by Molly George
Before we co-founded Kickstand, Kristina and I sat on the other side of the table. We worked in-house in comms and marketing roles: we were the ones hiring and managing agencies, the ones evaluating new biz pitches instead of staying up all night crafting them.
I think I speak for both of us when I say some of these experiences were good, and some of them were…not so good. Working directly with agency partners shaped our approach to client service at Kickstand, and it means we know how to vet a relationship from all angles.
So, before you hop on that next intro call with an agency or take in their full pitch, make sure you’re ready to dig in and determine whether they’re really a fit for you. Here are seven questions to help you make the right choice.
1. What relevant experience do you have?
This one might seem obvious, but think of it in a more multifaceted way. You need to know if the agency you’re interviewing has relevant industry experience. If you sell into multiple industries, they’ll need experience in the verticals that matter most to you.
Ask them to provide examples for programs they’ve run that aren’t in your space, but that they might be able to draw parallels between based on your objectives.
2. What makes for a good PR client? Why do you think you lose clients?
A successful client/agency relationship requires participation and trust on both sides. This question (okay, okay, it’s a two-question set) can tell you a lot about proactivity. How much does it sound like they rely on client news for their programs? How much do they seem to lean on clients for direction, rather than coming to the table with ideas of their own?
It can also give you great insight into their culture, and what a relationship with them might be like. What do transparency and accountability mean to them? How do they view the client/agency relationship?
3. How do you build your PR strategies?
If they can’t explain how they arrive at their tactical recommendations, that’s a major red flag. It likely tells you that their programs aren’t informed by a lot of actual data. Find out what they’ve done in the preparation process to understand your ICP and your growth strategy.
Ask them how they know the campaign or media themes they’ve outlined are likely to work. The right partner will be able to back up their recommendations, rather than throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks.
4. How do you think about media relations today?
There’s a tendency to ask agencies if they have good media relationships in place, but we think that misses the bigger picture. Because every agency has some relationships, and no agency has all of them. Yes, having strong existing connections in your space is a nice-to-have, but a good agency partner will know how to grow and evolve your media targets and storylines, building new relationships as your business strategy evolves.
The other big thing to listen for here is whether they’re thinking about brand influence beyond traditional media. Today, your audience likely lives and consumes information across a lot of different channels – not just conventional media outlets. Your strategy should reflect that.
5. What role does PR play in AI search?
We’re seeing a more direct connection between PR and sales success than ever before thanks to AI search. 90% of buyers choose a vendor from their initial consideration set, and today those initial sets are being informed directly by AI search. Ultimately, AI search findability is about having consistent, documented brand knowledge in the places LLMs scrape information from to deliver their responses. AI search is a lens that every PR agency should be evaluating existing programs and building new programs through – because you need to ensure your brand is consistently included and accurately positioned in a positive way.
Does this agency have a plan for how AI search will inform where they work to secure coverage? How are they adjusting content programs based on this information? Agencies that don’t have a strong point of view and plan for how they’ll connect the dots between PR and AI search success are already falling behind. (Luckily, Kickstand literally wrote the playbook on it).
6. What sets you apart from other agencies?
There are over 30,000 PR agencies in the United States alone. The functional capabilities between agencies of similar size are likely pretty comparable. So the choice often comes down not to what they do, but how they do it.
Is their approach particularly innovative? Does their culture align with yours? When you get off your initial call, you should be thinking to yourself, “Wow, that felt different,” not, “Well, onto the next!”
7. How do you measure PR?
Good PR programs help you lower your cost of acquisition (CAC) over time. In fact, one of my favorite slides ever said, quite simply, “Invest in brand, or pay high CAC forever.” And it’s true! Your brand program is the engine that’s going to fuel your sales machine long-term. But the key part here is, “over time.”
Learn how the agency thinks about measuring those lagging indicators like CAC, shorter sales cycles, higher inbound deal flow, etc., while also aligning on leading indicators that hold everyone accountable. That will help ensure you’re progressing towards the long-term objectives you set at the start.
Getting to know a potential agency partner can feel overwhelming. You’re going to be met with a lot of glossy pitch decks and campaign ideas. But you can separate the good from the great by asking the right questions.
And if you want to work with the best (sorry, I had to), contact Kickstand today. Let’s chat!
