Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula for finding the right fit, but there are a few industry tips that can help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls. 

After all, employing a PR agency is a big investment of your budget, you need to make sure it’s delivering what you need it to.

Set really clear KPIs and ways of working

It might be obvious, but every company works differently. Some people love weekly status reports, and others don’t see the value. Some brands want to be really hands-on with their spokespeople preparations, and others don’t want to be involved at all. Some brands value numbers over quality of coverage (I shudder and you should too, but it’s true). So being crystal clear at the beginning how things should run, what matters and what doesn’t, should help.

Consider your retainer in comparison to their other clients

It’s not to say big agencies will automatically put you on the bottom of their to-do list. But if an Account Manager has got your £7k a month company in their emails, and a £40k a month company biting their head off on the phone, you don’t need to be a genius to work out where their effort and energy is going to be concentrated.

It’s easy to get tempted by the awards, big brand names and flashy pitch decks, but if you don’t have huge budgets yourself, considering a smaller independent PR agency could give you much more attention. 

Make sure you meet the full team in the pitch

Smaller accounts have a more junior team by nature. You might have a pitch meeting with Directors across the board and the founder in for good measure, but the reality is these people won’t all be working on your account. By asking to have the full account team in for the pitch, you’ll get to see who’s going to be hands-on with your brand day-to-day. 

You can also get an understanding for your day-to-day contact, as most teams will give you one person to speak to as a lead point of contact. They’ll have support in the team of course, but they’ll be driving most of the activity.

Ask explicitly to have them in the pitch so you can choose based on your real team, not the shiny polished directors.

Be explicit with what you want (and why…)

PR people are generalists by nature. We can do a range of things from events and management to content marketing to brand building and lead generation. But we need support and budget to make those things happen.

If you want to throw a huge event to invite potential clients to, to raise your profile and boost sales, that’s absolutely fine. But you need to tell us that in your RFP. Otherwise you could be met with a media engagement program and press office plan that you simply don’t want or need.

Similarly, if you tell us your end goal we can advise you on the best way to get there. You might want to hire a PR agency so you can get a “Lunch with the FT” slot. But if your business goal is to increase awareness among regular consumer customers, a corporate slot behind a pay-walled broadsheet might not be the best way. To cite a time-honoured cliché, collaboration is key.

Ultimately, it’s not easy. Bringing an agency in for the first time can be daunting, onboarding can be laborious, and results can unfortunately be mixed. But the majority of agencies want to do a good job, and deliver ongoing value. Hopefully this helps you find one that does just that.