How to Give Your Agency Feedback

As a marketing professional working at a real estate development company, if you are working with an advertising agency, chances are there will come a time when you will need to give feedback.

It’s a key part of the process, and how that feedback is interpreted will shape the results of any initiative we are working on together.

But what is the best approach to providing feedback? While professionals, such as developers, designers, and copywriters, should be able to take all kinds of feedback in stride, knowing how to communicate feedback so that it’s received effectively is not always easy. Here’s how we suggest you go about it:

Acknowledge that your feedback is subjective

According to a Suffolk University study, there are ways to phrase your feedback to an agency that will be more likely to elicit better results. One key finding in this study was that acknowledging feedback as a subjective opinion was more likely to impact the creativity of the final design.

One of the study authors, Spencer Harrison, explained to Harvard Business Review that expressing something as a personal opinion sounds easy. After all, it simply requires providing feedback that includes first-person pronouns: “I,” “me,” or “my” – for example: “My opinion is…”

The problem? Many managers are trained to solve concrete problems, not creative ones. According to Harrison, providing feedback on creative work means setting aside the impulse to keep control. This allows managers to understand that their opinions provide options for solutions a creative might try – not the “right” ones.

Just because your feedback is framed as your opinion doesn’t mean it’s not important. But when you provide feedback, ask yourself: Are your preferences subjective or brand-focused? Perhaps there is something that now seems important that you did not originally consider.

As your agency team, we aim to use our expertise to create what your ideal customer base needs and what your competition is not providing them. A big part of creativity is the ability to surprise your audience by doing something new with your messaging, images, and your brand promise and values.

Apply feedback to the design itself, not the designer

Another tip to keep in mind is to address your feedback – especially if it’s critical – to the design itself, not the person behind it. This approach is less likely to offend or upset the web design professional and should not impact their receptivity to your future suggestions and feedback.

You could also frame your feedback as questions.

For example, you could ask the designer if they think the text should be broken up with graphics, or the headings in bold, or you could ask their opinion on a different color palette. There may be a good reason the designer chose this particular design, even though you hadn’t anticipated it in this way.

Have an open discussion about the visuals, and remember that you hired your agency for their expertise. They ultimately want what’s best for your brand.

Be constructive instead of critical with copy

There’s always something of merit in first drafts, so remember to start your feedback by praising what’s working. Focus on specific things; don’t just throw out a general “great job.” Then, really think about the content and give precise comments on what you’d like to change. “This falls flat,” “boring,” or “misses the mark” aren’t just unkind; they also won’t help in making the writing better. Instead, ask questions that will point the copywriter in the right direction and trust them to build on it in the next draft.

Stay connected to the agency

Regular check-in sessions during a project are key. A creative agency that knows what it’s doing will insist on these, and it’s important for you as a developer or marketing manager to value them too. There are a couple of reasons why this will work to your advantage.

First, feedback is best received when it’s provided as close to the event as possible. So, for example, if you’ve just received a mockup, giving feedback shortly after is likely to be better received than it would be weeks later.

Second, providing regular feedback is just a better way to communicate. It ensures that your and our teams’ objectives are constantly aligned. This is important for your in-house employees and any external contractors you may be working with. If someone does something you question or disagree with, it makes sense to address it sooner rather than later. It’s for the same reason that weekly or monthly meetings are increasingly taking the place of annual performance reviews. Nobody wants to wait a whole year to find out they could have done better.

This goes for agencies, too. An advertising agency will want to know if they’re on track or not. This is especially crucial because you may only be working with the agency or external team for a short time. So, schedule those sessions and stick with them.

Feedback to the agency should be clear, concise, and actionable

Keep in mind that no agency will ever intentionally misunderstand a brief. A lot of time and energy goes into putting together creative presentations. Provide transparent insights on exactly what you’re expecting with specific examples. This way, your agency team can discuss how they can reach your vision.

Do you have questions about what it’s like to work with an agency? Get in touch with our team today, and let’s get to know each other.