Let’s paint a picture in a hypothetical setting. You have partnered with the best social media marketing agency to help devise an effective SEO strategy. Upon reviewing the agency’s work, you notice that your expectations haven’t been met in a few areas.
Maybe they’ve missed quality external links or targeted the wrong audience. What do you do next?
One of the most important aspects of a successful business is maintaining long-standing B2B relationships. When the expectations of the client and agency are out of sync, there is potential for the relationship to become stressful and unpleasant.
You can start by providing clear, specific, and, most importantly, constructive feedback. Working collaboratively towards a shared goal can help you maintain a positive working relationship with your creative agency.
What is Constructive Feedback?
Delivering constructive feedback might be challenging if you lack the necessary creative flair. It is designed to offer insightful advice and direction while assisting the creative agency in identifying areas of strength and improvement.
Providing constructive feedback entails more than pointing out flaws or necessary revisions. Explaining the need for these changes is just as crucial, if not more so. Context aids in improved problem comprehension and, ideally, more innovative problem-solving.
Honest feedback must be given. However, it should also be delivered in a considerate and non-judgmental manner. Instead of giving vague critiques, your feedback should provide examples, specific details, and suggestions for improvement.
And remember, a smile goes a long way! Don’t be too serious, and enjoy the process. It will reflect on your marketing efforts.
Continue reading to know about the 5 tips to effectively move your creative initiatives forward and provide your creative agency with valuable feedback.
- Thoroughly Scan the Brief
Creative projects typically begin with a briefing document detailing the work the innovative firm must accomplish.
You’re off to a good start if your brief contains the following:
- Defined results
- A strong understanding of your target audience
- A meaningful brand proposition
- A distinct tone of voice
The best part is that it provides a solid framework for creative feedback.
Before going on to the next step, the agency will request a rebrief to give the client a chance to clarify the goals, target audience, or challenges.
Before offering feedback, always review the brief to confirm that the work adheres to what you and your creative agency agreed upon. Only add pointers to your feedback that were covered in brief.
- Understand How the Creative Process Works
Clients and agencies must work together collaboratively during the creative process. Understanding the creative process helps clients trust the agency and its suggestions, which promotes a more productive working relationship.
Setting clear expectations at the beginning of the project is advised because each agency has its own unique methods of operation. Here are some pointers to help you better understand the creative process:
- Inquire about the process, steps involved, and expected outcomes.
- Examine the agency’s case studies and portfolio to learn how previous initiatives were successful.
- Keep a balance between requesting frequent updates throughout the project, such as progress reports, and giving the agency sufficient autonomy to complete their work. Don’t hover; they are experts and know what they’re doing.
- Establish open and honest lines of communication with the agency to see what works and what won’t make the cut.
- Ask Questions
Make a habit of asking questions with intention. Rather than making judgments and assumptions, ask the agency to think critically and analytically about their work and explain how to execute the brief’s requirements.
The agency is more likely to grasp where you’re coming from and your expectations. Better yet, the agency can give you insights and perspectives you may not have considered before, which helps push the creative outcomes to a higher level.
- Be Straightforward and to the Point
Moving forward for agencies when clients need to provide precise feedback can be challenging because this can result in misunderstandings and better communication, eventually leading to failed projects.
Clients can assist the agency in producing work that more closely satisfies their project requirements and expectations by giving detailed feedback about the aspects of the creative that they like and dislike.
It takes skill and knack to provide clients with specific feedback. It requires being precise and clear about what you intend to say and comes with regular practice.
- Don’t be Afraid to Disagree
Your contribution is critical to achieving the desired outcome. Speak up and work with the agency if something needs to be changed. The sooner you voice your concerns, the sooner the agency can start working on completing the project.
Most importantly, remember why you chose this creative agency. They are a group of skilled individuals knowledgeable in their field and can come up with original answers to your problems. You must put your faith in them to complete their task.
Summing Up
Providing valuable feedback will result in improved agency relationships. The feedback should be detailed and impartial, include context and background information, and be delivered politely that promotes constructive discourse to ensure it is beneficial.
If you need to bridge the gap between your marketing needs and challenges, contact DUB-C Digital to help you build and maintain successful client-agency relationships.
