What if you’re the only marketer at your company with a weekly, daily, and hourly to-dos list that only grows longer?

You can’t do everything on your own, and there will be times when you have to bring in outside help that works with you to pull together powerful marketing. And when you partner with an external resource—like a creative agency—they can bring fresh, new perspectives to the game.

Perspectives that are insightful, strategic, and still innovative.

Here’s a breakdown of the steps agencies like ours take when working with marketers to develop a marketing piece from start to finish.

Step 01: Discovery

Before getting to which colors to use or looking at what your competitors are doing, we want to know this:

“What is happening in your business that made you come to us?”

The success of a design isn’t measured by how nice it looks but by how close it reaches the goals set forth during the initial conversations between you and the creative team.

Answering the question above gives everyone a clearer view of the goal we’re all working towards and usually reveals some of our marketing clients’ most significant problems. The most common ones center around off-brand marketing, missed sales opportunities, and outdated branding.

From there, we begin to look at your business’s landscape to understand where you are in the industry.

• – We check out what your competitors do in their online and offline marketing.
• – Review past campaigns and ask questions about the reasons why they did—or didn’t—succeed.
• – Assess what customers think and say about your business and its creative.

Once we get this information and wrap our heads around your business, it’s time to start designing emails, direct mail pieces, and other marketing pieces that connect with customers.

Step 02: Design and Refinement

The process is the same, whether it’s a brand redesign or a brochure. All of the insights gathered during the Discovery process influence the project’s creative and strategic direction, resulting in several rounds of design produced internally before it’s presented to you.

Here’s how it works:

• – Mockup creation: Our designers begin by laying out several designs based on the creative brief provided, which you and your agency contact agree upon before the project starts. The mockups created by the designer get refined before being presented to the creative director for review.
• – Internal creative review: The creative director and other team members point out any areas needing improvement and ensure the design aligns with the brief’s goals.
• – Internal revisions: Once the designer gets feedback, they update the creative before it’s rechecked internally and prepared to present to you.
• – Presentation preparation: Each mockup is laid out in a digital deck so the design team can review it with you. This presentation includes key insights and objectives influencing the design.

Now, it’s time to share the first round. During this presentation, everyone can discuss the different options and narrow them down to one.

Step 03: Presentation

Reviews can happen in person, over a video call, or asynchronously. We’ve done all three types of presentations, and as tools like Loom, Visme, and Prezi have hit the scene, it’s reduced the amount of back and forth that comes with working on multiple rounds of revisions.

The presentation begins by restating the goals of the creative brief, so it’s clear where the design started. As we walk through each design option, we explain the thinking behind it, especially if the presentation happens asynchronously.

Then you and your team provide feedback about what does or doesn’t work for you, which happens during the presentation or is communicated later via email. Together, we work through the next steps and expectations for the following round of review.

Step 04: Revisions and Review

After consolidating all of your feedback, it’s brought back to the creative team so they can incorporate it into the next design round. We repeat the process outlined in Step 2 before you see it again.

Typically, this next round only involves bringing everyone together in the same room if necessary. Otherwise, the revisions are shared via email.

Step 05: Final Revisions and Implementation

If there are no other changes or minimal edits, we pass along the final files to your developer, printer, or directly to you. Sometimes, this process includes working one-on-one with other vendors to ensure the final design looks or operates how it should.

This could mean being more hands-on with:

• – Going on press runs or reviewing press proofs to ensure colors, text, and imagery appear correctly.
• – Checking digital assets, landing pages, emails, and websites to ensure they’re working correctly and look like the final approved design.

Being this involved with projects means that each design is given the care and attention they deserve to ensure everything is in the right place and strategically on point.

Delegation leads to successful marketing

Being the one everyone in the organization, everyone turns to for all things marketing can be frustrating. But when you partner with a creative team who serves as strategic thinkers and collaborators, it takes an enormous weight off your shoulders.

And frees up space for you to focus on the bigger things that increase revenue.

Working hand in hand with a team that understands how design, technology, and strategy come together, the demands of developing effective marketing campaigns is no longer a lonely journey—but a productive one.