GoFaxer Blog

Rather than talking about email fax this week, I want to spend some time chatting about advertising for your small business. Most small businesses can’t afford to do their own advertising in-house. Nor do they have the experience to do it well. So they feel a need to hire an ad agency. But it can be hard working with a company that isn’t part of their company culture. Conflicts can abound.

I read an article at Businessweek.com by Steve McKee that outlined some good advice on how to keep this relationship strong over the long term. McKee emphasizes creating a relationship of trust with your agency. You want to really bring them into your company. The more ingrained they are with your company the better of a job they’ll be able to do for you. He says:

“To do great work, an advertising agency must be informed. It must know everything it can about a client’s business, from sales and margins to strategies and plans. It’s important to treat an agency as a strategic partner—an extension of your marketing department—and not just a vendor. This includes sharing results—nothing is more demoralizing than working hard on a project and not knowing how it turns out.”

When your ad agency reps come to visit your company, treat them like they’re part of your company. Invite them to company lunches and yearly strategy meetings. Make them feel at home, and they’ll communicate your business effectively to the rest of the world.