Responda sim ou não para o questionário abaixo e veja se você está fazendo seu trabalho corretamente (caso seja um colega) ou se sua agência está trabalhando direitinho (se você estiver na posição de cliente).
Um ponto para cada não respondido e eis o resultado:
1. Do you routinely catch careless typos and factual inaccuracies in agency-drafted news releases?
2. Do agency-drafted news releases typically exhibit only a superficial understanding of your business?
3. Do agency-drafted news releases too often miss the point, burying important information?
4. Does the agency ask you for ideas more often than it provides you with ideas?
5. Does the agency seem to think PR stands for "press release," churning out releases but not offering other, more creative ways to build your brand?
6. Do agency representatives get the names or titles of your company's senior executives wrong in correspondence and/or conversation?
7. Examine the media list your PR firm uses when distributing your news releases. Are there more than a few inappropriate publications or out-of-date contacts on the list?
8. Do the agency representatives who pitch your company to media on the phone have only a superficial understanding of what your company does?
9. Has the agency ever arranged a meeting with a reporter and your company's executives that didn't seem to have a well-thought-out objective?
10. Has your primary agency contact person changed more than once in the past 12 months?
11. Does your primary contact person seem inexperienced or immature?
12. When you have a problem or concern, must your primary contact generally talk with a supervisor before responding to you?
13. Does the agency send a senior executive to meet with you every couple of months to smooth over complaints about the firm's performance?
14. Does the agency miss deadlines or seem to always be scrambling at the last minute to meet them?
15. Has a journalist ever complained to you about your PR agency?
16. Are the agency's billing statements confusing, so that you're not sure exactly what you're paying for?
17. Does the agency hem and haw when asked the hourly rates of various personnel on your account?
18. Do the agency's billing statements show that more time is spent on client relations (e.g., meetings and correspondence with you) than on actual client service?
19. Does the agency boast about delivering measurable results, but then only give you a list of press mentions that mean nothing to your company's executives?
20. Does it seem like the agency's heart isn't really in it - that it's simply working to get a fee?
18-20: You have good agency relationship. Nonetheless, we recommend you discuss your "yes" answers with the agency to clear the air on those issues.
14-17: You can do better. But can you avoid the hassle of finding a new agency by improving the current relationship? It may be worth a try. Have a heart-to-heart with your agency about your concerns and gauge their response. If they seem reenergized and refocused on your account, give them another two or three months - then take this test again.
0-13: This agency is not meeting your needs. You don't trust them and they're not giving their all for you. It's time to move on.
Algumas perguntas me saltam aos olhos, mas eu destaco a última, fundamental para que todas as outras aconteçam: será que o coração de sua agência está realmente neste trabalho, ou ela está trabalhando apenas para receber o fee mensal?