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Choosing the Right Agency: A Creative Agency in NJ Shares Its Secrets

Getting your brand looking its best takes time. There are lots of aspects that come into play and most of them require a team of experts. This is where a creative agency can help.

Let’s face it, building a business from the ground up is no cakewalk, especially when you have to focus on other areas of your business. It’s hard to build a brand and talk to potential customers without messing up one of the two.

Not only that, but the amount of knowledge needed for specific parts of the building process can make creating your brand seem a lot more daunting than it really is.

This is why it’s best if you hire a team of professionals that specialize in building brands from the ground up.

Here at CMDS, we have years of knowledge in brand-building and business growth. This makes it easy for us to point out all of the areas your business needs help in.

We’ve been in the industry since 2002 and are a creative agency in New Jersey with tons of proven experience when it comes to brands. This is perfect for any business owner looking to step up their game and get to that next level.

All of that may sound good, but you might still be wondering what a creative agency is in the first place. Let us elaborate.

What’s a Creative Agency?

What’s a Creative Agency?

A creative agency is, in a nutshell, a group of individuals with knowledge in specific fields. They might be knowledgeable in marketing, strategy, design, or technology. While they all are different, creative agencies for the most part have at least two of those fields under their belt.

That being said, there are creative agencies that provide one service and make sure they’re the best at it. For the most part, these agencies have a specific focus, such as SEO.

Finding a creative agency with the solutions and services you need is a bit complicated if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.

But how do you know which one to look for then? We’ll talk about each one so you can easily find the one you need.

In this next section, we’ll be talking about all of the different types of creative agencies out there and which one suits your needs the best.

Graphic Design Agency

These are the types of agencies that focus on providing you with creative solutions that reflect what your brand is about. They are able to guide you and explain which type of logo and design is best for your brand.

They can also be the backbone of your social media by creating posts so that you stand out from your competitors.

A graphic design agency shouldn’t have any issues following your brand’s guidelines. They will make sure there is consistency in your designs so that potential customers can spot you in a blink of an eye.

They can even make a brand guideline from scratch if you don’t have one or need a new one.

This is the most common creative agency you’ll find in your search. They have a plethora of services for your digital marketing needs. They’re able to create a digital marketing strategy from scratch. Ideally, they guide you through a process where they show you which areas you can be improved and how they plan on fixing them.

If you are looking to grow on different digital platforms, then this is the agency you should hire.

Since social media is vital right now, a digital marketing agency is one of the most sought-after types of agencies in 2022.

Social media is by far the best place to show potential customers why your brand is the perfect match for them. But to be able to do that, you need a proper strategy and foundation.

That’s where a creative agency, like CMDS, comes in. We will make sure your brand hooks your target persona and attracts them to your website in no time.

Most digital marketing agencies also have graphic designers to help with the creative part of marketing. This includes images and videos for posts, web design, and even brand guidelines if need be.

Consulting Agency

This creative agency is probably the one people look for the least, but it’s a lot more useful than you might think.

This type of agency specializes in creating different strategies for your brand based on the research and data you gave them. They will evaluate all of the information and provide you with the best steps for your brand moving forward.

CMDS offers consulting services so you can lay back while we create a tailored-made strategy just for you. Even though we are a creative agency in NJ, we have worked with various brands in different regions.

These steps might involve ways to cut costs and get everything working efficiently. We might help improve your product to be the best it can be. Or we might show you how to target different markets across the world effectively.

There are other combinations of services out there that a creative agency might offer. But there is really no rule when it comes to what services a creative agency should have. All that matters is that they have the services YOU need.

How Can A Creative Agency Help Your Brand?

How Can a Creative Agency Help Your Brand?

While it depends on the creative agency itself, there are several benefits that you can expect when hiring a creative agency for your business.

Experts in Their Craft

Finding a creative agency that specializes in an area where your brand needs help is vital.

There will be fewer issues since they’ll know exactly what action they’re going to take and how to proceed. They also have a very good understanding of what to do depending on your industry or niche. This means that you won’t be using a generalized strategy or anything of the sort.
Instead, you’ll have a personalized plan created just for your brand.

With a team of professionals working on your brand, it speeds up the whole process when compared to relying on a freelancer. Having three or more experts all working on improving your brand will always be faster.

Knowledge About Your Industry

Knowing everything about your brand is one thing, but what about knowing your industry and the competitors you’ve been trying to beat for months?

One of the advantages you have when working with a creative agency, like CMDS, is that we have worked with dozens of brands in the past. This means there’s a very high chance that we’ve worked with a brand in your industry at some point and have tested what works and what doesn’t. This means that you can benefit from the extensive expertise we have.

If by any chance we haven’t worked in your industry yet, don’t panic. We are experts when it comes to researching and finding strategies that work. We’ll find the perfect strategy and plan for your brand in no time.

Consistent Quality

You want the end product to be of the same quality the agency represents on its website. How many times have you bought something online and felt disappointed when you received it?

Creative agencies will make sure that the service and products offered are of the highest quality every single time. They know how important the services they provide are and how much they can affect your brand as a whole.

They’ll create high-quality content and pump it out consistently. This is perfect for your brand since you want as much content available as possible. Before they can create all of this amazing content, they’ll need to build a solid strategy they can stick to. This ensures that the content they make is great and that it doesn’t differ from post to post.

An Outsider’s View

It’s hard to know when your brand isn’t doing the best it can because it’s hard for you to judge and critique it in an unbiased way. We know…your brand is precious to you. And the last thing you want to do is point out its flaws or where it could be improved.

This is where a creative agency like CMDS comes into play. We can give you an unbiased and realistic opinion on what you’re doing right and what you need to improve. This will help you improve your strategy a lot faster and avoid common mistakes other brands have made in the past.

Also, if you’re running low on creative juices, an agency can give you a hand and offer ideas that will hook your target audience.

It might not sound appealing to have someone appear and critique your brand’s flaws, but it’s a necessary step towards improving your brand in general. This is especially important if the people pointing the flaws out are ready to give you the solutions your brand needs.

Maybe after months or years of working on your brand, you forgot what the bigger picture was. Or perhaps you never had a clear objective to begin with. These are all areas that a creative agency can help you with.

A creative agency giving you their opinion every month on how your business is doing is a huge asset that very few brands have. This means that there’s a very high chance that you’ll be a few steps ahead of the competition by having an agency helping you.

Connections

You might be asking yourself right now, “Why would I want to know about a creative agency’s connections?” Well, the biggest advantage you can have after hiring an agency is the sheer amount of experts they know and can contact if needed.

Let’s face it. It’s sometimes difficult to find an expert in a specific field for a lot of different reasons. Maybe they are busy, or you have to reach out to them via mail, which means you have to wait for days to get a response.

An agency cuts down the waiting time by having an established network of experts at its disposal. These professionals are ready to work on your brand as needed. While a creative agency will be able to cover just about every single aspect of your business. There are some areas where having an expert is preferable, and that’s where having such connections is vital.

Let’s say a creative agency is redesigning your website from scratch. They want it to look the best it can be, so they are loading new icons and designs. When they get to the “Our Team” page, they notice the pictures you gave them look very outdated.

Since they don’t have photographers in their agency, they call one of the production houses they know and ask if they can take pictures of your whole team.

A creative agency will always offer fast solutions to situations like this instead of telling you to solve them on your own. They understand that running a business is a very demanding job, and the last thing you want is to have more issues to solve.

A good creative agency will solve just about any problem you throw at them, regardless of whether it’s in their wheelhouse or not.

Here at CDMS, we want to make sure that your brand gets all the help it needs. We are your go-to problem-solvers for anything related to your brand.

Do You Need A Creative Agency?

Do You Need a Creative Agency?

This is the big question you need to ask yourself. How do you determine if you’re in need of a creative agency or not?

While there’s no “one answer fits all” response to this, there are still several points you should think about before hiring a creative agency.

Do You Have the Knowledge Needed to Grow Your Business?

It’s difficult to grow a business consistently, especially in 2022. Ask yourself “Is my brand receiving the growth it deserves?”

If the answer is yes, then kudos to you and we hope you keep thriving as you are right now. If the answer is no, then a creative agency might be the solution you need.

Knowing why you’re not growing is a lot more complicated than it might seem on paper. This is why finding a group of professionals that can help you pinpoint the issue is vital. It’s even better if they can solve the problem themselves.

Most creative agencies will not only tell you about the problem you have, but they’ll show the step-by-step process to solve the issue.

Do You Feel Stuck?

This can be in any aspect of your business. It can be on social media or in client acquisition. You name it.

Feeling like there’s no moving forward for your brand can be quite frustrating, especially if you’ve been putting in the effort and working on it.

Most of the time, the issue isn’t lack of work but instead a lack of a good strategy.

That’s where a creative agency can help you. They know what strategies work and how to apply them to your business. It’s important to mention that they will keep working and applying that strategy after it’s done.

This gives you a lot of free time to work on other aspects of your business.

The most common problem brands have is a lack of a good social media strategy which hurts their digital presence a LOT.

CMDS, a proven leader as a top creative agency in NJ, can solve this by not only creating a good and easy-to-follow social media strategy, but by making a content calendar and sticking to what the strategy says.

We have experience working with different brands, and we know exactly what your brand needs to get unstuck.

Is Your Team Spread Thin?

This is a very common issue with brands of all sizes. Your team is working in a LOT of different areas and they barely have time to do anything else. This hurts your brand a lot if the same employees that create and execute your marketing strategy are the same ones working with your clients.

When there are a lot of demands on your business, your employees won’t have any other choice but to leave your brand’s marketing behind. This way they can work on what your clients are asking for.

While this is great in one respect since it means your clients are happy, it also hurts you in the long run.

By having a creative agency running all of your marketing strategies, your team won’t have to worry about anything other than working with clients.

Having some extra helping hands, especially when it comes to something like marketing, is vital.

Does Your Brand Look Outdated?

First of all, we praise you if you’re aware that your brand might be looking a bit outdated. Very few brand owners are able to notice when their business needs a glow-up.

A big change like this also demands an alteration in your brand’s guidelines. It’s even possible you’ll most likely be changing your logo and colors.

These changes take a LOT of work and demand you to put all of your attention towards finishing them.

There are also a lot of factors that come into play when changing your brand’s looks.

• Does the logo scream what your brand is about?
• Will past clients be able to know it’s the same brand they bought months ago?
• Does the brand change work for your business?

There are definitely a lot of points to consider before changing how your brand looks.

A creative agency can work on this and make the transition over to your new logo and designs a lot less harsh.

They know how to solve all of the questions mentioned above and they’ll guide you through this process.

They’ll give you suggestions over what works and what doesn’t. They’ll explain what your best next steps are.

Now let’s say you determined that your brand is in need of a creative agency. How do you find one that is perfect for your brand? Let’s talk about it.

Key Questions To Ask A Creative Agency

Key Questions To Ask a Creative Agency

Knowing how to spot a good creative agency is crucial if you want to make sure your money is being well spent.

Here are some good questions to ask a creative agency before hiring them.

Can You Show Me How You Helped Other Brands in the Past?

The first thing you want to know is how they managed to help other brands. This question is perfect since it helps you get a sense of how they work and what they could do for your business.

You want to make sure that the creative agency you’re hiring has past experience with brands looking for a similar service like you.

This will make it easier for you to make a decision since you’ll know what you’re getting into.

How Will You Solve My Problem?

This is a fantastic question to ask since it’s to the point and it tells you what they plan on doing to fix your problem. They should be able to give you a pretty solid answer while explaining all they’ll be working on from start to finish.

Knowing exactly what they are going to do and which services they plan on charging you for is very important.

How Long Will It Take?

Getting a sense of how much time they’ll need to finish their work is important. If it’s a long-term service like client acquisition, then having a metric set for a certain period of time is also as important.

The last thing you want is to pay for a service for months and not get the result that was promised at the beginning.

How Many Times Per Month Will We Have an Update on Your Work?

Ideally, you want a creative agency that shows you the progress they’ve made every 2 weeks at least. This helps you know how fast they work and you can check on the quality of the work itself. While it might seem like you’re being very nosey, it’s with good reason since it’s YOUR BRAND.

You don’t want anything bad to happen to it. And, you certainly don’t want a creative agency to change it into something you don’t like.

All of these questions should be asked in the first meeting you have with the agency. The faster these questions, the better.

Conclusion

Conclusion

So now you know just about everything regarding a creative agency. You can now safely go and look for the best one for you.

Before you go, let’s do a quick recap on all we talked about so you can leave this article feeling ready to hire a new creative agency.

First, we talked about what a creative agency is and broke down the 3 most common types of agencies you’ll find online.

Then, we mentioned how a creative agency can help your brand, and we gave you five key points to have in mind.

We also asked you some questions so you can be certain if you need a creative agency for your business or not. The last thing we want is for you to hire a creative agency you are not in the need of.

Last, but not least, we gave you some questions you can ask a creative agency when meeting with them. These will help you decide whether or not you’ll want to work with them.

A good rule of thumb is to find three creative agencies with similar services and have a meeting with each of them. This will help you get a sense of what each agency offers and it’ll make choosing the right one a lot easier.

As always, if you have any questions or doubts, feel free to leave them down below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Tagged as brand awareness, Brand Marketing Agency, creative agency, growing your brand, NJ creative agency