Hiring an agency can give you access to a wide range of skills and experience. Paying for a diverse skill set is one of the best ways to grow your business, and it can be a useful investment in the long run.
A common assumption is that hiring an agency equals outsourcing the work. This is true to a certain degree – after all, you give the vendor money for a service in return – but we’ve come to find that our best client relationships go far deeper than that.
At Lightwork Labs, we’ve experienced some great, long-term client relationships, and have learnt and adapted from the times when things got a little bumpy. If you are thinking of hiring an agency, we’ve shared our thoughts on how to get the most out of your (very wise!) investment while avoiding any misaligned expectations.
start with trust and collaboration
The start of any successful relationship begins with collaboration. We’ve found this mindset incredibly useful when working with our clients, as the process becomes less mechanical and more meaningful. At the core, the agency is indeed responsible for the deliverables that the client would otherwise do themselves. However, trust and commitment enable the relationship to nurture and grow.
At Lightwork Labs, every team member brought on your project is an expert in their field, whether that is copywriting, design, or development. Having a team of experts working collectively on your business goals will bring far more value than any single person could.
However, it is important to remember that these people are experts in their field, not your business. Quality work requires a lot of context. Just as a new recruit needs time to get to grips with their role, an agency needs collaboration and support from the client in order to succeed. Helping us thoroughly understand your business better will bring clarity and focus to the project. Think of it as a two-way relationship; both sides need the other’s support to deliver results.
We handle this by setting the right expectations during our onboarding process, in four stages:
1. Your brief
The client’s brief is always the starting point for every project we do.
This helps us gain a deeper understanding of what you want to achieve and how we can help you do it. Whether it is an in-person meeting or a phone call, the more relevant detail you can give us at this stage, the better.
Along with determining the job scope, your brief has another crucial function – helping us to calculate the fee. We like to give a fixed price for every job, so getting the brief right means no surprises for you down the line.
2. Our proposal
With your brief, we will conduct additional research to explore all aspects of your project. The thought we put in will become the foundation for everything we write, design and develop for you.
We will send it across to you as a project proposal, outlining the job scope, project fees and additional suggestions we may have. Once you’re happy with it, we dive deep into your project and start work.
3. Our work
To produce quality work, we invest time and energy into deeply understanding your company and its business. This helps us refine and focus on your definition of quality, to deliver results made with our expertise.
All the way through, we make sure our work hits your brief and reflects your brand, while ensuring project milestones are met on time and feedback is taken into account.
4. Your results
Our work has to achieve the results you want, whether it’s an increase in leads or a better-informed audience.
Whether we are crafting an article, developing a website or working on content strategy, we never lose sight of the bigger picture – your goal – and how our expertise can get you there.
The solid groundwork we do during the start of the engagement will not only inform the first deliverable, but every future deliverable too. For both parties, it is an investment for the long haul.
From where the client is sitting, it may seem like a lot of input and effort. And it usually is – in the initial stages. A successful engagement requires thoughtful collaboration between the client and the agency. However, this is an investment that yields solid returns throughout the relationship. Once we’ve built a strong framework in the beginning, you can assume a more hands-off approach as we produce more informed, quality work tailored for your goals.
Bring your vision
Clients who bring a meaningful and powerful vision to the table provide a clear path forward for the agency to focus on. After going over the brief, both the agency and the client can agree on roles, budget and timeline, before starting work.
Simply put, your vision will set the tone for our planning and execution throughout the engagement. This has been a great starting point for our most successful collaborations. Our best clients will bring up a few ideas to execute, and leave the nitty gritty details for us to figure out. Having a common goal to rally around in the initial phase will help both sides withstand any turbulence that may occur, and keep things focused in the long run.
Create meaning together
At Lightwork Labs, we’ve been lucky enough to work with great clients in successful, long-term collaborations. While each relationship is made up of unique, positive elements that contributed to its own success, the basis of all of them were built upon the aspects discussed in this article.
If we had to pinpoint some winning factors in our best client relationships, these would be it:
We focused on a clear goal. Having succinct and focused goals meant our team had a clear path to follow on producing great work, and our clients could clearly measure progress.
We received timely, honest feedback. We believe that feedback on ideas help us learn more about our clients. Regular, candid feedback helps keep everything on track and means we can deliver our best work too.
Both parties invested in the relationship. We always believe that great work comes from nurturing a great relationship. With our clients, this means empathy, mutual respect and clear communication.
Hiring an agency is an investment of your time and money. For most businesses, it is a great option for diversification. Plus, the fact that we work with a variety of businesses means we will be able to make informed decisions for your project and also bring a fresh perspective to the table. Want to find out more about working with us? Send us a message and we’ll take it from there.