructive feedback to your marketing agency sets everyone on the path to success.
Organize Your Constructive Feedback
When providing timely feedback to your marketing agency, being organized will benefit all involved. Providing a logical flow of critique will give your marketing team a clearer and faster path forward and help you keep track of your own thoughts.
Timelines for feedback are the first step to maintaining organization.
| Instead of This… | Try This… |
| sitting on feedback longer than a couple of days. | communicating specifically when you are able to provide feedback. |
| saying, “Sorry about that. I’ll get to it.” | saying, “Sorry. I’ll have that back to you by Tuesday.” Or “I’m not able to prioritize that now. Can you pause for 2 weeks and work on another aspect instead?” |
Here are more ways to organize your feedback:
| Instead of This… | Try This… |
| suggesting additional projects and materials in your feedback. | limiting your feedback to the original scope of work and the set functionality agreed upon in your project. |
| sending separate emails concerning various aspects of the material. | compiling all edits and suggested changes into a single communication for continuity. |
| only providing negative feedback. | highlighting positive feedback first. This will help inform the team of your preferences throughout the project. |
| making your own edits without the collaboration of your team. | communicating all changes or edits to ensure your marketing team is aware. |
| quickly approving all content. | giving all materials a critical eye and provide some kind of constructive feedback, either positive or negative. |
| sending feedback as it occurs to you. | organizing your thoughts by aspect, page, section, and project. Consistent organization is helpful to the rest of the team. |
Be Specific in Your Feedback
Your marketing agency includes a group of experts in their given fields, just as you are in your business. While there are many aspects of marketing that seem intuitive, deciphering vague feedback is not.
Being specific in your critique gives the marketing team a clear understanding of the actions to take and sets expectations for subsequent drafts. Remember, marketing is not fine art, and you are not necessarily the target audience for your material. Your personal color, font, and image preferences might not always be the most effective. Experts build these designs based on current trends, user experience data, and studies on optimization.
Asking friends and family to weigh in on designs also won’t mirror the response of your target audience. When able, sharing material with end-users will give you the best idea of effectiveness.
Here are suggestions to better target your feedback.
| Instead of This… | Try This… |
| simply stating you dislike an image. | providing examples of images you prefer and explaining what you like about them. |
| using vague language, such as, “This doesn’t pop.” Or “I’d like this to look more modern.” | saying, “I don’t believe this image resonates with our Hero, because…” |
| saying you dislike the font, colors, or images based on personal tastes. | suggesting specific colors, fonts, and images that will better appeal to your target market or end user. |
| saying, “I expected something more like this other thing.” | providing a link to the preferred thing and include the functionality/ feel/ experience you liked better. |
| asking to make the logo larger. | asking your team if there is a reason the logo isn’t larger. |
When in doubt, allow your marketing specialist to decide. Your agency is always open to hearing constructive feedback. A fresh set of eyes from within the industry can identify problems your marketing team might not see, but trust the team you hire to get the job done right.
This advice extends to feedback on KPIs as well. Be organized and specific. Instead of "Why are sales down?" say, "Can we review the sales numbers? They seem down and I'd like to see if it is demand, marketing, or a specific revenue channel." What might seem like hard criticism from the client is treasured insight for the team of professionals hired to boost your company’s brand.
Hire a Team of Professionals to Support Your Marketing Efforts
Giving feedback is not a dreaded chore when you have the right team working for you. When you hire PIC to build onto your business foundation, you are adding proven marketing experts who walk with you and provide measurable strategies to support your goals. Your objectives become our own. We’re successful when you are thriving.
If you are ready to expand your business reach, schedule a consult with a full-service growth marketing agency like PIC today.
