The most important aspect of any human interaction is how you communicate your needs. Knowing what you want and asking for that in a clear manner is key to getting the results you expect. If you're at a barbeque and you want a hamburger, you need to state, "I'd like a hamburger, please" or you may end up with a hot dog.

So what happens when you thought you had asked your agency for a hamburger, but you received something entirely else instead? The first thing you should do is pick up the phone to see what's going on. There's been a breakdown in communication. Maybe an email vaporized or maybe a voice mail wasn't picked up on time. Maybe the agency didn't understand your expectations, or as the client, you didn't clearly state them.

Before a job starts, I like to sit down with a client, either in person or on the phone, and ask what they envision as the end result. If it's a print ad, whether they intend to educate, or if they expect people to do something - like make a purchase or donate to a cause. If it's a website, it's more about what they want people to do when they get to the site. Do you have a product that you'd like to sell, do you have a newsletter or blog that you'd like people to subsribe to, or do you just want to give people information about your business? These points are critical to both design and copy.

Every job has a budget. Your job is to let us know what you have to spend. I'm happy to tell you what you can get for XYZ dollars. If you're on a limited budget that there's always a middle ground between all the bells and whistles that you'd like to have and what you can afford. If your project is a website, we can usually set something up that that can expand with you as your business grows. If your project starts to creep - get bigger and therefore cost more - we will let you know. There's nothing worse for either party than receiving an invoice for amount that you didn't expect.

Next comes the fun part - the design work. Do you have a logo and branding already in place? We're happy to use existing materials in the creation of your new marketing materials.

If you don't have anything in place or your business is ready for re-branding (perhaps you've grown, added a division, changed your focus), we can create something for you. We'll discuss images with you, then provide you with a few concepts that will capture the essence of your business. Once you pick a direction, we'll flush out the concept to provide you with a start to your brand identity. If none of them work, we'll go back to the drawing board. Your only responsibility here, is to tell us the truth. If you don't like something, don't worry about hurting our feelings, we will be more upset if you settle for something you thought was "just ok."

Once your branding is in place, it's crucial that you use it consistently in each marketing piece. It's the only way people will recognize you from ad to ad or from medium to medium. This is how Coke, Pepsi, Nike, and hundreds of other successful companies have built their brands. There's no need to reinvent the wheel here. Follow their lead and be consistent. People will find you.

If you are an active participant and have clear intention in each of these steps, your agency - no matter who it is - will be able to meet or even exceed your expectations and provide you with high quality, effective marketing materials.