When you’re looking for advertising services, you don’t want a firm that offers only limited experience, bloats your costs like Santa’s belly or focuses on pretty pictures more than positioning and performance. To ensure the best fit for your business, follow these tips when you’re trying to find an agency:

1) Does the agency have experience in my field? (It never hurts to contact them and ask.)

2) Where are they located? (Sometimes cost of living at an agency can determine the rate of your deliverables.)

3) What is their per hour cost? (An agency might advertise one rate and charge another; make sure you’re getting what you actually need.)

4) Do they focus on just design? (Some mail houses and design firms pass themselves off as full-service agencies – just because they say they’re full-service doesn’t make it so. There is a difference between full-service and a design house; a full-service agency has experience in advertising, whereas design houses focus more on the artistic attributes of the work.)

5) What kind of contact can you expect from the agency? (Will you be provided with a dedicated account executive?)

6) Will you ever see the elusive founder of the agency again? (At most agencies you’ll get to see the founder once (when you hand him the check) and maybe not even that much; make sure you know that you can actually contact him if an issue arises.)

We had a client migrate to our firm that had a negative experience with a design house. When he wanted a series of mailers sent out, it was imperative they stand out from the cacophony of mail pieces sent to his prospects each day. The design house made something that looked nice failed to grab from the mailbox. We helped him achieve his goals and now his business is a success. Don’t let prospects throw away your hard-earned dollars with every handy toss of your marketing collateral into a trashcan, every click of the close button on a website or station change on the radio dial.

I’d be the last to say we’re the right agency for every business (especially if you manufacture tobacco or firearms), but with these tips in hand you should be more than able to steer away from an agency that’s dead wrong.