Why success is a partnership, not an outsourcing exercise
More businesses than ever are turning to specialist marketing and PR agencies for support. In fact, Marketing Week found that 63% of brands outsourced work to an agency in the past year*. While hiring an agency has become commonplace, getting the best from one is far less straightforward. The most successful client-agency relationships aren’t built on a ‘set it and forget it’ approach, but rather on collaboration, trust, and shared accountability.
Hiring a marketing or PR agency is an exciting step for any business. Whether you’re looking to raise your profile, generate more leads, launch a new product, use SEO and AI tactic to earn authority online, or build a stronger brand, bringing in external expertise can unlock opportunities that simply aren’t possible when you’re trying to do everything in-house.
However, there’s one misconception that can hold businesses back from achieving the results they’re hoping for: the belief that once you’ve hired an agency, you can simply hand everything over and wait for the enquiries to roll in.
The reality is very different.
The most successful marketing and PR campaigns are built on strong partnerships. While the agency you hire should bring specialist knowledge, creative thinking, strategic expertise, and additional team recourse, you bring something equally valuable: a deep understanding of your business, your customers, and your long-term ambitions.
When both sides work together, the results can be exceptional.
“One of the smartest decisions I have made.”
Why hiring an agency isn't a ‘set it and forget it’ solution
Imagine hiring an architect to design your dream home. You wouldn’t just hand over the keys to an empty plot of land, a lot of money, and say, “I’ll see you when it’s finished”!
You’d discuss how you live, what you need from the space, your budget, your priorities and future plans. You’d review designs, ask questions and make decisions together throughout the project to ensure you’re getting exactly what you need.
Working with a marketing or PR agency is no different.
An agency can develop strategies, create compelling content, secure media coverage and deliver campaigns on your behalf, but only if they have the information and collaboration they need from you. Think of your agency as an extension of your team rather than an external supplier. The more insight they have into you and your business, the better they can represent it.
What great agency partnerships look like
Over the last 20+ years, we’ve worked with some wonderful clients and achieved incredible things together. In our experience, the strongest client-agency relationships share these common elements:
They start with shared goals
Before launching into activity, both sides should be clear on what success actually looks like. For example, is your priority increasing website enquiries? Building brand awareness? Entering a new market? Supporting recruitment? Launching a new product?
Without agreed objectives, it’s difficult to measure success or make informed strategic decisions.
They communicate regularly
Communication isn’t just for project updates. Regular conversations allow agencies to understand what’s changing within your business, spot new opportunities or adapt campaigns before issues become problems.
Likewise, clients should feel comfortable asking questions, sharing ideas, and providing honest feedback. The best relationships are built on transparency and candour rather than assumptions.
They trust each other's expertise
You hired specialists for a reason! While healthy discussion is encouraged, constantly second-guessing every recommendation or requesting changes based purely on personal preference can dilute the effectiveness of a strategy.
Trust that your agency wants the same things that you do – your success is their success too!
Good agencies should challenge ideas where appropriate and explain the reasoning behind their recommendations. Great clients are willing to listen.
They think beyond the next month
Marketing and PR aren’t one-off activities, and shouldn’t be treated as such. Strong brands are built through consistency, repetition, and long-term strategic planning.
While some campaigns deliver quick wins, many of the most valuable outcomes like brand recognition, reputation, and customer trust, develop and evolve over time.
“We engaged apt marketing & pr for an 18-month project to boost our team resource, work in partnership with our internal staff, and provide effective strategies and tactics for growth. Our membership was declining post-pandemic and their results helped us achieve our highest ever membership numbers and add almost 10,000 extra members and over £750,000 in additional revenue. From the outset, they provided quality resource, strategic insight, and marketing expertise, working seamlessly alongside our internal team. Their flexibility and ability to adapt to our evolving needs made them an invaluable extension of our organisation.”
Common mistakes clients make
Even with the best intentions, there are a few common pitfalls that can limit the effectiveness of agency support. The good news is once you know what they are, they can be easily avoided.
Treating the agency like an order-taker
An agency isn’t there simply to produce whatever is requested. Their real value lies in strategic thinking. So, instead of saying, “We need a press release”, it’s better to explain the business objective behind it.
There may be a more effective way to achieve the result you’re looking for. The earlier your agency is involved in conversations, the more value they can add.
Expecting instant results
We live in a world of instant gratification, but successful marketing rarely works that way.
SEO takes time to build authority. PR depends on genuine newsworthiness and media opportunities. Brand awareness grows gradually through consistent visibility.
If you’re expecting dramatic results within a matter of weeks, you may overlook the progress that’s already being made beneath the surface.
Keeping important information to yourself
Your agency should be an extension of your team, but it isn’t sitting in your office every day. Which means they don’t automatically know about new contracts, staff appointments, customer success stories, product developments or community initiatives unless you tell them.
Often, what feels routine to your business could be exactly the story journalists want or the content your audience finds most engaging. The more information you share, the more opportunities your agency can uncover.
Slow feedback and delayed approvals
Marketing and PR often rely on momentum. A delayed sign-off can mean missing a seasonal campaign or newsjacking opportunity, or postponing valuable content to your database.
Quick, constructive feedback helps everyone keep projects moving. If multiple stakeholders need to approve work, having a clear internal process can make a significant difference.
Constantly changing direction
It’s tempting to chase every new trend or pivot strategy whenever a competitor does something different. But consistency is often what delivers results.
Changing messaging or priorities every few weeks makes it harder for your audience to understand who you are and what you stand for. Good strategy requires patience as well as creativity.
Measuring success too narrowly
Not every success can be measured by likes, clicks, or media coverage alone. Sometimes the biggest wins are things like:•
- Better-quality enquiries
- Reductions in lead conversion time
- Increased credibility
- Stronger customer trust
- Improved brand recognition
- Greater confidence among your sales team
These outcomes may take longer to measure, but they often have the greatest long-term impact on business growth.
How clients can get better results
Fortunately, getting more value from your agency doesn’t necessarily require a bigger budget. Often, it’s about working together more effectively for true collaboration.
Share your bigger business goals
Don’t just brief your agency on marketing activity. Instead, help them understand your wider business ambitions.
For example, are you entering a new sector? Planning acquisitions? Recruiting? Launching internationally? Trying to attract investors? Building the business for a sale?
The more context they have, the more strategically they can support you.
Be honest about what's working
Not every campaign will perform exactly as expected.
Marketing and PR are (sadly!) not an exact science and people can be unpredictable. Open conversations about successes and challenges allow agencies to refine their approach.
Keeping front of mind that your agency is never deliberately trying to do a ‘bad’ job will stop any damaging narratives forming. Constructive feedback creates stronger strategies, whereas silence creates assumptions.
Involve your agency earlier
Many businesses only contact their agency once plans have already been finalised internally.
Instead, bring them into discussions as early as possible. Whether it’s a product launch, award submission, business milestone or community initiative, agencies can often identify angles and opportunities that might otherwise be missed.
It’s why a retained agency relationship produces the most value over time, as opposed to a project-by-project basis where support is more ad hoc.
Make time for regular strategy sessions
A monthly catch-up isn’t just about reviewing completed work. It’s an opportunity to discuss changing priorities, analyse performance, identify new opportunities and ensure everyone remains aligned.
At apt, we have a model of continuous improvement we run for all our clients. These conversations often generate the best ideas.
Trust the expertise you have invested in
Marketing and PR professionals spend their careers understanding audiences, analysing trends, and refining strategies.
That doesn’t mean they’ll always be right, but their recommendations are informed by experience across multiple businesses and industries.
The strongest partnerships combine your industry expertise with their communications expertise. Neither succeeds without the other.
Your agency should feel like part of your team
The most successful client-agency relationships aren’t transactional. Over time, your agency should become an extension of your business and part of your team.
They should understand your values, know your customers, anticipate opportunities and celebrate your successes alongside you. Likewise, clients who invest time in the relationship often receive more proactive ideas, stronger strategic advice and better long-term outcomes.
Success isn’t about outsourcing responsibility and accountability it’s about sharing it. Just like the best sports teams in the world, you will win together, lose together, and learn together.
Hiring a marketing and PR agency isn’t about handing over your marketing and hoping for the best. It’s about building a collaborative partnership where both sides contribute their expertise towards shared goals.
When businesses communicate openly, trust the process and involve their agency in the bigger picture, they create the conditions for truly outstanding marketing.
At apt, we know that the best campaigns and results aren’t delivered by agencies alone. They’re built together.
